August 3rd, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in News, Opinion
Tags: AMA, Bogus, Law, Lawsuits, Legal, Medical Malpractice, Research, Tort Reform
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I received this press release and was depressed by the prevalence of lawsuits filed against doctors in this country. More than 40% of physicians are sued at some point in their careers, and the vast majority of these suits are found to be meritless. If that doesn’t make you want to quit practicing medicine, I don’t know what does.
This kind of litigious climate definitely adds to my stress levels — and makes me fearful of caring for very sick and fragile patients who are likely to have poor outcomes, regardless of what I do. Many of my colleagues practice medicine with one eye always looking over their shoulder, wondering when that one bad apple will take them to court in an attempt at a financial windfall.
In Canada, those who bring frivolous lawsuits to court are responsible for all legal costs. Read more »
August 3rd, 2010 by Michael Sevilla, M.D. in Better Health Network, Interviews, News, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Emergency Medicine, Leigh Fazzina, Lifesaver, Social Media, Triathalon, Twitter
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Lots of people know about Twitter and what its many functions are. But Twitter as a lifesaver is probably something that you don’t hear about a lot. Leigh Fazzina was in a triathalon race last week in Connecticut when her bike crashed. Her cell phone could not make any voice calls. However, she did figure out that she could send out text:
3 Twitter accounts, SMS and MMS messages, BlackBerry Instant Message (BBM) and voice. I knew Twitter would get me an immediate response as my messages would be sent to the 1,000 or so people in my network. I also knew that my Twitter network being comprised of mostly healthcare communications/public relations colleagues would take me seriously…Remember, it was getting dark and I needed help immediately…
One of her many followers was @DrJonathan on Twitter and he describes in the video interview above from Doctor Anonymous Show 175, what he and a lot of her other followers did — they called the local authorities to let them know their friend was hurt and could not make a voice call. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*
August 3rd, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Bioengineering, CGM, Continuous Glucose Monitor, David Gough, Diabetes, Endocrinology, External Receiver, Implanted Tissue Glucose Sensor, Intranasal Insulin Administration, Science Translational Medicine, Transdermal Insulin Delivery, University of California-San Diego, Wireless Telemetry
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Researchers led by bioengineering professor David Gough at the University of California-San Diego have reported, in a paper in Science Translational Medicine, that they implanted a wireless telemetry continuous glucose monitor (CGM) in two pigs (222 and 520 days, respectively) and the device was successfully reporting glucose levels to an external receiver.
Following human testing and FDA approval, devices such as these could replace similar systems that are external to the body with a needle attachment that pierces the skin to take measures. Combined with potential transdermal or intranasal insulin administration, this technology could lead to less sticking and poking of people with diabetes. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
August 2nd, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: ACP Internist, AHA, American College Of Physicians, American Hospital Association, Case Managers, Center For Connected Health, Electronic Medical Record, EMR, General Medicine, Human Touch, Medical Technology, Most Wired Hospitals, Preventive Health, remote monitoring, Telemedicine, Vital Signs, Wall Street Journal, Wireless Connections
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Monitoring vital signs remotely saves time and money for everyone: patients, physicians, facilities and insurers. Heart failure is a particular target because its increasingly common, its easily triggered (by as little as too much salt on food, for example), it costs so much to manage in the hospital, and it’s so easily avoided.
Remote monitoring equipment made even easier with wireless connections can take vital signs, and even ask standard questions every morning. The equipment puts patients in contact with nurses once they detect warning signs. That human touch is key. Case managers can screen out false alarms (avoiding alert fatigue) and can direct patients to the physician when needed. ACP Internist covered remote monitoring technology in its March issue. (Wall Street Journal, ACP Internist) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
August 2nd, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Avoiding Preventive Screenings, Becoming Sicker, Center for Studying Health System Change, Consumer-Driven Healthcare, Cut Back on Doctor Visits, Cutting Corners on Healthcare, CVS, Decreasing Reimbursement for Doctors, Die Sooner, Family Medicine, Fewer Doctor Office Visits, Fixing American Healthcare, General Medicine, Health of Americans, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare reform, Higher Copays, Higher Deductibles, Internal Medicine, Lab Testing, Leaving Primary Care, Less-Aggressive Consumer of Healthcare, Less-Healthy Workforce, Maintenance Medications, More Preventable Health Complications, Not Becoming Healthier, Patient Behavior, Patients Saving Money, Paul Ginsburg, Physician Burnout, Primary Care Crisis, Single-Payer Government-Run System, Skimping On Care, The Perfect Storm of a Worsening Healthcare System, US Healthcare, Wall Street Journal, Work-Life Balance, Worse Quality of Life
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The Wall Street Journal reported that overall medical use fell as patients had fewer doctor office visits, lab testing, and maintenance medications possibly due to the recession or as a result of consumer-driven healthcare in the way of higher deductibles and copays. This is very worrisome.
Certainly patients should have some financial responsibility for their care, but skimping on care will only result in Americans not becoming healthier, but sicker. Though the article cited some examples of patients saving money by not seeing their allergist for a refill of medication and simply calling for one and getting an athletic physical at a local urgent care clinic for $40 rather than $90 at the doctor’s office, these tiny behavior changes aren’t going to bend the cost curve in medical care. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
I received this press release and was depressed by the prevalence of lawsuits filed against doctors in this country. More than 40% of physicians are sued at some point in their careers, and the vast majority of these suits are found to be meritless. If that doesn’t make you want to quit practicing medicine, I don’t know what does.
