September 28th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Costs, Defensive Medicine, Finance, Hospitalist, Medical Malpractice, Physicians, Risk
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I have blogged extensively about why standard of care is an irresponsible measure of the threshold for determining negligence in medical care. Most recently, I blogged about it
here and
here. Imagine for a moment what capitalism would be like if your investment adviser was sued every time your investment value went down. Imagine what life would be like if they risked civil liability every time a bad outcome occurred. What if no laws were broken? What if an after the fact determination of negligence was based on a bad outcome?
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*This blog post was originally published at A Happy Hospitalist*
September 28th, 2009 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Costs, Defensive Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Fear, Featured, Finance, Healthcare reform, Law Suit, Medical Malpractice, Medmal, MI
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A thoughtful and (dare I say it) balanced look at medical malpractice in today’s NYT:
Malpractice System Breeds More Waste in Medicine – NYTimes.com
The debate over medical malpractice can often seem theological. On one side are those conservatives and doctors who have no doubt that frivolous lawsuits and Democratic politicians beholden to trial lawyers are the reasons American health care is so expensive. On the other side are those liberals who see malpractice reform as another Republican conspiracy to shift attention from the real problem. […]
The direct costs of malpractice lawsuits — jury awards, settlements and the like — are such a minuscule part of health spending that they barely merit discussion, economists say. But that doesn’t mean the malpractice system is working.
The fear of lawsuits among doctors does seem to lead to a noticeable amount of wasteful treatment. Amitabh Chandra — a Harvard economist whose research is cited by both the American Medical Association and the trial lawyers’ association — says $60 billion a year, or about 3 percent of overall medical spending, is a reasonable upper-end estimate. If a new policy could eliminate close to that much waste without causing other problems, it would be a no-brainer.
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*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
September 28th, 2009 by Berci in Better Health Network, News
Tags: Answers, Ask, AskCH, healthcare, Idea, Questions, Technology, Twitter
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Obviously not, but it can provide us with some new solutions. That’s why I wanted to share askCH, an interesting project.
AskCH is a one-of-a-kind healthcare tool. Send a healthcare cost or definition question in the proper format, and receive the answer with a link to find detailed information!
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*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
September 28th, 2009 by DrRich in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Civil Rights, Democrats, healthcare, Healthcare Is A Right, Natural Rights, Obama, Republicans
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Is healthcare a right?
DrRich has visited this question before, but it keeps being raised by readers of this blog, some of whom have decidedly settled views on the matter (either to the affirmative or to the negative), and who angrily accuse DrRich of having the wrong view (that is, either to the affirmative or to the negative). DrRich is sorry to have confused so many people regarding his stance on this important question.
So, is healthcare a right? Well, to paraphrase the last president who was widely held to be a paragon of nuanced speech (who, Lincolnesque, once noted that the truth of some assertion or other “depends on what the meaning of is is”), it depends on which meaning of “right” is right.
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*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
September 27th, 2009 by Kenneth Trofatter, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
Tags: Conception, Is it safe, Metformin, Obstetrics And Gynecology, PCOS, Pre-Conception, Pregnancy, Safe
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The following recent query requested my opinion regarding the safety of metformin during the periconceptual period and throughout pregnancy. Although there are not many large or comprehensive studies addressing these concerns, the bulk of the data available to us is encouraging…
Dr. T,
Quick opinion if you don’t mind. As you may recall, I miscarried on 9/12. I have since seen my PCP for a regular check-up. He prescribed me Metformin….he believes based on my history, weight, blood work and family history, my body may have issues with the breakdown of sugars (i.e., type 2 diabetes but I’m not diagnosed with that). He said that it also may have some positive side effects for me including weight loss and assistance in helping me to conceive (although that doesn’t appear to be a problem since I WAS able to get pregnant even though I miscarried). He says it is completely safe.
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This post, Is It Safe To Use Metformin During Conception and Pregnancy?, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Kenneth Trofatter, M.D., Ph.D..
