September 30th, 2009 by AlanDappenMD in Primary Care Wednesdays
No Comments »
A Keynote Address To The American Telemedicine Association September 25, 2009
The following is a summary of Alan Dappen, MD, keynote address at the mid-year meeting of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA). His keynote, billed as “Private Practice And Telemedicine: A Success Story” discusses how Dr. Dappen’s practice, DocTalker Family Medicine, which is a fee-for-service practice that deploys telemedicine for over 50% of its patients needs, has enjoyed growth and has received numerous awards and media attention. You can check out Dr. Dappen’s full address on the site.
On to the highlights of Dr. Dappen’s talk:
“This is my third visit to an American Telemedicine Association (ATA) event. I’ve been a proud member for seven years. Two years ago I presented the fundamentals my medical practice DocTalker, where the doctor is chief cook and bottle washer.
“Our practice mirrors the recommendations outlined by the Institutes of Medicine’s book
Crossing the Quality Chasm and those purporting the ‘medical home’ model. Read more »
September 29th, 2009 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
No Comments »
Please allow me to coin a new term:
Medical Homelessness – Not having access to a consistent familiar medical setting. Not having a care location where one is known or where the medical information is accurate.
credit
I think medical homelessness is one of the main problems in our system.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
September 29th, 2009 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy
No Comments »
Joe Biden unveiled a White House study on the rise of health insurance premiums. He pressed for consumer protections the President wants to see in any reform legislation. Among these are a pledge to pass a law that “ends exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays.” Presumably this is meant to address worries many feel over the growth of high-deductible health plans.
The St. Petersburg Times looked into it to find out what this pledge means, in practical terms. David Axelrod at the White House pointed them to the proposed House legislation, which would create limits on out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles and co-pays of $5,000 a year for an individual, and $10,000 a year for a family.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
September 28th, 2009 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
No Comments »
A thoughtful and (dare I say it) balanced look at medical malpractice in today’s NYT:
Malpractice System Breeds More Waste in Medicine – NYTimes.com
The debate over medical malpractice can often seem theological. On one side are those conservatives and doctors who have no doubt that frivolous lawsuits and Democratic politicians beholden to trial lawyers are the reasons American health care is so expensive. On the other side are those liberals who see malpractice reform as another Republican conspiracy to shift attention from the real problem. […]
The direct costs of malpractice lawsuits — jury awards, settlements and the like — are such a minuscule part of health spending that they barely merit discussion, economists say. But that doesn’t mean the malpractice system is working.
The fear of lawsuits among doctors does seem to lead to a noticeable amount of wasteful treatment. Amitabh Chandra — a Harvard economist whose research is cited by both the American Medical Association and the trial lawyers’ association — says $60 billion a year, or about 3 percent of overall medical spending, is a reasonable upper-end estimate. If a new policy could eliminate close to that much waste without causing other problems, it would be a no-brainer.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
September 24th, 2009 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Opinion
No Comments »
Over at Slate, Christopher Beam takes a balanced look at the issue. He acknowledges that, yes, American physicians get paid proportionally more than the average employee when compared to other countries.
But that should always come with the caveat that other countries, like Great Britain and France, heavily subsidize medical education, while the average American medical student graduates with debt in excess of $150,000. Furthermore, the cost of medical malpractice insurance is significantly more fiscally burdensome for doctors Stateside.
Listen to Princeton’s Uwe Reinhardt, a favorite economist of health reformers, who says, “doctors’ take-home pay (that is, income minus expenses) amounts to only about 1 percent of overall health care spending, or about $26 billion. That’s a drop in the ocean compared with overhead for insurance companies, billing expenses for doctors’ offices, and advertising for drug companies. The real savings in health care will come from these expenses.”
Indeed.
By the way, thanks to Mr. Beam for including a quote and link from yours truly.
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
