April 28th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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A recent post on Kevin MD by Joseph Biundo, a rheumatologist, challenged my assertion that primary care doctors can save money:
(In reference to my claim…) That may be true in theory, but I see patients in my rheumatology office every day who have been “worked up” by primary care physicians and come in with piles of lab tests and X-ray and MRI reports, but are diagnosed in my office by a simple history and physical exam.
Prior to that, an article in the New York Times along with a post by Kevin Pho noted the fact that more solo practitioners are leaving private practice and joining hospital systems. Why are they doing this? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
April 28th, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
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A recent article found that primary care doctors the United States are providing sub-standard care when it comes to colon cancer screening.
In the Journal of General Internal Medicine, researchers found that 25% of primary care doctors used in-office stool testing to screen for colon cancer. Specifically, doctors do a rectal exam and then swipe the rectal contents off their gloves onto a stool-testing card. A positive test result indicates the presence of blood, which can be invisible to the naked eye. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
April 27th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues an annual report on the state of health in the United States. The 33rd edition is out and has some surprising findings, especially about the use of procedures, tests and medical technology.
The life expectancy in the United States is now 77.9 years. Are you over that age? If so, congratulations — you beat the odds. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
April 26th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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With the new healthcare reform bill signed into law, the fate of physician-owned hospitals was sealed:
The bill Congress passed in March includes a ban on new physician-owned hospitals and freezes those already in business at their present size. Doctors hold a one-third interest in Avera Heart, which opened in 2001, so the bill President Obama signed would prevent that facility from ever growing.
The law change, in effect, leaves expansion of treatment of cardiovascular disease open for Sanford to dominate locally in coming years — if in fact that field of medicine grows. Avera Heart says such growth is not a given, because people are living healthier and have less need for emergency care. (Argus Leader)
While it’s easy to point to the potential conflict of interest inherent to physician-owned medical facilities, it’s not so easy to demonstrate that non-physician-owned hospitals don’t have similar conflicts with generating profits. After all, continuing to build large $78 million expansions requires hospitals of any kind to achieve a return on their investment in order to continue operations. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
April 26th, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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In the annals of “Things You Probably Wish You Hadn’t Said,” Sue Lowden, the Republican candidate to replace Nevada Senator Harry Reid, suggested last week that bartering for medical care was a workable substitute for the Affordable Care Act, which she is campaigning to repeal.
Surprisingly, after being called out and roundly mocked for the suggestion, she doubled down on the idea:
“You know, before we all started having healthcare, in the olden days, our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor. They would say, ‘I’ll paint your house.'” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
