March 3rd, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
Tags: 911, Emergency Medicine, Emergency Service, EMS, Fee, Obesity, Phone Call, Surcharge
1 Comment »
It turns out calling 911 isn’t free. Imagine that. 911 communications may actually cost you money. People who pay taxes aren’t the only ones who are fitting the bill anymore. In some places ambulances are charging fat surcharges for the extra equipment necessary for the ambulance ride? How much does an ambulance ride cost if you are morbidly obese? How does an extra $500 in addition to the base rate.
But even people who don’t require extra equipment will have to start paying extra for the right to make the call to 911 communications. How much extra? How much will calling 911 cost in Tracy, California? Well, if you want to pay a $48 per year fee, you can call 911 communications centers as many times as you want. But if you don’t want to pay the fee, how does $300 per call sound. If you’re having a stroke, calling 911 communications may just cost you your arm and your leg.
That’s right. $300 to call 911 communications for an emergency. Or perhaps the problem is too many people are calling for nonemergency reasons. If you can’t get the frequent abusers who show up at the hospital by ambulance for nonemergent problems to stop calling 911, maybe you can collect their $300 by garnishing their welfare and disability checks.
At some point, our country is going to have to stop excusing the actions of the economic tax abusers and start implementing personal responsibility with real consequences that hold folks accountable for their actions. I think charging a fee is an excellent deterant to unnecssary abuse of a system that is overwhelmed with nonurgent convenience care.
*This blog post was originally published at Happy Hospitalist*
March 2nd, 2010 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Medical Art, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Diabetes, Diabetes 365, ePatient, Photos
1 Comment »
There’s been a handful of photographers who have tackled the Diabetes 365 project for this year, and I’m proud to be in their company. It’s a very inspiring experience, to see how diabetes is reflected in the lives of the members of D365, and how it is captured through their camera lenses.
Some of us are using our DSLR cameras, some of us our point-and-shoots, some documenting with our iPhones or our Blackberries, but every last one of us is showing our lives with diabetes, every day. I know I’ve talked about this project before, but watching the photos stack up in the Diabetes 365 Flickr group and seeing how, and what, people with diabetes are choosing to document their lives with this disease is incredible.
You didn’t need to join the group in January – it’s a rotating door of participants. If you want to join the Diabetes 365 group, you can jump in anytime and start. Every day can be Day 1.
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
March 2nd, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Communications, Facebook, Internal Medicine, Social Media, Technology, Twitter
1 Comment »
I took care of a young lady the other day whom I admitted for diabetic ketoacidosis. She asked me what her bicarbonate level was. I was a bit surprised since most of the time my DKA patients’ don’t care what their bicarb levels are. I told her it was eight. For the non medical types out there, that’s low. That’s critically low.
I asked her why she wanted to know. And before she could even get the words out, she had posted a Tweet onto her Twitter acount to update all her friends and family of her impending hospital admission. I found that fascinating. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Happy Hospitalist*
March 1st, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: App, Cardiology, iPhone, Learning, Medicine, Physical Exam, Stethoscope, Technology
No Comments »
It’s out there. It makes a cool picture, but I wonder how many medical students realize how unimportant apps like this have become to today’s cardiovascular care. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to hear the difference between a systolic and diastolic murmur, or for the really talented, a diastolic rumble on physical exam. Recognizing the difference between mild and severe aortic stenosis is also very helpful. After all, the physical exam remains the most cost-effective instrument in medicine. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
March 1st, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Dysfunctional, Filibuster, Jim Bunning, Medicare, Senate
No Comments »
The Senate, which was supposed to pass an omnibus bill including an extension of uninsurance benefits, an extension of COBRA benefits, and (not incidentally) yet another temporary patch on the 21% cuts in Medicare physician reimbursement, failed to do so on Friday before it adjourned early for the weekend. At least that’s the top-line headline, and most people never read further than that when it comes to wonky policy/process articles like this.
The real reason that the bill is stalled (and that the cuts which are deadlined at 2/28 will go into effect) is, as they say, the Gentlman from Kentucky, Senator Jim Bunning. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
But even people who don’t require extra equipment will have to start paying extra for the right to make the call to 911 communications. How much extra? How much will calling 911 cost in Tracy, California? Well, if you want to pay a $48 per year fee, you can call 911 communications centers as many times as you want. But if you don’t want to pay the fee, how does $300 per call sound. If you’re having a stroke, calling 911 communications may just cost you your arm and your leg.
