June 23rd, 2010 by Richard Cooper, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Family Medicine, Finance, General Medicine, Healthcare spending, IMF, Internal Medicine, Intersecting Fault Lines, Low-Income Families, Poverty, Primary Care Physicians, Raghuram Rajan, Safety Net For The Poor, University of Chicago
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Solutions to problems are generally sought from within the problems themselves. Two recent examples are healthcare and finance. In both cases, the solutions are believed to be better-structured and regulated systems. In blogs, articles and speeches, I have stressed that — while there are myriad ways that healthcare can be improved — the real solutions to high healthcare spending lie outside of healthcare.
Poverty and its associated manifestations are at the core of the healthcare spending crisis. The high costs of caring for the poor will continue to overwhelm the system, no matter how it’s structured and improved. Rather than looking for solutions through changes in process and regulation, the major solutions to healthcare’s excessive spending reside in areas such as K-12 education, neighborhood safety, and the creation of jobs that can lift low-income families from the cycle of poverty.
Simply stated, the U.S. does not and will not have the resources to provide equitable care for those among us who confront inequitable circumstances in every other aspect of their lives. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at PHYSICIANS and HEALTH CARE REFORM Commentaries and Controversies*
June 23rd, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
Tags: American College of Surgeons, Depression in Doctors, Doctor Suicide, Doctors Who Smoke, Family Medicine, Fat Doctors, General Medicine, Healthcare reform, Internal Medicine, Medical School, Overburdened Clinicians, Personal Life, Physician Burnout, Physician Stress, Practicing Medicine, Prescription Drug Abuse, Primary Care, Residency Training, Self-Care, Wall Street Journal, Work-Life Balance
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Do doctors take care of themselves? Sometimes patients may better follow the advice of physicians who aren’t obese and don’t smoke. That was a question asked in a post last year, entitled “When fat doctors talk to obese patients.”
According to studies, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, it’s a mixed bag:
Physicians as a group are leaner, fitter and live longer than average Americans. Male physicians keep their cholesterol and blood pressure lower. Women doctors are more likely to use hormone-replacement therapy than their patients. Doctors are also less likely to have their own primary care physician—and more apt to abuse prescription drugs.
Clearly there’s room for improvement. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
June 23rd, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: ACP, American College Of Physicians, Annals Of Internal Medicine, Black Colleges and Universities, Dr. Wayne Riley, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Howard University, Medical Schools, Medical Students, Medical Training, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse College, New Medical Residents, NIH Support, Physician Recruitment, Primary Care Output Rankings, Primary Care Physicians, Primary Care Track Record, Private School, Public Schools, Research-Intensive Medical Schools, Social Mission Score, Technical Medicine, Underserved Communities, University of California-San Diego, University of Colorado, University of Minnesota, Unversity of Washington
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A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP’s flagship journal, finds that medical schools vary greatly in producing more primary care physicians and getting them into underserved communities.
– “Public schools graduate higher proportions of primary care physicians” than private schools.
– “The 3 historically black colleges and universities with medical schools (Morehouse College, Meharry Medical College, and Howard University) score at the top” in training primary care physicians who then go on to practice in underserved communities. (Click here for an interview with two recent graduates of historically black colleges and with Wayne Riley, MD, FACP, who is the president and CEO of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee and a regent of the American College of Physicians.)
– “The level of NIH support that medical schools received was inversely associated with their output of primary care physicians and physicians practicing in underserved areas.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
June 23rd, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Doctor-Patient Communication, Doctor-Patient Encounter, Encouraging Medical Students, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Internal Medicine, Less Is More In Medicine, Medicare Cut, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Primary Care, Too Much Medicine, Unnecessary Procedures
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He came in for his regular blood pressure and cholesterol check. On the review of systems sheet he circled “depression.”
“I see you circled depression,” I said after dealing with his routine problems. “What’s up?”
“I don’t think I am actually clinically depressed, but I’ve just been finding it harder to get going recently,” he responded. “I can force myself to do things, but I’ve never have had to force myself.”
“I noticed that you retired recently. Do you think that has something to do with your depression?” I asked.
“I’m not really sure. I don’t feel like it makes me depressed. I was definitely happy to stop going to work.”
I have taken care of him for many years, and know him to be a solid guy. “I have seen this in a lot in men who retire. They think it’s going to be good to rest, and it is for the first few months. But after a while, the novelty wears off and they feel directionless. They don’t want to spend the rest of their lives entertaining themselves or completing the ‘honey do’ list, but they don’t want to go back to work either.”
He looked up and me, “Yeah, I guess that sounds like me.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
June 23rd, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Clinical Experience, Compentent Care, Customer Service In Healthcare, Doctors of Medicine, Family Medicine, Future of American Healthcare, General Medicine, Gold Standard, Healthcare in America, Internal Medicine, M.D., Medical Boards, Medical Doctor, Medical School, Medical Training, NP, Nurse Practitioner, Patient Loads, Physician Education, Primary Care
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The future of American healthcare will not value physician education. Perhaps it’s time to abandon the medical school model and train millions of nurses instead at a fraction of the cost. This comment was left on my blog over at NP=MD:
I don’t even compare NPs and MDs. Their models differ. One is not better than the other. The schooling — minus the residency — is nearly equivalent in terms of time spent. The problem is that NPs don’t get a long enough residency. If you take a NP and a MD, both with 20 years clinical experience, the MD does not know more than the NP. Sure, he had a few extra classes 20 years ago — which he doesn’t remember — but that’s about it.
NPs aren’t trying to steal MDs’ meal tickets, they’re attempting to better serve patients. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
