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Saving Billions On End-Of-Life Care: Another Mirage?

January 18th, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion

Tags: Dartmouth, End Of Life Care, Oversimplification, Palliative Care, Practice Variation, Savings

“We can no longer afford an overall health care system in which the thought is more is always better, because it’s not.”  – Peter Orszag

Could anyone disagree? Not really.  Which ought to be the first clue that it’s a meaningless truism.  I mean, of course more isn’t always better.

But this hasn’t stopped this truism from becoming one of the most popular refrains in health care reform.  Most of the time this is directed at one area:  end-of-life care. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*

Who Will Be Held Accountable For Healthcare Reform?

January 18th, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion

Tags: Accountability, Buck Stop, Emergency Medicine, Healthcare reform

‘Let’s get us some of that REform!’

I must admit I’m a little weary of the entire debate on health-care reform.  But something still haunts me.  And that something is accountability.  Of course, over the almost twenty years that I have borne the title ‘MD,’ I’ve learned a few things about accountability.

I understand that, almost without fail, the buck stops with me.  The nursing home director knows the elderly lady wasn’t seriously hurt in that fall, but he sends her to the ER ‘just to check things out.’  That is, just to make sure that if a problem does crop up, someone else is accountable for finding it. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*

Reflections On Nursing Education

January 15th, 2010 by Emergiblog in Better Health Network, Opinion

Tags: ASN, Benefits of BSN, BSN, Controversy, Education, Emergency Medicine, Entry Level Degree, Nursing, Nursing Theory

The discussion regarding the entry level for nursing has been ongoing for decades. I have articles written in the 1940s extolling the virtues of the BSN long before the first ADN program opened in 1952.

Every now and then, someone broaches the topic of making the BSN the entry level and BAM! the flames that ensue make the health care reform debate look like Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.

Why the rancor?

Well, if one states that the BSN should be the entry level for a registered nurse, then it follows there must be a reason why an ADN should not.

That does not sit well with ADN graduates. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*

Twitter Recommendations For Doctors

January 15th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Opinion

Tags: Advice, Physicians, Privacy, Promotion, Social Media, Twitter

Thanks to Medscape for including my take in their recent article, “Is Twitter a “must” for doctors?”

I discuss some common sense tips doctors should follow while using Twitter:

1. Patient privacy is paramount. Do not discuss individual cases or provide patient advice via Twitter.
2. Use Twitter to point your patients to trustworthy online health information sources.
3. Use Twitter as a tool to promote your practice’s brand. More and more patients are using Twitter; those who do are likely to feel positive about their physicians using it as well. More than just a fad, Pho says that Twitter is here to stay and offers tremendous potential.
4. Remind your patients using Twitter: Be careful whom you follow. Anyone can sign up for Twitter claiming to be a physician. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*

Doctors Continue To Flee Primary Care: Pediatricians Go Part-Time

January 14th, 2010 by Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research

Tags: Fleeing, Non Traditional, Part-Time, Pediatrics, Primary Care, Work Force

The WSJ Blog posted recently that health care job postings are up and that the health care job market is “strong”.

According to the post, ”The business research group said that “advertised vacancies for healthcare practitioners or technical occupations outnumbered the unemployed looking for work in this field by almost 3 to 1,” citing November data.”

While it’s true that more job openings than job hunters is typically a good thing and indicates a robust job market, the WSJ Blog failed to recognize one important issue with the health care industry: in some areas of the health care sector, namely primary care, docs are leaving the field of medicine all together, and have been for at least a decade. So, it’s no wonder there are so many job openings…there’s no one around to fill them! Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*