Health policy and public health

4,357 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 82

Those who try to solve health care don’t know the reality on the ground

May 26, 2018May 26, 201821

Because I wrote my book, I was recently asked to summarize the health care crisis. I have focused almost 25 years of research and writing about health care on what is happening on the ground, every day, with doctors and patients. I’m not an economist or financing expert or technology geek, so I can’t offer anything there. I am a practicing psychologist with advanced training in health care research …

Physician voices

Your first meeting with a mentor

Joannie Yeh, MD

May 26, 2018May 26, 2018

You extend a firm handshake and get ready to sit down at the table across from your mentor for the first time. Woah, wait. Let’s back up to the legwork that should have happened prior to this meeting. First step,…

You extend a firm handshake and get ready to sit down at the table across from your mentor for the first time.

Woah, wait. Let’s back up to the legwork that should have happened prior to this meeting. First step, you found the mentor (see this post for practical ideas on how to find a mentor). Neither you nor the mentor have a lot of time — a frequent obstacle often …

Read more…

Your first meeting with a mentor

Health policy

Let’s talk about guns as a health crisis

Aldis Petriceks

May 26, 2018May 26, 20189

In the long weeks since Valentine’s Day 2018, when those 17 students were killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, justified outrage has flowed from all corners of society. In New York, high school students have marched through Manhattan streets. On Capitol Hill, others have protested for tighter gun legislation. Recently, at Stanford University, our medical community held a community health panel, titled “Gun Violence and …

Real physician voices, twice a week

Free, and one click to unsubscribe.

Health policy

The skinny on skinny health insurance

Mark Kelley, MD

May 24, 2018May 24, 2018

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), widely known as “Obamacare,” has survived several repeal attempts by Congress. Storm clouds, however, are still on the horizon. The ACA’s individual mandate obligates every American to be covered by comprehensive health insurance. This requirement…

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), widely known as “Obamacare,” has survived several repeal attempts by Congress. Storm clouds, however, are still on the horizon.

The ACA’s individual mandate obligates every American to be covered by comprehensive health insurance. This requirement has been the most unpopular feature of the law. That’s because healthy people, especially those who are self-employed or between jobs, have found the ACA premiums too expensive.

They are not alone. Health …

Read more…

The skinny on skinny health insurance

Health policy

Medical education in the era of climate change

Tyler Greenway & William Hancock-Cerutti

May 23, 2018May 23, 201811

In the days after Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico, four Yale physicians began an ambitious effort to send thousands of pounds of medical supplies to the storm-ravaged island. Despite having had no prior experience with disaster response, these doctors worked with contacts in Puerto Rico to generate a detailed needs-assessment, determining exactly which medical supplies were needed on the island. Using social media, traditional media, and professional connections, …

Health technology

5 things that confuse me about health care today

Praveen Suthrum

May 23, 2018May 23, 201810

Say we met ten years ago. And you asked me: Would health care delivery be more complicated in the future? I would've said, "No, it would be simpler!" Pointing you to technology trends, I would’ve told you that health care…

Say we met ten years ago. And you asked me: Would health care delivery be more complicated in the future?

I would’ve said, “No, it would be simpler!”

Pointing you to technology trends, I would’ve told you that health care transactions will indeed become more automated, much simpler. Repeatable administrative tasks would be tech-enabled and algorithm-driven.

My company started life in billing claims for doctors. Back then I was quite sure billing would …

Conditions and diseases

6 ways to address the opioid epidemic

Nabila El-Bassel, PhD

May 18, 2018May 18, 201833

The devastating opioid epidemic is one of the largest public health problems facing the U.S. Over 2.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from opioid use disorder. Four in five new heroin users started out misusing prescription painkillers. A 2015…

The devastating opioid epidemic is one of the largest public health problems facing the U.S. Over 2.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from opioid use disorder.

Four in five new heroin users started out misusing prescription painkillers. A 2015 analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found people who are addicted to painkillers are 40 times more likely to be …

Read more…

6 ways to address the opioid epidemic

Physician voices

Bias is widespread on both sides of the political spectrum

Edwin Leap, MD

May 17, 2018May 17, 201837

Without doubt, the future of medicine will include mandatory education for physicians on their conscious and unconscious biases. The politically and culturally progressive nature of medical education and graduate medical education almost ensure that this will eventually be a deeply-ingrained part of our training and our continuing certification. I’m sure that as our culture purports to discover ever new and egregious forms of bias, we will be endlessly reminded, in …

Health policy

Why some physicians thrive and some struggle to survive

Praveen Suthrum

May 15, 2018May 15, 20187

I'm sitting in the waiting area across the endoscopy room of a major hospital. Mindless talk show TV runs in the background. Patients are waiting patiently. They anxiously look up every now and then from their phones towards the reception…

I’m sitting in the waiting area across the endoscopy room of a major hospital. Mindless talk show TV runs in the background. Patients are waiting patiently. They anxiously look up every now and then from their phones towards the reception desk.

It’s a scene I’ve experienced for years while working in health care while waiting for doctors.

But there’s something different in the air now.

Patients, like those around me, will encounter a …

Physician voices

Physicians: Let us rise. Let us lead.

Julie K. Gunther, MD

May 15, 2018May 15, 201822

As has been much discussed in the last few years, our health care system is in crisis. We spend $3 trillion a year on Medicare. MRIs bill out at $5,000. My recent bilateral mastectomy totaled $33,000 with $800 of that…

I left my role as an employed physician in the traditional insurance-based fee-for-service structure because I spent 80 or more hours a week typing, collecting data, …

Read more…

Physicians: Let us rise. Let us lead.

Physician voices

A relatively simple solution to physician burnout

David E. Hockman, MD

May 15, 2018May 15, 201825

Physician burnout is increasing at an alarming rate. According to a January 2017 AMA Wire report, physician burnout rate has increased from 2013 to 2017 across every specialty in medicine. Greater than 50 percent of primary care providers are burned out. Therefore, every patient at the entry point of medical care is, more likely than not, going to be treated by a burned out physician. The question is why are …

Health policy

What matters in an optimal consumer health care market

Richard Reece, MD

May 14, 2018May 14, 2018

An excerpt from Are We There Yet?: The Road to Universal Health Care. Getting your business matters. Much of what’s happening now in health care and retail markets concerns pleasing you, health care consumers and patients, and getting your business.…

An excerpt from Are We There Yet?: The Road to Universal Health Care.

Getting your business matters. Much of what’s happening now in health care and retail markets concerns pleasing you, health care consumers and patients, and getting your business.

The internet matters. You’re almost all wired now. The internet is shortest and quickest route to your heart, mind, and pocketbook (84 percent of you are now making purchases on …

Health policy

A better way of using Lyft and Uber in health care

Peter F. Nichol, MD, PhD

May 13, 2018May 13, 20182

Recently there was an article in the Washington Post titled, "Uber and Lyft think they can solve one of medicine’s biggest problems," in which these two companies are angling to provide better, safer more reliable transportation for patients. While I…

Recently there was an article in the Washington Post titled, “Uber and Lyft think they can solve one of medicine’s biggest problems,” in which these two companies are angling to provide better, safer more reliable transportation for patients. While I applaud this mission, given the depth and reach of both companies, I think they may be underselling their abilities to improve health care delivery and reduce cost.

Recently, one of my …

Health policy

Health care is not a service commodity

Peter Spence, MD, MBA

May 12, 2018May 12, 20182

As we continue to attempt to restructure how health care is measured, reimbursed and organized, we must hold true to the idea that health care is simply not a service commodity. "A commodity is any good or service ("products" or…

As we continue to attempt to restructure how health care is measured, reimbursed and organized, we must hold true to the idea that health care is simply not a service commodity.

“A commodity is any good or service (“products” or “activities”) produced by human labor and offered as a product for general sale on the market.” Our health care delivery model continues to evolve as we move away from the fee-for-service (FFS) model …

Read more…

Health care is not a service commodity

Health policy

Children shouldn’t worry about being hungry in school

Melinda Stoops, PhD

May 11, 2018May 11, 20186

Last fall, my nine-year-old daughter asked me to buy some extra lunch items at the grocery store because she and a friend of hers were going to take turns bringing in food for a classmate who couldn’t afford to purchase lunch at school. I was reminded of this conversation last week, when the school committee in my city voted to no longer deny middle- and high-school students lunch if they …

Physician voices

What makes you an effective change agent in health care?

Ashwini M. Zenooz, MD

May 11, 2018May 11, 20187

Change and health care are closely interconnected. Health care organizations are continually faced with the need to adapt to change, whether it be advances in medical care or technology, growing demand for care delivery, a patient population that is increasingly active and involved in their own health and well-being, or evolving reimbursement and cost models. By recognizing that change is inevitable in the health care sphere, organizations can focus on …

Health policy

Does federal law violate our right to health care?

Matthew Dyer

May 9, 2018May 9, 20183

Proponents of universal health care believe that health care is a universal human right, but is it a constitutionally-protected right, and if so, how does the U.S. Constitution compel the government to protect that right? We can make the argument…

We can make the argument that the right to health care is indeed protected under the Ninth Amendment, which states, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage …

Health policy

We can no longer tolerate an inhumane health care system

Surafel Tsega, MD

May 5, 2018May 5, 201827

She said her insurance wouldn’t cover her oxygen. I didn’t believe her. She needed it. She had an irreversible lung disease that made walking a block feel like a hundred-yard sprint. It was no trouble showing she needed it-- her…

She said her insurance wouldn’t cover her oxygen.

I didn’t believe her. She needed it. She had an irreversible lung disease that made walking a block feel like a hundred-yard sprint. It was no trouble showing she needed it– her blood oxygen levels would drop below 85 percent with any activity (normal levels are between 95 to 100 percent). Surely this was a minor administrative hurdle. I told her I was …

Health policy

5 ways young physicians can advocate for themselves

Lauren A. Umstattd, MD

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018

Why don’t doctors advocate for themselves? Or young doctors, at least. Maybe it’s because we’re bombarded with patient care, never ending-educational opportunities or the mountain of electronic medical records that still need signed. Maybe it’s because it’s too overwhelming. Understanding…

Maybe it’s because it’s too overwhelming. Understanding and conquering the health care behemoth that organizations, third-party payers, and the government have created seems nearly impossible if you’re not already on your way to adding a master of health …

Physician voices

The drip, drip, drip of hate in the U.S.

Rebecca Thaxton, MD

May 4, 2018May 4, 201812

Editor's note: This article contains racial slurs essential to the story. A few days ago at my breakfast table, over coffee and my usual peanut butter protein shake, I read Doug Brunk’s article in Family Practice News about gun violence.…

Editor’s note: This article contains racial slurs essential to the story.

A few days ago at my breakfast table, over coffee and my usual peanut butter protein shake, I read Doug Brunk’s article in Family Practice News about gun violence. The article reminded me that on the same day in history (April 16th, 2007) that the Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 people and injured 23 others, 231 other gun casualties occurred …

Health policy and public health

Articles, page 82

Real physician voices, twice a week

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular