Author and blogger Maggie Mahar writes about a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) with an interesting finding: patients care more about hospital amenities, such as rooms with views and flat screens, than the quality of care delivered. I think there is nothing wrong about seeking a pleasant environment when you’re sick [...]
Filed under: Culture | No Comments »
It’s been over a month since my last blog post. A lot has happened since then. Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, not once, but twice! Our medical practice was featured on CNN in a segment called “You won’t go in to see the doctor,” showcasing a [...]
Filed under: Culture, Hello Health, Innovation, Pharma/Biotech | No Comments »
BusinessWeek on Regina Herzlinger‘s vision of a consumer-driven healthcare system: Consumers tailor their own health-care coverage, navigating in a national insurance market. Everyone must buy insurance, and the federal government maintains strict oversight to ensure price and coverage fairness. Small, disease-specific hospitals care for patients who don’t need all the services offered by medical centers. [...]
Filed under: Health Policy, Thought Leaders | No Comments »
Today, I received the following email from a concerned citizen: I just got a letter from my PCP. She is closing her practice at the end of Nov. She cites stringent demands of insurance companies, diminishing reimbursements, and growing operating costs as the reasons. She says that she has had to work harder and harder [...]
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Filed under: Culture | No Comments »
A new study published in JAMA shows that only 2% of medical students are considering being primary care physicians, citing the bad lifestyle as one of the main factors. I don’t blame them. Primary care physicians are overworked and underpaid. Why should any medical student with over $100,000 of debt settle such an under-appreciated job? [...]
Filed under: Culture, Health Policy | 2 Comments »
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), each American is now valued at $6.9 million. This is $1 million less than five year ago and almost 15% less than a decade ago. Seems like we are depreciating faster than our cars. This number refers to the statistical value of each person and the cost of [...]
Filed under: Culture | 2 Comments »
“Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon. Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the [...]
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I’m in Canada right now for a business trip and just saw a very funny comedy show on TV called This Hour has 22 Minutes. One of the clips was a parody of the FOX TV series House. It seems like Canadians are very aware of the deficits of their healthcare system. Luckily I was [...]
Filed under: Humor | 1 Comment »
Matthias G. Muenzer, MD, a gynecologist in Boston, recently presented the following 3 items as a poll to a group of physicians on Sermo about what all physicians have in common, regardless of their political or personal views. Within a few days, 304 physicians responded, 95% of whom strongly agreed with his vivid assessment: We [...]
Filed under: Words of Wisdom | 1 Comment »
