June 30th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: ACP, American College Of Physicians, Annals Of Internal Medicine, Best Medical School List, Bob Doherty, Commitment To Primary Care, Family Medicine, Fixing Primary Care, General Medicine, Grant Money, Health Reform, Lack of Primary Care, Medical School Rankings, More Primary Care Doctors, Politicians, Primary Care Physicians, Primary Care Shortage, Primary Care Track Record, Primary Care Training Programs, Shifting Funds, Social Mission Score, U.S. News, Underserved Populations, Worforce Diversity
No Comments »

Medical schools are traditionally ranked on criteria like research funding and technological innovation. These rankings are highly significant. A place on the U.S. News‘ annual “Best Medical School” list is a coveted spot indeed.
So that’s why there was some media attention paid to a recent study from the Annals of Internal Medicine, which ranked medical schools according to their “social mission” — a phrase that defines a school’s commitment to primary care, underserved populations and workforce diversity. Using this new criterion, some of the traditionally high ranking schools fell significantly. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
June 29th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Age-Related Testosterone Deficiency, Aging Men, Andropause, Bad Health News Stories, ED, Elderly Men, Erectile Dysfunction, Gary Schwitzer, German Media Coverage, Health Journalism, Health News Headlines, Health Reporting, HealthNewsReview.org, Hypogonadism, Injudicious Use, Knight Science Journalism Tracker, Liz Scherer, Low T, Low Testosterone, Male Menopause, Media Misinterpretation, Men's Health, New England Journal of Medicine, Older Men, Overdiagnosed, Overhyped, Overtreatment, Psychological Health, Reproductive Endocrinology, Sexual Health, Testosterone Therapy, Unnecessary Treatment
No Comments »

An article on the Knight Science Journalism Tracker comments on German media coverage of the “Is there male menopause?” question. An excerpt:
One study, but very different types of headlines: “‘Male Menopause’ discovered” and “Men have no Menopause.” Both types of headlines are based on one study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which analyzed 3219 European males between 40 and 79. Blood samples provided testosterone levels and questionnaires (!) asked about the “general, sexual, physical, and psychological health.”
What the scientists found was nothing more and nothing less than a correlation between a low testosterone level and three clinical symptoms (“decreased frequency of morning erection, decreased frequency of sexual thoughts, and erectile dysfunction”). So, one could call it an age-related testosterone deficiency, affecting only a minority (about 2%) of elderly men.
But one shouldn’t name it “andropause” or “male menopause” — and the scientists themselves did NOT use the term in the whole article — because this term immediately suggests a relation to menopause, which is a completely different and natural developmental phenomenon for every woman above the age of 50. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
June 29th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: 3-For-1 Doctor Swap, Augusta Health, Cardiologists, Cardiology, Community-Based Program, Complicated Surgical Cases, Doctors Under Contract, Exporting Clinical Expertise, Finding A Doctor, Fishersville, Health System Consolidation, Imbedded Specialists, Loss Of Hospital Privileges, Physician-Employees, University Health System, University Hospitals, University of Virginia, University Specialists
No Comments »

As doctors increasingly become physician-employees, there’s no longer a need to share resources with university specialists:
Three University of Virginia cardiologists have been told by the Augusta Health board they will lose their hospital privileges next week, impacting the 2,500 patients the doctors serve.
Augusta Health officials [Crow] told the doctors in a letter that they won’t be able to treat their patients in emergencies or otherwise at the hospital in Fishersville. Crow’s statement said the board is limiting cardiology department participation to doctors “under contract to Augusta Health.”
Augusta Health has four cardiologists on staff, and will soon have a fifth, he said. Limiting cardiology participation to the hospital’s own doctors will allow Augusta Health “to build a strong and financially viable community-based cardiology program,” Crow said.
Universities have a long history of exporting their clinical expertise in the hopes of capturing more complicated surgical cases from their imbedded specialists. With more and more health systems consolidating (note the 3-for-1 swap above), the days of collaboration and shared resources between health systems are ending and patients are finding access to doctors more challenging.
-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
June 28th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Research
Tags: Deloitte Center For Health Solutions Study, Family Medicine, Federal Subsidies, General Medicine, Government-Funded Care, Harry Reid, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Politics, Healthcare reform, Internal Medicine, Kaiser Commission On Medicaid And THe Uninsured, Long Term Care, Low-Income Patients, medicaid, Poor Patients, Primary Care, Public Health System, Stalled Legislation, State Budgets, U.S. Senators, Underinsured, Uninsured Patients, Unsustainable, Urban Institute
No Comments »

New reports peg Medicaid’s future as dismal and unsustainable, as states struggle for ways to pay for the rising costs of caring for their poorest residents. The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions study, “Medicaid Long-Term Care: The Ticking Time Bomb,” estimates Medicaid costs will nearly double as a percentage of state budgets by 2030, or perhaps nearly triple.
Meanwhile, the Urban Institute for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured estimates Medicaid expansion will cost $464.7 billion by 2019. The federal government will cover $443.5 billion (95.4 percent) and the states will cover the remaining $21.2 billion. Minnesota won’t expand its Medicaid program until 2014 because of budget fears. Connecticut will. (The Fiscal Times, MedPage Today, Reuters, U.S. House Rep. John B. Larson)
U.S. Senators, meanwhile, are looking to phase out federal subsidies Medicaid as a way of pushing through stalled legislation — the same package that had included the “doc fix.” Speaking of that, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate may soon turn its attention away from that toward other issues. (Wall Street Journal, The Hill, ABC News)
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
June 27th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Medical Art, News, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: Illegal Organ Trafficking, Lack of Organ Donors, Organ Harvesting, Organ Transplantation, Patients Waiting For a Transplant
No Comments »

I don’t plan to sell my organs on eBay, but as organ transplantation, lack of donors, and illegal organ trafficking gets more and more serious, this infographic comes just in time. It provides some interesting answers to questions like, “How much does a liver cost in South Korea?” and “How many patients are waiting for transplants?” Click on the image for the original larger version:

*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*