Here are some of the more interesting comments readers have left recently.1. Anonymous on whether IV sedation is overused:I think it depends on the patient and on the procedure. For my colonoscopy, I did prefer the sedation. It wasn't something…
Here are some of the more interesting comments readers have left recently.
1. Anonymous on whether IV sedation is overused: I think it depends on the patient and on the procedure. For my colonoscopy, I did prefer the sedation. It wasn’t something that I cared to remember.
But I’ve also had a core needle biopsy of an abdominal tumor. The tumor was right …
The following is the first in a series of original guest columns by the American Medical Association.by J. James Rohack, M.D.In an unprecedented endeavor aimed at achieving health-care reform this year, the American Medical Association (AMA) stood with President Obama…
In an unprecedented endeavor aimed at achieving health-care reform this year, the American Medical Association (AMA) stood with President Obama and other key health-care stakeholders Monday to announce efforts to “bend the spending curve” on health care. U.S. health-care …
Here are some of the more interesting comments readers have left recently.1. Carla Kakutani on the lack of primary care access in Massachusetts:So we have a chicken and egg problem. Do we wait health care reform until we have revived…
Here are some of the more interesting comments readers have left recently.
1. Carla Kakutani on the lack of primary care access in Massachusetts: So we have a chicken and egg problem. Do we wait health care reform until we have revived US primary care, or is that even possible without health care reform to create the disruption needed to change our entrenched fee-for-service, procedure-happy payment …
Top story in The New York Times.Excellent.There's hope that maybe, just maybe, we're getting through to the decision makers in Washington.The article itself is old news to regular readers of this blog, and regurgitates many of the arguments impeding health…
Top story in The New York Times.
Excellent.
There’s hope that maybe, just maybe, we’re getting through to the decision makers in Washington.
The article itself is old news to regular readers of this blog, and regurgitates many of the arguments impeding health reform, as well as the problems in solving them.
“Obama administration officials, alarmed at doctor shortages, are looking for ways to increase …
Here are some of the more interesting comments readers have left recently.1. Dr. Gwenn on limited health literacy:For us to do a better job with patients and teach them to be better advocates for themselves, we need more time -…
Here are some of the more interesting comments readers have left recently.
1. Dr. Gwenn on limited health literacy: For us to do a better job with patients and teach them to be better advocates for themselves, we need more time – plain and simple. At the same time, patients need more community supports to understand the complex health world and build the skills they need …
It's a well known phenomenon that hospitalists are taking over inpatient medicine.And no wonder, the payment system strongly discourages newly minted doctors to practice outpatient medicine, and the demand that hospitals have for inpatient physicians is surging at an unprecedented…
It’s a well known phenomenon that hospitalists are taking over inpatient medicine.
And no wonder, the payment system strongly discourages newly minted doctors to practice outpatient medicine, and the demand that hospitals have for inpatient physicians is surging at an unprecedented rate.
It’s a good time to be a hospitalist, but, as this reader writes to me, that may lead to an increasingly variability in the quality …
The following op-ed was published on March 26th, 2009 in the USA Today. As a primary care doctor, I am frequently faced with decisions where the choice is not always clear. Do the latest, more expensive drugs work better than…
The following op-ed was published on March 26th, 2009 in the USA Today.
As a primary care doctor, I am frequently faced with decisions where the choice is not always clear. Do the latest, more expensive drugs work better than the less costly, older medications? Will ordering an MRI help me treat a patient’s lower back pain? Often, the answer to these questions is, “I’m not sure.”
In a surprise, President Obama has signaled a willingness to discuss medical liability as part of the health reform process.Good for him for standing up to the trial lawyers, a core constituency of the left.That's a good sign, as the…
In a surprise, President Obama has signaled a willingness to discuss medical liability as part of the health reform process.
Good for him for standing up to the trial lawyers, a core constituency of the left.
That’s a good sign, as the costs of defensive medicine brought on by the broken malpractice system, should be addressed if there is any hope of reducing health care spending. Read more…
If both patients and doctors don't accept the changes required of their behavior, no amount of comparative effectiveness studies will cut health care spending.Two prominent medical journalists write as much in their respective blogs.First, the NY Times' Tara Parker-Pope notes…
If both patients and doctors don’t accept the changes required of their behavior, no amount of comparative effectiveness studies will cut health care spending.
Two prominent medical journalists write as much in their respective blogs.
First, the NY Times’ Tara Parker-Pope notes that patients have to realize that, yes, they should demand the best care possible. However, that means, “we will have to accept that ‘best’ …
The following op-ed was published on February 25th, 2009 in The New York Times' Room for Debate blog. With the number of the uninsured having risen to 48 million Americans, clearly the need for reform is dire. But President Obama…
The following op-ed was published on February 25th, 2009 in The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog.
With the number of the uninsured having risen to 48 million Americans, clearly the need for reform is dire. But President Obama made no mention of who exactly will take care of these patients, even if they get insurance under a successful health reform initiative.
There's no shortage of informed opinions on the Tom Daschle debacle, and how this will affect the chances of successful health care reform.I don't pretend to be a political pundit, so instead, here is a collection of selected insights from…
There’s no shortage of informed opinions on the Tom Daschle debacle, and how this will affect the chances of successful health care reform.
I don’t pretend to be a political pundit, so instead, here is a collection of selected insights from news sites and health policy blogs that I regularly read.
First off, the NY Times says it will likely halt the momentum for health reform, and …
The following op-ed was published on December 3rd, 2008 in the USA Today. Emblematic of soaring health care costs, which are projected to reach $3 trillion by 2011,is the nationwide crisis of emergency department overcrowding. More than $18 billion is…
The following op-ed was published on December 3rd, 2008 in the USA Today.
Emblematic of soaring health care costs, which are projected to reach $3 trillion by 2011,is the nationwide crisis of emergency department overcrowding. More than $18 billion is wasted annually on unnecessary visits to the ER,with volume rising by 32% and wait times almost doubling to one hour during the past decade. Relieving this strain …
A guest post by Val Jones, MD.On the eve of our second presidential debate, I had the chance to interview Dr. Ken Thorpe, Executive Director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD), about America's healthcare crisis. Here's what he…
A guest post by Val Jones, MD.
On the eve of our second presidential debate, I had the chance to interview Dr. Ken Thorpe, Executive Director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD), about America’s healthcare crisis. Here’s what he had to say:
1. I was part of a press conference call with you and former Secretary of HHS, Tommy Thompson …
The following op-ed was published on October 1st, 2008 in the USA Today. Despite the fact that we can complete our taxes and perform complex financial transactions digitally over the Internet, medical records have faced an impasse preventing a transition…
The following op-ed was published on October 1st, 2008 in the USA Today.
Despite the fact that we can complete our taxes and perform complex financial transactions digitally over the Internet, medical records have faced an impasse preventing a transition to the digital age. Patient charts are still paper-based in most doctors’ offices across the country.
President Bush’s goal was for every American to have an electronic medical …
The following op-ed was published on May 4th, 2008 in the Nashua Telegraph. Communication in medicine grows worse by the day. What should be a pillar of quality health care is instead a resounding failure. Patients are rushed through office…
The following op-ed was published on May 4th, 2008 in the Nashua Telegraph.
Communication in medicine grows worse by the day. What should be a pillar of quality health care is instead a resounding failure.
Patients are rushed through office visits and often leave without having their questions answered. Labyrinthine barriers have to be overcome before speaking with a physician. Reaching a medical provider via the …
The following op-ed was published on March 13th, 2008 in the USA Today. Crippling health care bills, long emergency room waits and the inability to find a primary care physician just scratch the surface of the problems that patients face…
The following op-ed was published on March 13th, 2008 in the USA Today.
Crippling health care bills, long emergency room waits and the inability to find a primary care physician just scratch the surface of the problems that patients face daily.
Surveys suggest that health care is a top domestic priority in the presidential election, and there is no lack of ideas on how to fix our system. …
