August 25th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
Tags: Pediatrics, Surgery
1 Comment »
As with any profession, surgery has its share of both wonderful surgeons, and not so wonderful ones. I thought I’d share an example of each that I found in my blog reading:
A Bad Surgeon
An on-call oral surgeon comes in to see a patient with Ludwig’s Angina – a serious dental infection that spreads under the jaw and can cause loss of the airway, and upon seeing that the patient is “self pay”, says we should transfer him since he is “penniless” and could never afford to follow up with him in the office! When told by the ER doc that he cannot transfer a patient for that reason, he then turfs the case to ENT – who is understandably disgusted as well, but agrees to see the patient. By the time this happens 6 hours later, his infection has worsened and he has to go the ICU, get intubated and trached due to loss of his airway. FINALLY at this point the oral surgeon takes him to the OR – he is still trached and in the ICU three weeks later – this might have been avoided if he were operated on sooner.
A Good Surgeon
We were on vacation and noticed a suspicious red swelling on my son’s leg. We made an appointment at a local pediatric care center, and the physician assistant determined it was an abscess that needed to be drained by a surgeon. The PA was very calm and reassuring, and quickly made an appointment for us with a local surgeon. We drove over to the surgeon’s office, and everyone there, from the receptionist to the nurse to the surgeon himself, was friendly and supportive. My son was extremely nervous about the prospect of having both shots and surgery, and the staff, especially the surgeon, did a great job calming him down. After it was all over, my son even commented that the surgeon was so nice, almost like a grandfather, and that he liked how he explained everything to him before he did it.
I myself have received care from both good surgeons and not-so-good ones. All I can say is that a physician’s character really does make a difference in the kind of care you’re likely to receive. When seeking a good surgeon, ask a physician whom you trust to make a recommendation. Birds of a feather flock together in healthcare and in life.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 22nd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
Tags: News
3 Comments »
Last night’s blog talk radio show with Dr. Anonymous was outstanding. Dr. Ramona Bates was the guest of the evening, and I called in (around the 30 minute mark) to discuss subjects ranging from how a surgeon saved my life, to medical boards, to my cat’s “security quilt” – created by Ramona.
Towards the end of the show we had a radiologist from India (Scanman), a surgeon from South Africa (Bongi), a family physician from California (Theresa Chan), a LDS pre-med (Mary) and a medical student from Texas (Enrico) all call in to praise Ramona’s blog.
Blogging can really unite people from all corners of healthcare in new and exciting ways.
Listen to the show here.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 22nd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
Tags: Medicare, News, Technology
1 Comment »
My friend and fellow blogger Dr. Kevin Pho just published an op-ed in USA Today explaining why cutting physician salaries will not reduce healthcare spending. Here is an excerpt:
The number of physicians who do not accept new Medicare patients is dramatic; in states like Texas, this number can exceed 40%. No wonder, as Medicare pays less than half of doctors’ fees. This scenario comes as a record number of Boomers approach Medicare age.
Those without Medicare are not spared the consequences. Seniors sometimes delay their care, leading to expensive treatment in the emergency department. Doctors who lose money seeing Medicare patients could pass on the costs to the privately insured.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are more significant drivers of health costs, including new prescription drugs, technology and administrative needs. Princeton economist Uwe Reinhardt estimates that physicians’ take-home pay represents roughly 10% of national health care spending. Cutting physician pay by 20% would only reduce spending by 2%.
I’ve also blogged about the plight of primary care physicians – as their salaries do not allow them to meet their high overhead costs.
As decreases in Medicare reimbursements begin to make it impossible for small practices to afford their supplies, rent, and coding and billing staff, more physicians will simply stop accepting Medicare patients. This means that the taxes that Baby Boomers have been paying all their lives will essentially not result in a guarantee of good medical coverage in their retirement. They may need to pay out-of-pocket to purchase additional insurance or to have a good primary care physician available to them 24-7.
Concierge practices like Alan Dappen’s may fill a gap in care. With full price transparency, availability via email and phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, house calls, and affordable fees – savvy patients will realize that his services are well worth the small out-of-pocket expense (on average, his patients spend $300/year on his services).
What’s my bottom line? I think we all need to save as much as we can of our own personal funds in case government programs do not provide us with adequate health coverage in our futures. At least if we grow our own healthcare nest egg, we’ll have more care choices in the future. And those choices may one day be a matter of life and death.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 21st, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
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This is the new blog site for Dr. Val and the Voice of Reason. Please stay tuned as I’m working to improve this new site over the next week or so. Thank goodness I have help.
August 10th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in True Stories, Uncategorized
Tags: Illicit Drugs, Pharmaceuticals, Psychiatry
2 Comments »
A psychiatrist friend of mine (we’ll call him “Dr. X”) treats urban patients who have substance abuse problems and often live in homeless shelters. Here are some recent conversations that had me scratching my head:
Mr. P: [recovering from crack cocaine, alchohol, and heroin abuse] Doc, I’ve been feeling really depressed lately and the therapy sessions aren’t helping.
Dr. X: I know that we’ve done all we can to manage your depression conservatively. You may want to consider trying a small dose of an anti-depressant medication. It could really help.
Mr. P: [Eyes bulging, jaw dropped] But, Dr. X, those anti-depressant medications might affect my MIND!
***
Dr. X: Ms. P, why aren’t you taking your prenatal vitamins?
Ms. P: [actively smoking crack while pregnant] I don’t trust that stuff. I think it could harm my baby.
***
Dr. X: Ms Y, I know you’ve been struggling with pain related to your broken leg. Why not let me prescribe some pain medications for you?
Ms. Y: Oh, no – I don’t want any prescription medicines. I don’t trust those.
Dr. X: Well how are you going to manage your pain, then?
Ms. Y: My sister has some pills that I take.
Dr. X: What pills?
Ms. Y: Darvocet and Vicodin.
***This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
