April 6th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: #eNLM, America, American Dream, Economist, Economists, Generosity, Hard Work, healthcare, Healthcare reform, National Library of Medicine, Personalized Healthcare, Uwe Reinhardt
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I was invited to speak at the National Library of Medicine’s 2010 Annual Conference. Today I heard fellow speaker Uwe Reinhardt, Ph.D., discuss healthcare economics, and although his presentation was entertaining, as a physician I found it to be rather disturbing.
On the one hand I understand Reinhardt’s desire to engage Americans in a rational conversation about limited healthcare resources. My friend Dr. Rich Fogoros has been calling for this for many years. Yet, I was disappointed by his enthusiastic reductionism — that peoples’ lives should be reduced to a mere societal cost equation. He also said that, “When America grows up, it will look a lot more like Europe,” and cited a conversation with Dr. Phil Gingrey as an example of the congressman’s over-valuing human life. Read more »
April 6th, 2010 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Expert Interviews, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research, True Stories
Tags: 60 Minutes, Addiction Therapy, CBS, Chew, Cigarettes, Dissolvable Products, Documentary, Dr, Dr. Karl Fagerstrom, Dual Use, Dual User, General Medicine, Indiana University, Lung Cancer, Nicotine Addition, Nicotine Delivery, Pancreatic Cancer, Primary Care, Quit Smoking, Smokeless Tobacco, smoking cessation, Snus, Spit Tobacco, Spitless Tobacco, Stephen Jay, Sweden, Tobacco Companies, Use By Youth
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This week the respected CBS documentary news show “60 Minutes” included a feature on smokeless tobacco, focusing on the recent launch of snus in the United States. The show was relatively balanced in focusing on the main potential risks and benefits of snus.
It started by featuring a young man who enjoys using snus in places where he cannot smoke, while continuing with a pack-a-day smoking addiction. The interviewer gave him the bad news: “You are a dual user.”
It then had a segment with the widely respected Swedish nicotine addiction expert, Dr Karl Fagerstrom, who stated that snus is 90-99% less harmful than smoking (while admitting some risks, including of pancreatic cancer). Read more »
This post, Smokeless Tobacco And The U.S. Launch Of Snus, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
April 6th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion
Tags: Belching, Constipation, Diarrhea, Digestive Problems, ED, Embarrassing, Erectile Dysfunction, Gastroenterology, General Medicine, Health Problems, Hemorrhoids, Impotence, Incontinence, Medical Conditions, Obesity, Odor, Passing Gas, Primary Care, Sexual Problems, Shame, smell, Social Conditioning, Urology
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April is “Embarrassing Subject Month” for my podcast. I am covering the following problems:
- Hemorrhoids
- Digestive problems (constipation/diarrhea)
- Urinary incontinence
- “Male problems”
It should be fun, and it will be promoted on iTunes, so it should drum up more subscribers and downloads.
But it begs the question: Why are certain conditions embarrassing to people? Why can people open up to me about so many personal things, yet be embarrassed to discuss hemorrhoids? Why is it easier to talk about your marriage falling apart than your urinary “accidents?” Why is diarrhea more embarrassing than vomiting? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
April 5th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Ambulance, Bankrupt, Detox, Emergency Medicine, General Medicine, Health Insurance, Healthcare Reform Bill, Hospitals, medicaid, Poor, Poverty, Primary Care, Racist, Underfunded, Underinsured, uninsured
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We learn from the healthcare reform bill that the federal government will help subsidize Medicaid funding for all the new patients who qualify, but they will only do it for two years. After that, the states are on their own. Medicaid unfunded liabilities will crush state governments everywhere.
Why is Medicaid so expensive and going bankrupt? I’ll give you one example why. This is played out day after day, night after night in communities all across our country. And the only ones paying for it are you and me. The ones spending all the money have no incentive to stop.
I’m in the ER the other day when I see a chief complaint fly by on the radar. What is that chief complaint, you ask? Let me tell you a story.
Refused By Detox
The patient was so drunk even the community detox center refused him. So how did this play out? The patient was taken by ambulance from his home to a small-town community ER for altered mental status. There he was checked into the ER and seen by a small-town community ER physician, family practice resident, or PA or NP.
Diagnosis: Acute alcohol intoxication. Plan: Discharge to community detox center. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
April 5th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: General Medicine, Healthcare Consumer, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Reform Bill, High-Risk Pool, medicaid, Medicare, Pre-Existing Conditions, Primary Care, Private Insurance, Senior Drug Rebate, social security, Taxes, Timeline
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As the dust settles on the Great Healthcare Reform Bill of 2010 passage in Congress, it’s time to ask what we got for the effort. No matter what people thought of the bill before, like it or not, it’s here.
Still, few people really understand what the bill contains and when the benefits and costs for the measure will be incurred on a year-by-year basis. Given the bill’s complexity and tortuous path though Social Security and IRS tax codes, this really isn’t a surprise, I suppose.
So here’s my simplified broad-brush overview, broken down by year, culled from several sources as referenced. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
