February 9th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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I am mad at congress.
I don’t care if they are Democrats or Republicans, I am sick of healthcare being treated as a political football. How much more of a crisis do we need before we actually start working on a solution? Why does each party have to sit on its side of the aisle shooting spitballs at the other? Each side has its pet issues that are tied to contributors, supporters, and lobbyists. Each side will work to see the other side fail even if the other side is right. Each side seems unable to do anything unless there is political value in it. Power is more important than service, and power is a short-term project. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
February 3rd, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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I was talking to a fellow physician about a mutual patient. I had information that would help him in their care and he was taking the unusual step of asking me for my information. I was impressed.
“Could you fax me those documents?” he asked. ”Here’s my fax number.”
I scrambled to get a pen to write down his number. Then I had a thought: “I could email you those documents much easier. Do you have an email address?”
Silence.
After a long pause, he hesitantly responded, “I would rather you just fax it.” He said no more. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
January 27th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, True Stories
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One of my favorite patients died last week.
My reaction to this was not quite what you would think: I smiled. No, I didn’t smile because of his death; I smiled because of his life. I smiled because I got to be a part of that life. His death wasn’t his tragic end, it was the exclamation point to his life.
I am around a lot of death – it’s one of the things that makes being a doctor different from other jobs. My goal with all of my patients is to keep them healthy, to relieve their pain, and to do my best to keep them alive. Ultimately, though, it’s a losing battle; 100% of them will eventually die. That’s why I don’t like statistics about how many people who die due to inadequate doctoring. Our job is to resist an irresistible force. We are standing up to the hurricane, the avalanche, the flood. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
January 12th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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Every year it happens: people come to me telling of what they are going to be doing different in this fresh new year. People are going to stop smoking, start exercising, and (especially) lose weight. This year, I am among the resolvers.
Every year, most people fail.
Which makes me wonder what it is about us humans that allows us to act against what we know is best. Why is it that educating people is rarely enough to fix a problem? Why should we have an obesity “epidemic” when very few people really want to be obese? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
January 6th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion
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This past year was a big year. We got:
- A new president, whose name rhymes with “llama” (which is cool)
- A healthcare reform bill (results pending)
- I got to meet a bunch of bloggers (including the South African blogger, Bongi)
- I became a podcaster, joining Grammar Girl’s posse
- Idaho remained in the union despite the underhanded actions of the plumbers’ union
- The long-awaited sequel to Alvin and the Chipmunks (although I too was disgusted by the violence of the fans)
- Oprah was still afraid of me, announcing her retirement from TV.
- Dr. Phil’s badgering phone calls continued.
- I was on NPR, was in Medical Economics, authored the chapter of a book (forgot to tell you), and bought some really comfortable shoes.
- I got stressed-out (although not more than Oprah) and took some time off. People were really nice to me when I did. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
I am mad at congress.
