April 5th, 2010 by Stanley Feld, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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By Stanley Feld MD, FACP, MACE
Physicians in practice work hard and have little time for political and legal trickery. They assume their leadership will look out for their interests while they take care of patients.
The problem is that physicians do not have effective leadership, explaining the difficulties practicing physicians have every day with the healthcare insurance industry, hospital administrators, the government and the threat of liability. Most physicians are caring professionals who are not looking to rip off anyone. Physicians do expect reasonable compensation commensurate with their training, level of expertise and level of responsibility.
I recently presented a physician income survey to a group of corporate executives. The executives were astonished by the level of physician income relative to their level of responsibility.
The unanimous reaction of these corporate executives was the average physician’s income was that of a low mid-level manager. It is true some practice specialties earn more but the average income of practicing physicians is not commensurate with their knowledge and responsibility. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*
February 16th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, Expert Interviews, News
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Connoisseurs of Twitter feeds know when an account is being managed by interesting minds. So when I took a moment to express my appreciation to American Medical News for their contributions to Twitter, it was not surprising that a group of doctors immediately joined the chorus. We all knew that @amednews was a reliable source of entertaining and important information from multiple sources, but we didn’t know the person behind the account… until today.
Pam Wood is the Chief Copy Editor for American Medical News, and has cultivated a loyal following of healthcare professionals and patients on Twitter. I asked her to join me on a phone call to explain the secrets to her success. I’m sure you’ll enjoy getting to know the person behind the tweets @amednews.
[Audio:https://getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/pamwood.mp3]
Dr. Val: Tell me a little bit about yourself – where you’re from, your educational background, and what you’ve been doing at the AMA. Read more »
January 11th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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With the turn of the calendar to the new decade, the reality of health care reform has set in for doctors and patients. Already cuts to physician salaries and patient access to care are becoming starkly apparent to those of us on the front lines of health care.
I wonder why doctors have been so ineffectual relative to the other special interests “at the table,” in the health care debate? One would think that those with the knowledge base and skill to manage their patients would be the ultimate power brokers in the efforts of health care reform. Yet here we are, watching the commoditization of our profession at the hands of lawyers and politicians in Washington, eager to avoid being perceived as the spoiler. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
December 16th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Are gifts for doctors appropriate in the physician-patient relationship? Or should doctors refuse all offerings of gratitude that come their way?
Patients often give gifts to doctors as an appreciative sign of great thanks for for the care they provide. Some years I may go unappreciated for my efforts. Some years I get thanked for a job well done for spending time with the patient and their family. Some years I have patients that hate me. Some years I even I have patients that hate me and love me. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist Blog*
November 10th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
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When a patient decides they are leaving against medical advice what responsibility does the physician have to their care? When I was a resident in training, and even early on in my position as a hospitalist, I would get a call from the nurse that Mrs Smith was demanding to leave the hospital against medical advice. I would tell the nurse “Fine. Let her go. I’m not her father.” I would tell the nurse to discharge Mrs Smith with no medications and leave it up to them to find follow up.
I would suspect this is a prevalent attitude for many hospital and emergency based physicians. I’ve seen it over and over again. And I still see it today. Many doctors and nurses feel obliged to let grown men and women make poor decisions. However, being a grown man or woman able to make poor decisions is apparently not enough to keep a doctor for being sued and losing that lawsuit because a patient chose to make poor decisions. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at A Happy Hospitalist*
