November 22nd, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
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Here’s my [recent] commentary at KevinMD. Let me know what you think. What kind of physicians DO we want for the future?
I was talking with a pre-med student recently. He had completed his very first medical school interview and was, understandably, excited. But he told me the interviewer had asked him what he thought would be the outcome of the current healthcare reform measures.
I laughed to myself. After 17 years in practice, even I don’t know the outcome, though I have my suspicions. It seemed a loaded, almost unfair question. After miring students in biology, physics, chemistry and every known application-padding activity, after expecting volunteerism and activism, I’m not sure why they would expect this young man to have any earthly idea about the reform measures from his current position in the medical biosphere.
But I wondered, since I’m not a medical educator, was there a right answer? And I wondered even more, what do we want in our future physicians? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
November 15th, 2010 by DavidHarlow in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
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In October, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report on Fraud and Abuse Training in Medical Education, finding that 44 percent of medical schools reported giving some instruction in the anti-kickback statute and related laws, even though they weren’t legally required to do so. (As an aside, do we really live in such a nanny state? Over half of all medical schools don’t teach their students anything about this issue — because nobody’s making them — even though it is an issue that looms large in the practice of medicine.)
On a more positive note, about two-thirds of institutions with residency programs instruct participants on the law, and 90 percent of all medical schools and training programs expressed an interest in having dsome instructional materials on the subject of the anti-kickback statute, physician self-referrals (Stark) rules and the False Claims Act.
So in November, the OIG released a Roadmap for New Physicians – A Guide to Avoiding Fraud and Abuse, available on line and as a PDF. It’s a good 30-page primer on the subject. While some of the examples given are specific to newly-minted physicians, anyone in the health care industry would benefit by reading it. The document offers a window into the thinking of the OIG, its perspective on the wide range of issues summarized within, and is a good touchstone for any individual or organization seeking to structure a relationship that needs to stay within the bounds of these laws. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog*
September 12th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Research
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Nearly a third of medical graduates at the University of North Dakota continue in primary care, down from nearly half just two years ago. This is the university that leads the nation for the percentage of students (about 20 percent) choosing family medicine.
North Dakota overall will be short about 160 physicians by 2025, and the need is now affecting urban areas as well as rural ones, said Joshua Wynne, FACP, dean of the university’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Keeping medical students interested in practicing primary care in rural America depends upon whom medical schools choose to admit. For example, one-fourth of the University of North Dakota’s student population hails from small towns, and 80 percent are in-state.
More and more medical schools are looking at locally grown talent to fill their residencies, believing that these students are more likely to stay after graduation. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
June 23rd, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
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A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP’s flagship journal, finds that medical schools vary greatly in producing more primary care physicians and getting them into underserved communities.
– “Public schools graduate higher proportions of primary care physicians” than private schools.
– “The 3 historically black colleges and universities with medical schools (Morehouse College, Meharry Medical College, and Howard University) score at the top” in training primary care physicians who then go on to practice in underserved communities. (Click here for an interview with two recent graduates of historically black colleges and with Wayne Riley, MD, FACP, who is the president and CEO of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee and a regent of the American College of Physicians.)
– “The level of NIH support that medical schools received was inversely associated with their output of primary care physicians and physicians practicing in underserved areas.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
June 4th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research, True Stories
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From Dr. Toni Brayer at Everything Health:
We medical folks have always known that July is the worst time for a patient to be admitted to the hospital. It has nothing to do with nice summer weather or staff vacations. Although it cannot be proven, we think the answer to the mystery of July hospital errors is human — yes, it’s the new interns.
A new study published in the June issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine looked at all U.S. death certificates from 1979 to 2006. They found that in teaching hospitals, on average deadly medication mistakes surged by 10 percent each July. The good news is they did not find a surge in other medical errors, including surgery or in non-teaching hospitals. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
