November 8th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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Are you wondering about a glaring unintended consequence of healthcare reform? Read on to learn how everyone becomes a criminal.
By now you’ve all heard of the government reports of Medicare fraud being three times higher than 17 billion dollars a year previously thought. How you ask? Because an illegible doctor signature is considered fraud and Obama is out to make things right and transparent and accurate. You can pretty much count on every physician in this country being a fraudster.
But what about Medicaid? Does the same fraud problem exist with the Medicaid system? Probably, but you also have to worry about the patient abuse aspect as well. Here’s an angle of unintended consequences you may not have considered with healthcare reform by making pre-existing conditions a thing of the past.
I have been told Happy’s hospital has a handful of repeat offenders using their family member’s Medicaid card to get free healthcare services in the ER. Why is that possible and why would anyone let their family member use their insurance card? The question you should ask is not “why,” but “why not?” Why wouldn’t every family with Medicaid share their card? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
November 5th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
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With the daylight savings fall-back date for 2010 rapidly approaching (remember: “Spring forward, fall back” — which is this Sunday, November 7th, 2010), I’m reminded of some research I read a few years back suggesting a link between daylight savings and heart attack risk. The research suggested the Monday effect of increased heart attacks was not related to stress, but rather the sleep cycle.
When looked at from the daylight savings fall-back perspective, the research suggests the extra hour of sleep we gain from the November 7th, 2010 daylight savings fall-back date will be protective against heart attack risk. Good to know, especially if you’re the cardiologist on call the week following either date.
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
October 27th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion
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“Why should I take my blood pressure medication,” you ask? The more I do this thing called hospitalist medicine, the more I appreciate the power of lifestyle choices we all make.
Every opportunity I get I give my patients my smoking lecture and charge their insurance a CPT 99406. Everybody knows that smoking is bad for you and it causes lung cancer. Nobody knows all the other stuff. They’re always shocked.
Maybe it’s time for me to start a blood pressure lecture. I often have patients who say: “Why should I take my blood pressure medication?” They always answer their own question with the same answer: “I was feeling fine. I didn’t see a reason to take my blood pressure medication.”
You see, these are people with insurance. These are people with the Medicare National Bank. These are people who don’t have to lift a finger or a dime to pay any out-of-pocket expenses for their healthcare. And yet, they still lack the motivation to care for themselves, even with incredible resources out there these days to help them — things like great online blood pressure chart sites for home monitoring.
Whatever the reason — whether it’s ignorance, laziness, lack of motivation, lack of remembering, or selfishness — people just don’t take care of themselves. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
October 23rd, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion
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What is a hospitalist and what kind of care does a hospitalist provide? It’s funny to read what people are writing these days about my professional role in patient care. It now appears hospitalists don’t manage medical issues anymore, but rather go through seven years of medical training to discuss the efficiency of the cafeteria food with their patients.
I read one article where the reader (obviously not a hospitalist) suggests that a hospitalist is a medical doctor who can do all the things normal doctors can, but instead of seeing patients all day, he makes rounds through the hospital, talking to patients to find out what can make their hospital stay better. And what kind of issues does the hospitalist deal with on their rounds? Why, the efficiency of the cafeteria food, of course.
I guess I was sleeping the day I was supposed to learn about the efficiency of hospital food in medical school. Maybe that means, after reviewing the SHM/MGMA 2010 hospitalist salary compensation report, I should request a pay cut because of my failure to provide cafeteria support. Or better yet, maybe I could make it up by asking security if I could provide takedown support on some code assists. Okay, I feel better about my role as a hospitalist.
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
October 15th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
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I read this article about a young child with heterotaxy syndrome with great interest. Not because I find heterotaxy syndrome something of great fascination, but because of the lack of communication — on both ends of the spectrum:
Even though 5 other Dr. all came in and listened to his lungs and said that he didn’t sound like he was wheezing and that his lungs sounded really good. But because this hospital is overly political, process driven, bureaucratic, and in a constant state of litigious fear they are unable to make any conclusions based on actual medicine and patient care. Common sense is blown out the window when you have a system were a hospitalist one year out of medical school has an opinion that is as valuable as a cardiologist with 25+ years experience.
But in fairness, they all had to “really consider her opinion.”
So they went and got a pulmonologist to evaluate him, which Scott and I were very happy about because there was nothing in the world that would’ve made me more happy in that moment than to have her proven wrong. Which she was.
The whole article is a case study in stress, distrust, and legalism. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
