The BBC had a story recently about general practitioners (GPs) in the UK prescribing health apps to patients. The idea is that prescribed apps would be free to patients, even if they had a cost associated with them, so I’m assuming that the NHS would pick of the tab for such apps.
The story has gotten a lot of attention, and I think with good reason. I’ve written before and …
Why doctors aren’t prescribing health apps to patients
I aspire to be Betty White when I grow up; she’s witty, funny, brilliant, and beautiful. I can’t wait to coo, “My eyes are up here,” to the hot guy who’s just busted down my door, when I’m 90 years old.
“What’s the secret to her vivaciousness?” I wonder. She is probably genetically gifted a la George Burns, but I bet she has done more to preserve her looks and her …
How to be like Betty White when you get older
Every day physicians and other healthcare professionals are engaged in an invisible battle at work.
In one corner is our desire to help other people, make a difference and practice the skills we worked so hard to perfect.
In the opposite corner is burnout and it’s entire gang. Most of us don’t recognize burnout has a whole team on its side. We are outnumbered at least ten to one. I call this …
Physician burnout: Why it’s not a fair fight
Author of the new book “The Future of Health Care Delivery” and the former CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center, Stephen C. Schimpff, MD, FACP, says effective care coordination, especially for patients with chronic illness, requires technology, more involvement of primary-care physicians and a health-care system – not a medical-care system.
A physician, educator and cancer researcher for more than 40 years, Dr. Schimpff shares his …
Care coordination is key to fixing health care
There are an awful lot of reasons that led up to my eventual resignation from a career in primary care medicine. I don’t know that any one of them is more important than the other (it really just depends on which day you ask me). One that stands out for me though as a universal problem shared by millions is Managed Health Care, and the imposition it has posed on …
Why this pediatrician quit medicine
The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is a federal committee composed of private sector experts in prevention and primary care. Its mandate is to make recommendations as to which preventive services are beneficial, which are useless and which are harmful. Disconcertingly, there is a small but vocal opposition to the USPSTF as embodied by an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal by Dr. Scott Gottlieb.
Dr. Gottlieb’s main argument against the USPSTF is …
The USPSTF should stay independent from politics
They say a good doctor needs to be able to stand in his patient’s shoes, but Stuart only had one; a size 12, left foot Nike Air Max. Back in May 1991, after his car ran off an Australian country road, wrapping itself around a gum tree, Stuart ended up losing a leg. In a photo taken at the scene of the accident the following day, you can see a …
Empathy is an essential ingredient of the work of a doctor
The Patient Centered Medical Home is supposed to be the solution to our primary care woes.
Endorsed by both the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Physicians, this new model of primary care creates a team-based approach to patient care, with a cadre of care managers and nurses assisting physicians to manage patients with chronic disease. If …
Should doctors be forbidden to complain about money?
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths for men and women in the United States. Although the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening in reducing deaths is supported by the available evidence, only about 60 percent of American adults aged 50 and older get screened.
A new …
ACP reminds physicians to assess risk, screen for colorectal cancer
Dr. Lake used to be a businessman. His books were clean and orderly. His staff was efficient and kind. He steered his ship agilely through troubled waters and still managed to provide the highest quality care. His was not only physician but small business owner. He was proud.
As the political climate changed, Dr. Lake became more distressed concerning his situation. His overhead was increasing and the regulatory culture was expanding. …
How primary care is sold down the river
A guest column by the American Medical Association, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
It will come as no surprise to many of you that it can take a very long time to get things accomplished in Washington, D.C. However, a recent policy change from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that when physicians join together for a common cause we can …
AMA: Delaying the implementation of ICD-10 is a win for doctors
The New Yorker’s Dr. Atul Gawande outlined how, at the turn of the 20th century, more than forty per cent of household income went to paying for food and food production consumed nearly half the workforce. Beginning in Texas, a wide array of new methods of food production were piloted. Today, food accounts for 8% of household budgets and 2% of the workforce. As a wide array of small innovations …
Rethinking care delivery and payment models with nimble medicine
As are many clergy, I am a pastor who is deeply involved in the medical lives of many of my parishioners. Because of what I have seen, particularly but not exclusively with end-of-life issues, I found myself increasingly averse to engaging the medical system for my own health needs.
However, I could no longer ignore some troubling symptoms. With trepidation, I ventured in.
I have been referred by my primary care physician …
The vulnerability of patients needs to be respected and honored
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Primary care physicians are the point of first contact that people like you and I have with a hospital or health systems. We are 13 times more likely to visit a primary care physician in any given year than we are to need a hospital stay.
Primary care physicians are very important. Yes they are they the first line of care for many people. The primary care physician’s office …
The medical exam wasn’t designed to engage patients
W. Edwards Deming is recognized as one of the driving forces that led the Japanese in the 1950’s to become a world-class manufacturing nation. The Japanese through the implementation of his principals became leaders in the manufacture of automobiles and electronics. One of his cardinal principles was that a company must delight its customers. It is not enough for a company that wishes to excel to meet the needs and …
Engaging employees to improve patient satisfaction
A tug-of-war is going on in medicine right now between the past and the future. The present is confused and very unsure of itself.
Though I could be writing about health care in the U.S and the looming Supreme Court battle over the new health care law, I’m actually raising a much more intimate issue: Whether your doctor touches (examines) you or not.
Many pundits have weighed in on whether …
Is it necessary for a doctor to examine you on each visit?
For some 30 years now, I have been tracking the work of a gifted “futurist” — one Clement Bezold, PhD.
In this context, a futurist is a social scientist who specializes in making systematic predictions of the future of society, either in general or with respect to a particular segment.
Dr. Bezold has done considerable thinking about the future of healthcare, much of which he has captured in his books (“The Future …
4 possible scenarios for the future of primary care
According to an article entitled, Binge Drinking Common Among Adults, “about one in every six U.S. adults binges on alcohol.”
According to the article, “binge drinking — defined as at least four drinks in one sitting for women and five drinks for men — carries substantial risks and high costs. It accounts for more than half of the estimated 80,000 annual deaths and three-quarters of the $223.5 billion in economic …
The hidden crisis of binge drinking
A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times published a story entitled I Disclose … Nothing by Elisabeth Rosenthal. The premise of the article dealt with conflicts of interests in several professions, including those in medicine. It got me thinking about whether or not the concept of disclosure can successfully manage conflicts of interest in medicine as much as people expect it to.
The conclusion I …
Why medicine will still be plagued by conflicts of interest
Numerous studies have shown that an average of 1 in 3 practicing physicians are suffering from symptomatic burnout on any given office day worldwide, regardless of specialty.
The three classic signs and symptoms of burnout are measured by a standardized evaluation: the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).
They are:
1. Emotional exhaustion
The doctor is tapped out after the office day, hospital rounds or being on call and is unable to recover with time off. …
Physician burnout presents differently in male and female doctors
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