July 14th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: 1980s News Coverage, Artificial Heart, Cardiology, Gary Schwitzer, HealthNewsReview.org, Heart Disease, Jarvik-7, Organ Transplantation, Sound Health Journalism, The New York Times, Too Much Journalistic Enthusiasm
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Here we go again. And believe me, as one who’s covered the artificial heart experiments of the 1980s, I feel like I’ve been through this countless times before — but so have health news readers.
Another entrepeneurial team announces hopes for its artificial heart device and some news coverage trumpets the company’s announcement:
But this was in The New York Times! Now, granted — it’s in a “Global Business” section. But we don’t see why that removes the need for more scrutiny, for independent perspective, and for a better discussion of evidence. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
July 14th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Family Medicine, Fixing Primary Care, General Medicine, Internal Medicine, Lack of Primary Care, Medical School Students, More Primary Care Doctors, New Doctors, No Medical School Debt, Physician Recruitment, Primary Care Doctors, Primary Care Shortage, Subsidized Tuition
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There’s little question that medical school debt is rising rapidly, affecting the career choice of medical students.
It’s one of the main reasons why the disparity between the number of specialists and primary care doctors is widening. There have been a variety of proposed solutions — most recent of which are medical schools completely subsidizing their tuition. I think that’s a good step forward, but so far has only been limited to a few schools nationwide. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
July 14th, 2010 by Bongi in Announcements, Better Health Network, Medblogger Shout Outs
Tags: Better Health, Bongi, Grand Rounds, Other Things Amanzi, South Africa
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It’s not just the soccer world cup that’s on South African shores, but the great Grand Rounds (something that some would say is far more important than the world cup — okay, only one guy would actually say that, and he’s in a psychiatric institution in Outer Mongolia) is also presently hosted in South Africa! Proudly South African!
Time to see what the bloggers have dished up for us this week. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at other things amanzi*
July 14th, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services, CMS, Dr. Don Berwick, Free Stuff, General Medicine, Healthcare reform, Primary Care
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It happened. Guilty. I confess. Reading about Dr. Berwick’s recess appointment to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) induced me to watch a Fox news clip. Gosh, I feel bad about it. It felt good, though.
Patients — that’s you and me — should know that CMS controls doctors, nurses and especially hospital/practice managers. They are ten times more scary than the radar patrol car on the highway.
Dr. Berwick likes the British system of healthcare delivery. In Europe healthcare is free, and everyone likes free stuff. Free stuff happens all the time, doesn’t it?
In Cambridge, Mass — at Harvard — free stuff for all seems a plausible tenet. There must be a lot of coffee shops and free time in Cambridge. In the real world — on Main street, on the farm, in the factory, or really everywhere other than college — people know getting something for nothing is fantasy.
It hasn’t happened yet, so my Dad’s advice about not worrying too much about future events still holds true, but Dr Berwick’s recess appointment to lead the all-controlling CMS has the potential to make caring for patients even more challenging. Yes, more regulations, longer EMR notes with a really careful review of systems, and less pay to doctors will surely improve patient care. Scary indeed. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
July 14th, 2010 by AlanDappenMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Primary Care Wednesdays, True Stories
Tags: Direct Pay Medical Practice, DocTalker Family, Dr. Alan Dappen, Healthcare reform, Primary Care Crisis, Primary Care Shortage, Primary Care Wednesdays
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The vexing problem with “truth” when it comes to healthcare is to understand its limits. Let’s start with two popular notions. The first: canaries are harbingers for detecting chemical leaks. The second: primary care specialists claim higher salaries for their work will prevent their extinction. Both claims sound plausible, but then come the conditions, the nuances, the variables and empirical testing and observation — the so called threads of truth.
Notion 1, The Canaries: In 1972 my brother passed through the military’s basic training and was Vietnam bound until a perfect score on a standardized test, his Phi Beta Kappa and a chemistry degree from college rerouted his destiny to a remote patch of the Utah desert. Instead of being a foot soldier, he gave back to his country in a chemical warfare lab. Read more »
