June 21st, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: American Cancer Society, Dr. Otis Brawley, Evidence-Based Medicine Evaded, Family Medicine, Gary Schwitzer, General Medicine, HealthNewsReview.org, Internal Medicine, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mass Screening, Medical Evidence, Medical Evidence Ignored, Men's Health, New York Daily News, Non-Evidence-Based, NY Daily News, Oncology, Preventive Health, Preventive Medicine, Preventive Screening, Primary Care, Prostate Cancer Prevention, Prostate Health, PSA Screening, PSA Testing, Science-Based Evidence, Urology
No Comments »
Headlines every day in the New York Daily News are luring men in as part of a mass prostate cancer screening campaign that the American Cancer Society not only does not endorse, but its chief medical officer recommends against. Yet the paper brags that it’s beginning its second decade of this non-evidence-based campaign. Sample headlines:
• Doctors urge New York men to take advantage of free, city-wide PSA testing
• What you don’t know can kill you. Get a FREE prostate cancer test. It can save your life
• Bring dad in for FREE prostate cancer test across the city on Father’s Day
and
• Don’t skip the PSA test! My prostate cancer is treatable because simple test caught it early (written by a Daily News staffer). Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
June 21st, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: AMA, American Medical Association, Bad News For Seniors, Bankruptcy, Doc Fix, Flight of Physicians, General Medicine, Government Control, Harry Reid, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare Legislation, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Politics, Healthcare reform, Medicare Claims, Medicare Patients, Medicare Reimbursement, Medicare SGR Cut, New York Times, No Republican Support, Organized Medicine, Physician Reimbursement Cut, Senator Lieberman, The Doctor Is Out, U.S. Senate
No Comments »
In a last-minute shocker, the Senate voted Thursday against postponing a scheduled 21-percent cut in Medicare reimbursement to physicians and other healthcare providers. Sixty senators were needed to end filibuster debate and stop the cuts under Senate rules. Fifty six voted in favor, while 40 opposed. There was no Republican support. (And, of course, no support from Senator Lieberman, who is a Republican in disguise.)
Another consequence of the vote is that tens of thousands of Americans who have exhausted their jobless benefits would not be eligible for more. In addition, new taxes on wealthy investment managers would not be imposed, along with an increase in liability taxes on oil companies, leading Democrats to contend that Republicans were protecting Wall Street and the oil industry, according to the New York Times.
“We’re not going to give up,” said Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader. “We know the American people only have us to depend on.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
June 21st, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, News, Opinion
Tags: AMA, American Medical Association, Beastie Boys, Bee Gees, Doc Fix, Fiddling While Rome Burns, General Medicine, Harry Reid, Havoc In America, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare Humor, Healthcare Legislation, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Politics, Healthcare reform, Medicare SGR Cut, Music To Doctors' Ears, Physician Reimbursement Cut, Senate Finance Committee, Thompson Twins, U.S. Congress
No Comments »
Leading members of the Senate Finance Committee came to an agreement Thursday night on a six-month “doc fix,” paving the way for physicians to be reimbursed a little more for seeing Medicare patients instead of a lot less. (This is now separate from the rest of the legislative package it had been part of, which is still under debate.)
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid warned that without passage, there’d be “havoc in America.” But the American Medical Association (AMA) continued its attack on anything less than a permanent solution. The AMA compared it to fiddling while Rome burns. What tune are members of Congress playing?
A) Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees
B) Doctor, Doctor! by the Thompson Twins
C) Time to Get Ill by the Beastie Boys
(The Hill, Politico, American Medical Association)
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
June 21st, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion
Tags: Dr. Katherine Chretian, Dual Relationship, Facebook, Family Medicine, Friending, General Medicine, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, HIPAA Violation, Interacting With Patients Online, Internal Medicine, NEJM, New England Journal of Medicine, Online Health Conversations, Online Healthcare, Patient Privacy, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Personal Networking, Physician Social Network, Primary Care, Professional Boundaries, Professional Judgment, Professional Networking, Public Platform, Social Networking, Socialized Medicine, Unethical, USA Today
No Comments »
Should you friend your doctor on Facebook? It’s a question that’s gaining increasing relevance as Facebook increases its social networking dominance. I’ve touched upon the issue in the past. So has the New England Journal of Medicine.
Washington, DC, physician Katherine Chretian gives her take on the issue in a recent USA Today op-ed. She is an expert of the Facebook-medicine intersection, having authored a JAMA study on the issue.
She says, no, doctors should not be friending their patients:
Having a so-called dual relationship with a patient — that is, a financial, social or professional relationship in addition to the therapeutic relationship — can lead to serious ethical issues and potentially impair professional judgment. We need professional boundaries to do our job well.
Furthermore, there’s the little matter of patient privacy and HIPAA. I wasn’t aware of this, but simply becoming Facebook friends with patients can infringe upon uncertain ground. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
June 21st, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Doc Fix, General Medicine, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare Legislation, Healthcare Politics, Healthcare reform, Medicare Cut, U.S. Senate
1 Comment »
The Senate has rejected the so-called “doc fix.” This means that doctors taking Medicare patients will now get 21 percent less pay for their work.
How’s that getting involved in politics working out for you guys? Not so good.
But there’s a larger issue here. Why do we keep trying to control healthcare costs by just mandating that less money be spent?
It’s failed for decades. But like a losing gambler convinced that if he just keeps doubling down he’ll finally come out ahead, people keep trying. For example, the New York Times reported on a study of the impact of pay cuts to doctors for Medicare patients with lung cancer. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
