October 27th, 2009 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, True Stories
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I had an interesting visit with the husband of my niece last evening. He works as an ER doctor that is self-insured group of 60 physicians that cover the ER needs of four hospitals in Clark County near Las Vegas.
What is interesting is they are self-insured to save costs. As a group, then, they know how much per patient they must collect to assure liability care for every patient that comes to their emergency rooms.
That amount is $17 per patient per visit.
Guess how much their group receives for care they render to a Medicaid patient for a “level two” visit (minor problem: ear ache, sore throat, etc.)
Fourteen dollars per visit. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
October 26th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in True Stories
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I entered the wonderful world of blogging in 2006, full of enthusiasm and wide-eyed innocence. I still have the enthusiasm, but the naivety is fading fast.
Over the years I’ve seen so many scams and dishonest “partnership” propositions that I’m beginning to wonder if the Internet is an exceptionally seedy place. The medbloggers I know are genuine, caring people – and that’s probably why they are regularly targeted by unscrupulous people trying to make a buck off blogger credibility.
Take for example an online salesman who contacted me recently. He began the conversation with, “Better Health has such great content. My online network has 5 million unique viewers per month and we’re looking for more high-quality content, so would you like to talk about a content partnership opportunity?”
Silly me, assuming that he meant he’d like to syndicate our content and understood the value of good writing. Here’s how the conversation actually went: Read more »
October 26th, 2009 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News
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As we wrote yesterday, GE released a handheld ultrasound system unlike any other. Yesterday, at a GE press conference in New York, we saw the device first hand and we brought a video back of a company rep demonstrating its use. At 3 inches wide, 5.3 inches long, and about an inch high, the device already has FDA and European approval. GE plans to first conduct a real world study of how the Vscan will be used by clinicians before releasing it to the general market. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
October 26th, 2009 by DrRich in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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As the great campaign to reform the American healthcare system heats up and enters an important new phase – the phase in which key legislative leaders take the five bills that have been passed, here and there, by sundry Congressional committees, and, behind closed doors, attempt to cobble together a compromise bill which they believe they can threaten and/or bribe a majority of Congresspersons into supporting – many Americans find themselves confused about what it all means. What, after all, are we attempting to accomplish here? How much will it cost, and who will pay for it? Why does the whole process seem so darned difficult and confusing?
Fear not. As a public service, DrRich will now explain healthcare reform in a very simple way, so that – whether you study the issue closely on a day-to-day basis, or just accidentally come across some relevant headlines now and again as you look for the sports page – you will always know what’s going on. For, once you understand a few key concepts, this thing is really pretty easy to follow. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
October 26th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
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That depends on if you can afford to get them. Costume lenses are all the rage for Halloween by adding an exciting dimension to the costume wearer. But did you know it’s illegal to market them as over the counter?
Many consumers do not realize that they are
FDA- regulated medical devices, and that recent legislation has made it illegal to market them as over-the-counter products. Still, they are commonly available in costume shops, beauty shops, convenience stores, novelty shops, and other places that people shop for Halloween items, as well as over the Internet.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at A Happy Hospitalist*
