Doctor-Patient Relationships : The Unforeseen Cost of ACOs
A KevinMD article this week by Randell S. Bock, MD examines “How an ACO will affect the relationship between a doctor and a patient.” Just as the title states, ACOs (Accountable Care Organizations) will negatively impact the critical relationship between doctor and patient. As Dr. Bock explains, “Today, very few patients have a relationship with [...]
Read MoreBoning Up on Health News
The uninvolved and uninformed patient is making a rare appearance in physician practices these days, with eight out of ten adults seeking health information on the Internet. They bring it to their physician appointment where it forms the basis for a lively discussion. Often the subject matter is fraught with evidence both pro and con, [...]
Read MorePrimary Care Still Not Primary Choice Among Med Students
This week, the Wall Street Journal Health Blog discussed the continued disinterest medical students have in the primary care sector. In a study recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, med students were surveyed in 1990 and 2007 about their attitudes towards internal medicine careers. According the WSJ, the study “finds that while about [...]
Read MoreReducing the Margins of Medication Error
The number of people treated in U.S. hospitals for illnesses and injuries from taking medicines jumped 52 percent between 2004 and 2008 from 1.2 million to 1.9 million, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. These medication side effects and injuries resulted from taking or being given [...]
Read MoreAmerica’s Physicians’ Ongoing Battle
Last Friday’s New York Times illustrated a universal problem with America’s healthcare; the one in which doctors with smaller practices are struggling to stay afloat, make ends meet and ultimately pass along their practice in order to retire. The article specifically follows one physician – Dr. Ronald Sroka of Crofton, Maryland – who has been [...]
Read MoreYour Voice Counts: Don’t be Anonymous
“Dr. Anonymous” is no more. Anonymous, that is. He’s come out of Internet hiding to announce that he’s really Mike Sevilla, a family practice physician in Salem, Ohio, whose blog attracted 400,000 guests in five years. He took off his online mask in mid-March because, he told MedCityNews, “he decided that anonymity was limiting the [...]
Read MoreSomething to Fear Besides Fear Itself
If you haven’t met Bryan Vartabedian, M.D., it’s time to do so. He’s a pediatric gastroenterologist at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine. “I write and think about the convergence of social media and medicine,” he says at www.33charts.com. In his April 9 blog he writes, “Fear seems to be a universal theme in healthcare. [...]
Read MoreHow Trust Plays a Part in Healthcare
There’s a fascinating post on The Healthcare Blog called, “Does My Doctor Trust Me(and Does It Matter)?” by Jessie Gruman. The article highlights the importance of patients trusting their physicians as much as their physicians trusting them. The problem with our current system for general medicine is that it doesn’t harness mutual trust. Appoints are [...]
Read MoreYour Voice Can Be Credible
If you don’t know the writing of pediatric gastroenterologist Bryan Vartabedian, MD, of Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine at his blog www.33charts.com, you probably should. This acknowledged social media guru among doctors believes that if you think change is coming in many facets of healthcare, you’re behind the curve. In a memorable post last [...]
Read MoreEvery Body Get Together for Colon Cancer Prevention
There’s cancer prevention in numbers, so say feisty organizers of The World’s Largest Colonoscopy Party set for March 31 and April 1 in Minneapolis, Minn. An all-inclusive price of $198 buys participants attendance at a “pre-poop party” on Thursday night, food and overnight accommodations, then transportation to the colonoscopy the next morning, topped off with [...]
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