November 11th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News
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Hospitals nationwide are racing against the clock to ensure their health IT systems meet meaningful use guidelines. The incentive? Money, of course. Systems that meet certain criteria make doctors eligible for up to $44,000 in bonus money from the government.
As mentioned on this blog previously, implementing an electronic health system is difficult. The usability of the current generation of electronic health records (EHRs) is still relatively primitive, especially when compared to other industries, and the disruption in workflow is undeniable. Worse, there seems to be a lack of trained IT professionals to do the job.
In a recent piece from American Medical News:
60% of hospital IT executives believe tech staffing shortages, which some estimate to be a shortfall of 50,000 qualified IT professionals, will definitely or possibly affect their chances to achieve meaningful use.
It’s a problem. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
November 9th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
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A social media manager is becoming an imperative position for hospitals.
Medical institutions are waking up to the fact that they need to engage their patients and physicians online. Nowhere is there more fertile growth than in the various social media platforms that are prevalent today — like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
American Medical News recently profiled the phenomenon, highlighting the position of social media manager, which some institutions pay between $60,000 and $80,000 per year.
As it stands, many hospitals are tiptoeing into the world of social networks, guided by the able hands of select online mavens like Mayo Clinic’s Lee Aase and Swedish Medical Center’s Dana Lewis. However, convincing executives of the return on investment remains a challenge. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
November 5th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
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Lung cancer screening has been an area of considerable controversy. Before today, there had been no evidence that screening patients for lung cancer, either with a CT scan or chest x-ray, saved lives.
For years, doctors have been waiting for the results of the large, randomized National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), conducted by the National Cancer Institute.
[Yesterday] it was announced that the trial was stopped early, with a bold, positive finding:
All participants had a history of at least 30 pack-years, and were either current or former smokers without signs, symptoms, or a history of lung cancer.
As of Oct. 20, 2010, the researchers saw a total of 354 deaths from lung cancer in the CT group, compared with 442 in the chest x-ray group.
That amounts to a 20.3% reduction in lung cancer mortality — a finding that the study’s independent data and safety monitoring board decided was statistically significant enough to halt the trial and declare a benefit.
Previously, only breast, colon, and cervical cancer has had the evidence back up its screening recommendations. It’s still early in the game, but it appears that lung cancer may be following in that same path. That said, there are a variety of concerns before opening up the floodgates to screening chest CTs. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
October 29th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Humor, Medical Art
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Ever wonder what the six grades of heart murmurs really means?
SOURCE: A Cartoon Guide to Becoming a Doctor
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
October 27th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
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Authors of a recent study from the Archives of Internal Medicine are unlikely to endear themselves to specialists. As reported by Reuters, and provocatively titled, Do specialist doctors make too much money?, the study gives a per-hour breakdown of how much doctors make.
I think this is a good approach, since annual salary figures do not account for the number of hours doctors work — and in the case of primary care doctors, this includes uncompensated time doing paperwork and other bureaucratic chores.
Here’s what they found:
… the lowest wages — amounting to $60.48 an hour — [were] paid to primary care physicians.
In other broad categories of practice, surgeons took home the highest average hourly wage of $92. Internal medicine and pediatric docs earned about $85 an hour, the researchers report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Looking at salaries among 41 specific subspecialties, however, they found neurologic surgery and radiation oncology to be the most lucrative at $132 and $126 per hour, respectively. These were followed by medical oncologists and plastic surgeons, both making around $114 per hour; immunologists, orthopedic surgeons and dermatologists also took in more than $100 an hour. At the low end of specialist pay, child psychiatrists and infectious disease specialists made around $67 an hour.
Of course, regular readers of [this] blog know that healthcare reform will do little to decrease the disparity. The pay raises that will be coming to primary care will be far too little to change the perception that, in the United States, specialists are more valued by far. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
