April 14th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Annals of Emergency Medicine, Care Coordinators, Chronic Disease Management, Emergency Department, Emergency Medicine, Emergency Room Patients, Free Medical Care, Health Insurance, Healthcare reform, Internal Medicine, medicaid, Medicare, Nurses, Primary Care, Primary Care Physician, Uninsured Patients
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If you think the overcrowding in emergency rooms across the country is because of the uninsured, think again.
A new study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine reports that of patients who are frequent users (over 4 times a year) of emergency departments (ED), the uninsured represent only 15 percent of those frequent users.
Also, the frequent ED users were more likely than occasional users to have visited a primary care physician in the previous year.
They also found that most patients who frequently use the ED have health insurance and the majority of users (60 percent) were white. These findings contradict the widely held assumption that frequent users are minorities or illegal immigrants without insurance. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
April 14th, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research
Tags: 32 Million New Patients, 32 Million Newly Insured, American Academy of Family Physicians, Ancillary Physicians, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Family Doctor, Family Medicine Residency Programs, Family Physician, Health Insurance, Healthcare Reform Bill, Healthcare System, Internal Medicine, Internist, Lack of Primary Care, Medical Schools, Medical Specialty, Personal Physician, Primary Care Crisis, Primary Care Doctors, Primary Care Shortage, Specialists, Specialty Care, Universal Healthcare Coverage
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In a few years, every American will be required to have health insurance. As a result, the 32 million people currently uninsured will seek out a personal physician. This role typically is filled by a primary care doctor, like an internist or a family physician.
While passage of the healthcare reform bill affirmed the belief that having health insurance is a right rather than a privilege, the legislation falls short on building a healthcare system capable of absorbing the newly insured.
Universal healthcare coverage is not the same as providing universal access to medical care. Having an insurance card doesn’t guarantee that individuals can actually get care. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
April 14th, 2010 by JessicaBerthold in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Admitted, Annals Of Internal Medicine, Doctor-Doctor Relationship, FACP, Hospital Physician, Hospitalists, Howard Beckman, Inpatient Control, Jamie Newman, Lack of Communication, Outpatient Physician, Primary Care Doctors, Private Practice, Resident Services, Transitions of Care
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The following post is by Jamie Newman, FACP, editorial advisor of ACP Hospitalist:
I read the April 6 Annals of Internal Medicine with great interest. In it, many readers responded to Howard Beckman’s previously published essay on the relationship between hospitalists and primary care physicians. Many physicians bemoan their loss of inpatient control of patients, and perceived lack of communication.
I think back to my own private/university hybrid practice. When my patients were admitted to the resident services, I never heard a word. There was absolutely no communication. I would say that most hospitalists do a much better job of communicating with the outpatient physician then any resident team. It’s a double standard. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
April 14th, 2010 by SteveSimmonsMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Primary Care Wednesdays
Tags: DocTalker Family Medicine, Dr. Steve Simmons, Health Insurance Reform, Healthcare reform, Primary Care Wednesdays, Shortage of Primary Care Pracitioners
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This past Monday, I was drawn to an article in the Wall Street Journal: “Medical Schools Can’t Keep Up.” The article detailed the growing shortage of primary care doctors in our country and reminded me that we in the U.S. may have something called “insurance reform” now, but without physicians to translate insurance access into healthcare, the state of our healthcare system will continue to beg additional attention and reform.
Although new medical schools are opening and some schools have increased enrollment numbers, there are a limited number of residency positions in this country. The government has always funded these residency positions and our new reform law tries to address the primary care shortage with “slot redistribution,” whereby money from unused residency positions will be deferred to primary care or general surgery residency programs. Read more »
April 13th, 2010 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Americans for Medical Progress, Animal Research, Animal Rights Activists, Animal Testing, Animal Trials, Biology, Lab Rat, Lab Tests, Pro-Test For Science, Scientific Techniques, Scientists, Speaking of Research, Terrorism, UCLA, University of California-Los Angeles
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[On April 8th] at the University of California at Los Angeles, a rally [was] planned to raise awareness about the value of responsible animal research and to denounce acts of terrorism toward animal researchers and their families. The highlight of the “Pro-Test” rally [was] the presentation to legislators and the media a petition with nearly 12,000 signatures of scientists who support the use of animals in research.
The rally and the petition drive [was] a joint effort of Americans for Medical Progress, Pro-Test for Science, and Speaking of Research.
I stand together with my colleagues who conduct animal research in honor of their application of knowledge to advance biology and relieve human suffering, all while a growing movement of animal rights activists up the ante from protests to attacks on researchers, destruction of homes by arson, and even the vandalism of graves of researchers’ loved ones. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata*
If you think the overcrowding in emergency rooms across the country is because of the uninsured, think again.
