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 …
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 April 23rd, 2008 in the USA Today. A recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that more than half the dollars in our $2.2 trillion health care system are wasted. Medical errors, inefficient use of information…
The following op-ed was published on April 23rd, 2008 in the USA Today.
A recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that more than half the dollars in our $2.2 trillion health care system are wasted.
Medical errors, inefficient use of information technology and poorly managed chronic diseases were all cited as factors. Dwarfing these reasons is a phenomenon in which doctors order tests to avoid the threat of a …
The following op-ed was published on August 22nd, 2008 in the USA Today. "Why should I care if doctors get a pay cut?" my patient recently asked me. Therein lies the delicate dilemma physicians face today. While the common perception…
The following op-ed was published on August 22nd, 2008 in the USA Today.
“Why should I care if doctors get a pay cut?” my patient recently asked me.
Therein lies the delicate dilemma physicians face today. While the common perception is that the medical profession is well-compensated, there are serious implications in targeting physician pay to control medical spending.
Congress recently passed a bill protecting doctors from a 10.6% …
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 August 6th, 2007 in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Medicare is planning to cut physician payment rates by 10 percent in 2008. These reductions will continue annually, and it is predicted that the total…
The following op-ed was published on August 6th, 2007 in the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Medicare is planning to cut physician payment rates by 10 percent in 2008. These reductions will continue annually, and it is predicted that the total cuts will be about 40 percent by 2016.
The topic of physician compensation generally elicits little public sympathy. After all, the average primary care physician salary in 2006 …
