June 14th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion
Tags: Annals Of Internal Medicine, AP, Archives of Internal Medicine, Associated Press, Clinical Guidelines, Cost-Conscious Care, Critical Thinking, Doctor's Recommendations, Evidence Based Medicine, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Health News, High-Value Care, Informed Decisions, Informed Healthcare Consumer, mainstream media, Medical Journals, Medical News, Primary Care, Responsible Reporting, Unnecessary Medical Tests, Unnecessary Medical Treatment
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Just when I’ve lost hope that mainstream media will stop perpetuating the myth the more medicine equals better care, the Associated Press came up with this excellent piece. The article states, rightly, that “anywhere from one-fifth to nearly one-third of the tests and treatments we get are estimated to be unnecessary,” and that, “it may lead to dangerous side effects.”
Regular readers of this blog should be familiar with those concepts. I wrote recently that patients often reject evidence-based medicine. One reason is that there aren’t enough clinical guidelines available for patients to make an informed decision. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
June 14th, 2010 by Shadowfax in Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: ACEP, American College of Emergency Physicians, Cognitive Services, Democrats, Doctor Fix, EM, Emergency Medicine, GDP, Gross Disparity, MPFS, Physician Payments, Physician Reimbursement, Physician Services, Preventive Care, Primary Care, Procedural Services, Proposed SGR Fix, RUC
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This is something I haven’t seen reported on elsewhere, but according to the ACEP 911 Legislative Network Weekly Update, there was an interesting twist in the Democrats’ proposed SGR fix:
The latest plan increases physician payments by 1.3% for the remainder of this year and by an additional 1% in 2011. In 2012 and 2013, physician services would be separated into two categories, or “buckets.” One bucket would be for E&M services (including emergency department, primary and preventive care) and the other group would include all other services. The E&M bucket would increase at the same rate as the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) plus 2%, while the other group would receive a payment increase of GDP plus 1%.After 2013, the payment formula would revert back to the current SGR formula, which means physicians would face cuts in the range of 30-35% unless Congress intervenes.
So it’s another temporary fix, kicking the can past the next presidential election. But it’s the first one I have seen that attempts to address the gross disparity in reimbursement for procedural services compared to the cognitive services. It bypasses the RUC and almost every other existing mechanism for determining reimbursement under the MPFS.
I’m not sure what happened with this proposal. I don’t think it was in the version of legislation the House passed, so I think it might be dead. But the situation is so in flux that who really knows? If nothing else, it’s an encouraging sign that policymakers know the problem exists and are willing to throw out possible solutions. This one may be dead, but it’s a good start.
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
June 14th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: American Society of Clinical Oncology, Bad Health News Stories, Gary Schwitzer, HealthNewsReview.org, Manipulation of the Media, Medical Conferences, Medical Conventions, Medical News, Ron Winslow, Wall Street Journal
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In recent days, news readers/viewers/listeners have been bombarded with news from the big American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago. But how does some of this stuff become news? Read an excellent post by an excellent reporter, Ron Winslow of the Wall Street Journal, to see some of the crazy, ugly sausage-making that goes on in the manipulation of the media. In the example Winslow raises, what may be packaged as news really isn’t “new” — which is often the case.
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
June 13th, 2010 by Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D. in Audio, Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion
Tags: Family Medicine, General Medicine, Guiding Kids On The Web, Internet Safety, Little Kids Online, Parenting, Pediatrics, Primary Care
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When should small kids get online? Is there a magic age? Is there a “best” way to start? What websites should small kids begin their online life with? And, most importantly, is it safe for small kids to be online?
Tune in as Dr. Gwenn talks about helping your youngest kids begin their online safely and smartly with you there as their earliest online guides. Listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio here.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*
June 13th, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: 10-50, Accidential Death, Compassion, Coroner, Dead On Arrival, Dead Person, Death Of Strangers, DOA, ED, Emergency Department, Emergency Medicine, Emergency Room, EMS, EMT, ER, General Medicine, Loss, Motor Vehicle Accident, Mourning, Paramedics, Patient Dies, Signal Nine, Sudden Death, Tragedy, Trauma Patients, Victim Dead At The Scene
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I was about to leave work a few nights ago when EMS was dispatched to a 10-50, which is a motor vehicle accident.
Enough years in emergency care and that tone makes your radar, but doesn’t create much of a blip. Many of those crashes have EMS arrive, only to discover no injuries. Some have patients transported, with minor problems that lead to their speedy evaluation and discharge from our ER. A few have serious, life-threatening injuries. They take all our speed, skill and attention to save life and limb. And often, require transfer to other facilities.
But this last call was none of those. Around 1AM the radio traffic crackled back to dispatch (which we could hear in the emergency department): “Probable Signal Nine.” Signal Nine means the victim is dead at the scene. Not “Dead On Arrival” (DOA) at the hospital, but no hospital necessary.
I knew the paramedics were finished when they asked dispatch to call for the coroner. And my heart sank a little. For all that a multi-trauma is work, I’d rather do it anytime than have someone die, and someone learn of the death. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
