November 24th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, News
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I really like new technology, especially when it offers a very obvious advantage for patients. I recently heard about a new CT scanner that is so fast, it dramatically reduces radiation exposure for patients and can take crisp images of moving organs (like the heart). I asked to speak with Siemens’ VP of Sales and Marketing, Dr. André Hartung, to find out about the new Somatom Definition Flash Dual Source CT Scanner (it takes longer to say the machine’s name than to scan your entire body). Of course, I invited my Medgadget friend, Gene Ostrovsky, to join the call. I’ve included a “bonus track” for more advanced readers at the end of this blog post. Enjoy!
Listen to the podcast here:
[audio:http://blog.getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/andrehartunglowq1.mp3]
Dr. Val: Just to set the stage for our listeners – can you explain what a CT scanner is, and how it differs from an MRI?
Hartung: Both CT scanners and MRI machines allow healthcare professionals to look inside the human body for diagnostic purposes. While CT scanners use x-rays to produce images, MRI machines use magnets. CT Scanners are very fast and widely available – almost every hospital has one.
Dr. Val: When would a doctor want to use a CT scanner instead of an MRI machine?
Hartung: CT images are especially good at detecting cancer. Also, because CT scans can be done so quickly, they are also useful diagnostic tools for stroke, heart attack, or when a patient is in critical condition – when every second counts.
Dr. Val: You said that CT scans are based on x-ray technology. How much radiation exposure does the average CT scan cause?
Read more »
November 23rd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Humor, True Stories
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I want to ask you which would be more important: If all of the doctors in the country somehow disappeared or all the trial lawyers in America somehow disappeared? We can live without medical care, but we cannot live without justice.
— Gerry Spence
With our dwindling primary care force (and many PCPs considering leaving medicine), it looks like Gerry might get to test his hypothesis sooner than he thinks.
h/t to Dr. Wes for finding this astonishing quote.
Background:
Lawyer Gerry Spence, who was awarded the CAOC Lifetime Achievement Award, told conference attendees that legal representation is essential, even more important than health care, for people.
“We have to redefine who we are: We are the most important people in America,” Spence said. “There is no other profession in America that fights for freedom, that fights for what America is about, that fights for justice for ordinary people.”
November 22nd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Opinion
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I don’t subscribe to many newsletters, but the Galen Institute’s Health Policy Matters is always a provocative read. Here’s an excerpt from this week’s newsletter:
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said this week that universal coverage will be an early, top priority of the Obama administration.
But where is the money going to come from to pay for these massive reform agendas, which were developed before the meltdown of Wall Street, the $700 billion rescue package, and a projected $1 trillion deficit?
The Obama plan is estimated to cost an additional $100 to $160 billion in the first year alone, yet the president-elect made fiscal responsibility a big part of his campaign platform. If the White House is going to extend the plan to mean universal coverage, the bill will be even more expensive.
Mr. Obama also will be facing the huge flood of red ink in Medicare, with the program starting to run out of money in 2017, about the time a second Obama term would end.
It’s impossible to make predictions in the current topsy-turvy political and economic climate, but these power political power centers, fiscal realities, and the urgency of other issues, including Detroit’s looming bankruptcy and an unstable geo-political climate, make these dreams of sweeping health reform a major challenge.
Mr. Obama will likely use the pending expiration on March 31 of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (which will be renamed) as a vehicle to expand health coverage to all children and possibly even enact his mandate for children’s coverage. That probably means funneling more money to the states through Medicaid since they must pay part of the costs.
After SCHIP, Congress will take the lead on major health reform legislation from there.
We need to remember that 82% of the American people are happy with their own health care and only a minority is willing to pay higher taxes to get to universal coverage. Also, the employer mandate is a new tax, and it is going to be especially difficult to impose during the economic crisis. And can we really tell people who have lost their jobs that now, in addition to everything else, they are going to be forced to buy health insurance?
November 22nd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in True Stories
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I was traveling on an Amtrak train to a dinner meeting in Philadelphia. Two portly business men wedged in next to me and had an animated conversation about which companies do well despite a down economy. Here’s how the conversation went:
Businessman #1: You know, I’ve taken such a beating on the stock market, I just don’t know where to put my money to protect it and grow it. But I was thinking – one thing’s for sure – lots of people are going to continue dying despite the recession.
Businessman #2: So what kind of business insight is that?
Businessman #1: Funeral Homes, dummy. That’s where the action is. People still have to cremate or bury their loved ones, even in tough economic times.
Businessman #2: Nah, that’s not really scalable. I mean, you can’t save on costs with more volume. It’s fixed – a coffin costs what it costs. What you should really get into is Assisted Living facilities. Now THAT’s a growth market.
Businessman #1: No way, people can’t afford to pay for assisted living after the market crash. Their savings won’t last long enough to make it worth my while to take them in. Then when it runs out, what can I do? You can’t put them out on the street so you’re stuck with them till they die.
Businessman #2: You don’t have to be stuck with them, when their cash runs out you can transfer them to a lower quality facility. Then Medicare will pay for it.
