April 7th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: BCBS, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Cardiology, Children's Health Insurance, Congenital Heart Defect, Corporate Hall of Shame, Denied Care, Healthcare Coverage, Healthcare reform, Newborn, Pediatrics, Pre-existing Condition
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Thanks to reader “m.scott” for alerting me to the latest Corporate Hall of Shame award. Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Texas is the winner for it’s egregious denial of care for a 10-day-old baby who was born with a congenital heart defect. Coverage for surgery to treat transposition of the great arteries was denied for — are you ready for this — a “pre-existing condition.” The baby’s parents had previously purchased coverage for their two other children, but were denied coverage for their newborn baby.
Denial of care for children will not be allowed when the new healthcare reform laws go into effect. Until then, it’s business as usual for the likes of BCBS of Texas.
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
April 7th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Opinion, Primary Care Wednesdays, True Stories
Tags: Arrogance, Bad Doctors, Bad Patients, Compassion, Disconnectedness, Doctor-Patient Communication, Doctor-Patient Interest, Doctor-Patient Responsibility, Doctor's Office, Empathy, General Medicine, Genuine, Good Doctors, Good Patients, Human, Job, Listen, Mutual Respect, Primary Care, Privacy, Understanding, Value
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If there is a central theme to this blog, it is this: Medicine is a human thing.
On the Facebook page of my podcast, I recently asked for readers to tell me some of the “war stories” they have from the doctor’s office. What are some of the bad things doctors do wrong? I quickly followed this with the flip side, asking readers to comment on the best interactions that they’ve had with their doctors.
The response was overwhelming, and equally quick to both rant and rave. They told stories about doctors who didn’t listen, explain, or even talk with them. They told about arrogance and disconnectedness from the people from whom they were seeking help. They also told about doctors who took extra effort to listen and to reach out in communication. They talked about doctors who genuinely seemed to value them as humans. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
April 7th, 2010 by AlanDappenMD in Better Health Network, Opinion, Primary Care Wednesdays, True Stories
Tags: DocTalker Family Medicine, Dr. Alan Dappen, Primary Care, Primary Care Wednesdays, Telehealth, Telemedicine
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In my medical practice, I have a simple yet revolutionary idea: I get paid to answer the phone. Every one of my 3,000+ patients has my cell phone and email address so that they can reach me the instant they need help, which is no different than any of my friends or family who may be trying to reach me. Our practice motto: “Talk to your doctor anytime, anyway, anywhere.”
It’s not that I’m trying to not see you, or want to be impersonal or to practice risky healthcare. In fact, each of these common assumptions is pointedly wrong. By answering my phone, I can know my diagnosis and treatment worked (or not), or I can help someone avoid an ER visit or unnecessary office visit. My patients call me when they’re traveling, or at work, or from their car, at night and on weekends. There’ve been occasions that I need to see a patient NOW and I’ve come to the office a 2AM to keep someone out of an ER. No matter what, by picking up the phone to talk to my patients, I’m the first person in the healthcare system to know something is wrong, not the last.
Although good examples supporting the power of a doctor answering a phone occur daily, I have one I want to share with you. 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 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*
