April 28th, 2010 by StaceyButterfield in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Becoming A Doctor, Becoming An American, Cultural Differences, Family Medicine, Garrison Keillor, General Medicine, IMGs, Internal Medicine, International Medical Graduates, Lake Wobegon, Medical Students, National Public Radio, NPR, Primary Care, U.S. Medical Practice, Vijay Rajput FACP
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I [recently] attended a fascinating session offering advice to international medical graduates (IMGs) on how to fit in and succeed in U.S. medical practice. Here’s a slightly-silly example of the kind of cultural differences that can cause confusion for IMGs:
Speaker Vijay Rajput, FACP, started to make a point using the good-old analogy of Lake Wobegon. Then he paused and asked how many attendees knew about Lake Wobegon. Only two raised their hands.
“That’s the problem right there,” he said, only half-jokingly. “You need to be listening to NPR!”
Clearly it takes a lot to become an American and a doctor at the same time.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
April 28th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
Tags: Doctor-Patient Communication, Doctors Who Stand, Exam Room Etiquette, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Office Visit, Patient Satisfaction, Patient Understanding, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Physicians Who Sit, Primary Care, Seated Doctors, Sitting Down
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Patient satisfaction, as I wrote about previously, is being increasingly focused upon.
Doctors are often pressed for time, and appear rushed — which can potentially lead to unhappy patients.
I saw this small study showing that the simple act of sitting down while talking to patients can have a profound effect. Many doctors I know already do this, but now there’s some data to support sitting. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
April 28th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Academic Specialists, Dr. Joseph Biundo, Dr. Kevin Pho, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Health System, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare reform, Hospitals, Insurance Companies, Internal Medicine, Large Hospital System, New York Times, PCP, Primary Care Doctors, Primary Care Physician, Private Practice Medicine, Private Primary Care, Rheumatology, Solo Practitioner
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A recent post on Kevin MD by Joseph Biundo, a rheumatologist, challenged my assertion that primary care doctors can save money:
(In reference to my claim…) That may be true in theory, but I see patients in my rheumatology office every day who have been “worked up” by primary care physicians and come in with piles of lab tests and X-ray and MRI reports, but are diagnosed in my office by a simple history and physical exam.
Prior to that, an article in the New York Times along with a post by Kevin Pho noted the fact that more solo practitioners are leaving private practice and joining hospital systems. Why are they doing this? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
April 28th, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Board-Certified Doctors, Colon Cancer Screening Test, Colonoscopy, Colorectal Cancer, Colorectal Health, Fecal Occult Blood Testing, FOBT, Gastrointestional Medicine, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Crisis, Healthcare reform, Home Stool Testing, In-Office Stool Testing, Inadequate Healthcare, Journal of General Internal Medicine, Preventive Medicine, Primary Care Doctors, Sigmoidoscopy, Solo Practice, Sub-Standard Care
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A recent article found that primary care doctors the United States are providing sub-standard care when it comes to colon cancer screening.
In the Journal of General Internal Medicine, researchers found that 25% of primary care doctors used in-office stool testing to screen for colon cancer. Specifically, doctors do a rectal exam and then swipe the rectal contents off their gloves onto a stool-testing card. A positive test result indicates the presence of blood, which can be invisible to the naked eye. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
April 28th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Access to Healthcare, Association of Staff Physician Recruiters, Decision-Making Ability, Defensive Medicine, Doctor Satisfaction, Doctor-Patient Communication, Family Medicine, Healthcare Economics, In-House Recruitment Benchmarking Survey, Internal Medicine, Jackson Healthcare, Medical Group Management Association, Non-Metropolitan, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Physician Opinion Survey, Primary Care Shortage, Primary Care Workers, Working Environment
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Two new surveys take the temperature of the primary care working environment.
In the first, a collaboration between the Medical Group Management Association and the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters, recruiters took a median of six months to fill positions for internal medicine or family practice physicians, according to the In-House Recruitment Benchmarking Survey: 2010 Report Based on 2008 Data.
Among the findings:
— It cost less to recruit specialists, due to the economic downturn and a 30% rise in the use of Internet job boards as a primary recruitment method.
— It takes longer to fill a position in non-metropolitan areas, where the impact of the primary care shortage is greatest. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
