November 27th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Research
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The following op-ed was published on October 27th, 2010 in USA Today:
When I ask new patients how they found me, frequently they say on the Internet through search engines such as Google.
Out of curiosity, I recently Googled myself. Numerous ads appeared, promising readers a “detailed background report” or a “profile” of me. Among the search results was information about my practice, whether I was board certified, had any lawsuits against me, and reviews from online doctor rating sites. Thankfully, most were favorable, but some were not.
Can patients reliably choose a good doctor online?
People already choose restaurants, movies, and their college professors based on what they read on the Internet, so it’s inevitable that many will research their doctors on the Web as well. But there are some good reasons consumers should be wary of the information they find online about doctors.
Random information?
An Archives of Internal Medicine study in September found that most publicly available information on individual physicians — such as disciplinary actions, the number of malpractice payments, or years of experience — had little correlation with whether they adhered to the recommended medical guidelines. In other words, there’s no easy way to research how well a doctor manages conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. That kind of relevant performance data are hidden from the public. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
February 23rd, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Expert Interviews, Health Policy, Uncategorized
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Today there was a Fiscal Responsibility Summit held at the White House. Bill Novelli, CEO of the AARP attended the summit as part of the work group on health. Bill reported what he observed in his work group (which consisted of notables such as Senators Baucus, Rangel, and Specter, Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Nielsen, MD, Becky Patton, RN, Rich Umbdenstock and others) on a special media conference call today.
The over-arching theme of the work group discussion, according to Bill, was prevention and wellness. The group agreed that the key to improving Americans’ quality of life and controlling the costs of chronic disease lies in preventive health efforts. In addition to this belief, the group agreed that:
1. Healthcare reform must be achieved as quickly as possible. The path to long term entitlement sustainability requires healthcare reform. Simply expanding access to a broken system is not the solution.
2. The American people need to be engaged in reform efforts – not just as patients, but as tax payers and voters. They need to understand what they will gain and lose.
3. We must reward adherence to best practices and healthcare quality.
4. A public-private partnership is critical to achieving reform.
A few interesting points were raised by various stakeholders in the meeting:
1. Arlen Specter – believes that changes in medical approaches to end-of-life care could decrease costs substantially. He called for more advanced directives, and education about end-of-life care options.
2. Dr. Nancy Nielsen – called for Medicare to fix the physician fee schedule.
3. Becky Patton – called for increasing the nurse and healthcare workforce.
4. Rich Umbdenstock – requested that more attention be focused on pay for performance and administrative simplification initiatives.
I asked Bill how many providers were included in his work group, and he mentioned three (Nielsen, Patton, and Umbdenstock – not really a provider himself). Best I could tell, there was only one physician and one nurse at the meeting. And that is fairly shocking to me.
If healthcare reform is happening without much input from the primary providers of care (doctors and nurses) – will the reform decisions made by these well-intentioned individuals make good clinical sense?
Another reporter asked Bill what he thinks will happen with healthcare reform in the near term. His answer was telling: “We don’t know.”
February 12th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Expert Interviews, Health Policy
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I attended my very first Medicare Policy Summit conference today – and it was truly riveting (wonk alert). I took copious notes and will do my best to summarize some key points in a series of blog posts. This first post is devoted to the presentation by AMA President, Dr. Nancy Nielsen.
Dr. Nielsen began her lecture with an amusing story. She said, “congressional hearings are pure theatre” and described what she’d experienced three months ago at a meeting with Pete Stark. The conversation went something like this:
Stark: I’m sick of rich doctors driving up in their Porsches saying ‘I’m pulling out of Medicare.’
Nielsen: [Thinking to herself: First witness please?] I drive a GEO jeep.
Then Dr. Nielsen looked out at the Medicare Policy Summit audience and asked, “are there any doctors here?” I raised my hand enthusiastically at the back of the room. Then she responded, “Oh thank God. Well, you know we’re in the lion’s den…”
[Parenthetically, I didn’t see anyone else raise their hand – which is the subject for another conversation.]
What Is The AMA’s Current Agenda?
1. To expand coverage for the uninsured
2. To reform the physician payment system
3. To improve the quality and safety of healthcare
4. To improve public health
What Is The Bee In Nielsen’s Bonnet?
Nielsen explained that the sustainable growth rate is unsustainable. She stated:
“We can’t go through the annual death dance with congress over this. There is another 21% across-the-board cut in Medicare reimbursement scheduled for January 2010. And this cut will affect a group of small business owners (aka physicians) whose reimbursement has not increased since 2001 while their costs have increased 20%.”
What Does Nielsen Propose We Do?
1. Reform the system so that it reimburses for care coordination and prevention
2. Craft solutions based around patients’ needs
3. Rebase the SGR
4. Bundle services to increase value and reduce costs
5. Invest in disease prevention and wellness
6. Use comparative effectiveness to inform clinical decision-making (but NOT as a basis for coverage decisions)
7. Bring physicians into the policy decision-making process
Closing High-Five to Nurses
Dr. Nielsen closed with an amusing anecdote about inauguration day. Apparently she was standing in the sidelines of the parade route where Biden got out of his limo to greet the crowd. He gave a big hug to some nurses standing next to her and said, “I love nurses. They’re so much better than doctors.” Dr. Nielsen then had the opportunity to introduce herself to Biden and he responded, “Doctors saved my life, but nurses gave me the will to live.”
