August 15th, 2011 by Glenn Laffel, M.D., Ph.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
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In recent weeks, several Democrats and some health reform advocates including the AMA have joined Republicans in calling for a repeal of provisions in the new health law that create the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). For these people, IPAB represents the worst aspects of the new law–an unelected, centralized planning authority empowered by government to make decisions about the peoples’ health care. Arbitrary cuts to providers, short-sighted decisions that stifle innovation and rationing of care are sure to follow, they claim.
While it’s true that the rules governing IPAB are flawed and should be fixed, eliminating IPAB altogether would be a mistake. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Pizaazz*
July 29th, 2011 by EvanFalchukJD in Health Policy, Research
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Sometimes you need a published study to tell you what should be obvious in the first place.
This time, researchers have discovered that:
When physicians have more personalized discussions with their patients and encourage them to take a more active role in their health, both doctor and patient have more confidence that they reached a correct diagnosis and a good strategy to improve the patient’s health.
Really?
But wait, there’s more. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
July 13th, 2011 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Book Reviews, Opinion
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I have had the privilege of working at an organization which is actively improving the lives of its members and also was mentioned by the President as a model for the nation. Over the past few years, I have also demonstrated to first year medical students what 21st century primary care should look and feel like – a fully comprehensive medical record, secure email to patients, support from specialists, and assistance from chronic conditions staff.
But as my students know, there are also some suggested reading assignments. I’m not talking about Harrison’s or other more traditional textbooks related to medical education. If the United States is to have a viable and functioning health care system, then it will need every single physician to be engaged and involved. I’m not just helping train the next group of doctors (and hopefully primary care doctors), but the next generation of physician leaders.
Here are the books listed in order of recommended reading, from easiest to most difficult. Combined these books offer an understanding the complexity of the problem, the importance of language in diagnosing a patient, the mindset that we can do better, and the solution to fixing the health care system.
Which additional books or articles do you think current and future doctors should know?
Overtreated – Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
July 7th, 2011 by Stanley Feld, M.D. in Health Policy, Humor, Opinion
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It is hard to remember all the defects in President Obama’s Healthcare Reform Act at once.
President Obama’s Healthcare Reform Act is so flawed it cannot possibly work as it was intended. It must be repealed. A serious, thoughtful, practical and common sense way to “Repair The Healthcare System” must be enacted before all the stakeholders have adjusted to President Obama’s coming changes that will create a more dysfunctional system.
A reader sent me a photo of a poster hanging in his local ice cream store. It is a reminder of previous criticisms of President Obama’s Healthcare Reform Act.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*
July 4th, 2011 by DrRich in Health Policy, Opinion
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Everyone agrees that national spending on healthcare is on a trajectory to bankrupt America during the lifetimes of even Old Farts like DrRich. And therefore, most folks* agree that we ought to do something to reduce our national spending on healthcare.
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*The reason it’s only “most folks” who agree is that, apparently, some folks are still partial to the Cloward-Piven strategy, and continuing to spend on healthcare as we are doing today is the quickest and surest way to get there.
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Unfortunately, our national “discussion” on how to achieve this reduction in healthcare spending has devolved into a spectacle of accusations and counter-accusations, vituperation, abuse, and scurrility. Accordingly, not much useful has so far been achieved. Worse, the back-and-forth contumelies lobbed by the various interest groups in this national discussion have created a general sense among the public that the problem is so confused and chaotic, so rifled by conflicts of interest, and so very complex, as to be fundamentally unsolvable.
This general sense of despair is entirely unnecessary. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
