October 12th, 2009 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Cardiology, Finance, Funding, healthcare, Healthcare reform, Monetary, Musical Chairs, Seniors, Specialists, WSJ
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From “War on Specialists” in the Wall Street Journal:
Take a provision in the Baucus bill that would punish any physician whose “resource use” is considered too high. Beginning in 2015, Medicare would rank doctors against their peers based on how much they cost the program—and then automatically cut all payments by 5% to anyone who falls into the 90th percentile or above. In practice, this rule will only apply to specialists. , Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
October 12th, 2009 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
Tags: Ban, Drug Company, Gifts, Pharmaceuticals, Physicians, Regulations, Schering-Plough
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And that includes food of any kind, which makes for some awkward moments at national physician conventions.
So, during this week’s ACEP Scientific Assembly in Boston, WhiteCoat snapped a picture of this notice, which borders on farcical:

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*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
October 12th, 2009 by GruntDoc in Better Health Network, News
Tags: 911, Ambulance Service, Costs, Emergency Medicine, EMS, Finance, Frequent Fliers, Healthcare reform, MedStar
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EMS/ED frequent fliers are both a bane and (supposedly) another cost of doing business for EMS systems. Maybe not.
My city of Fort Worth is trying to do something about it, proactively and correctly (emphasis mine):
MedStar program sends paramedic to homes of some repeat callers before they dial 911 | Fort Wor…
FORT WORTH — Last year, MedStar was called more than 800 times by 21 people.
Those “frequent fliers” weren’t necessarily facing life-threatening emergencies. Some may have needed primary care but didn’t have a regular doctor or transportation. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*
October 11th, 2009 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News
Tags: Parenting, Pediatrics, Psychology, Suicide, t-shirts, talk to me, teens
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I wish every teenager in America would wear a t-shirt that says “Talk to Me.” In fact, I wish the t-shirts would say “talk to me, touch me, connect with me, help me change our world!”
After three recent teens suicides, two teens at a local high school have started selling t-shirts that say “talk to me,” and I am just thrilled because these teens found a way to tell the adults around them that they need more communication! They need adults to talk with them, touch them, connect with them, and spend time with them! Every teen needs that connection, but when stressed, vulnerable and traumatized, they need it even more!
My heart is with this community and I hope these t-shirts become the school uniform!
Photo from lumaxart
This post, Teens Respond To Suicide Crisis: Talk To Me! T-shirts, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..