July 6th, 2011 by BobDoherty in Health Policy
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For physicians, and especially those in primary care, it seems like there is a form for every purpose imaginable—often for purposes that are hard to imagine.
An ACP member in Rhode Island recently gave this example:
“I was just asked by my Medicare Advantage plan to sign a form for [a well-known pharmacy benefit manager]. This form is to be faxed to them in order for them to send me a prior authorization form for a med. So in other words, I had to complete a form in order to get another form. This is nuts!”
Or how about this, from another ACP member in a private internal medicine practice:
“The documentation that is getting to me, is that documentation that the ‘durable medical equipment people want including repetitive- recurrent documentation, whenever we see a patient to document “continued need”. The list of things we have to document, sign, approve or prior authorize, I believe is what makes most physicians think they chose the wrong field. A PBM letter to me about my prescribing practices today nearly did me in! Luckily I just shredded it. If I am kicked out of this business, I am so close to retirement it would be a blessing!”
Or this: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
May 12th, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
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There is discontent in the house of medicine. So many physicians struggle. They seem to wade through uncertainty every day — uncertain about diagnoses, about pain, about disposition. We find ourselves uncertain about our jobs, our futures, our finances.
The consultants we call are uncertain about their practices and whether they can remain viable in the coming years as medicine evolves into something we may find unrecognizable.
Some days, as I enter my 17th year of practice, I don’t know if I can bear to walk around our little department for 10 or 20 more years, like some gerbil on an exercise wheel. I am uncertain if I can bear the weight of more entitlements, more confabulated stories, more regulations, and manufactured drama. I wonder if I can endure decades more of circadian assaults on my brain. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
February 18th, 2010 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
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E-cigarettes continue to create a lot of media buzz and chatter among smokers and smoking cessation experts alike. Today, Professor Thomas Eissenberg of Virginia Commonwealth University published an important study demonstrating that E-cigarettes, despite claims on the packaging and advertising, deliver almost no nicotine to the user.
The study is published in the latest edition of the journal, Tobacco Control. Professor Eissenberg had 16 smokers abstain overnight, then come to the lab. on different days and (a) smoke two of their usual cigarettes (b) puff on two unlit cigarettes or (c) “smoke” 2 leading brands of E-cigarette using their “high nicotine” cartridge (16mg), each brand on a separate occasion. On each occasion he measured the blood nicotine levels before, during and up to 45 minutes after using the products. Read more »
This post, Are E-Cigarettes Anything More Than A Theater Prop?, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
January 28th, 2010 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Research
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Professor Robert West, at University College London, has an interesting theory which suggests that glucose tablets can help smokers to quit. It is well known that when smokers quit smoking they put on weight, and that nicotine appears to act like a mild anorectic drug…it dulls the appetite. It has also been noted that smokers often crave high carbohydrate foods when they quit smoking. So it seems as though smoking dulls the hunger for carbohydrates. The glucose theory (or at least one version of it) suggests that when an addicted smoker quits smoking they experience a strong hunger/craving sensation, sometimes located in their stomach. When trying to interpret that sensation they think, “what am I craving? I just gave up cigarettes, it must be that.” Read more »
This post, Could Sugar Pills Improve Smoking Cessation Rates?, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
November 6th, 2009 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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Every now and again I like to pick one of the classic research studies on smoking cessation in order to highlight some of the key findings. Today I’m going to focus on the part of the Lung Health Study.
The Lung Health Study is certainly one of the best smoking cessation studies ever carried out, partly because of the comprehensive nature of the assessment and follow-up of its 5,887 participants and partly because it was way ahead of its time in delivering a truly “state-of-the-art” intensive smoking cessation intervention which was compared in a randomized manner to the effects of “usual care”. The Lung Health Study (LHS) was a randomized clinical trial of smoking cessation and inhaled bronchodilator therapy in smokers 35 to 60 years of age who did not consider themselves ill but had evidence of mild to moderate airway obstruction. Read more »
This post, Classic Smoking Cessation Study Suggests You Can Save A Life For $2000, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
