Thanks to everyone who wrote me back on some of the “simple” screening tests that “just take a few minutes” that well-meaning special interest groups want family physicians to give away their time to administer. And remember, the family physicians’ nurses are busy also, so if a special interest expects only...
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As the August 2nd deadline approaches, many Americans are mad at Congress and/or the President for this game of budget brinksmanship. A few commentators have talked about healthcare costs being an important factor in the debt, but I don’t think they emphasize it enough. Let’s spend a few moments getting our...
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I thought I’d try something different this week. Instead of me just going blah, blah, blah to the cyber world, I thought I’d ask for help compiling a list. It has always annoyed me when well-meaning special interest groups ask family physicians to give away their professional time and expertise. A...
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Many well-meaning patient advocates want patients to become more empowered in their own care, which could take many forms. The technology companies and EMR supporters of course want this to happen electronically. “Smart” cards could contain every detail of a person’s medical history and records. But do patients really want this?...
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I received one of those politely worded letters from a major insurance company recently informing me of how it thought I was doing caring for one of my patients. It includes warm language such as “We value our relationship with you,” though their medical director who signed this letter has never...
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A buzzword circulating in the health policy world is value-based insurance design. This phrase sounds like something the business world might latch on to. It sounds  very businessy–companies in control of maximizing shareholder value. Two studies were published in Health Affairs dealing with aspects of this approach. They studied the effect...
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Gabrielle Giffords, the U.S. Representative who was shot in Tuscon, went home recently. It’s a heart-wrenching story, and all of us wish we could wave a magic wand and restore her to her previous level of vitality. However, once again the press took an opportunity to take an individual’s circumstance and...
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I received a heartfelt response to one of my posts about Dr. Oz. The response is a reply to that post and I re-post it here in its entirety. First, the thoughts of the writer, Mr. Graham; then, my response. From Mr. Graham: My wife died December 2, 2010 at our...
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We have a family friend who’s a 91-year-old feisty woman proud of her independence. She’s lived in the same house alone for five decades, many of them with only her canine companion. Her husband died decades ago and she never remarried. She has little medical history to speak of, but she...
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Some of the recalcitrant zealots supporting the existing U.S. healthcare system say that U.S. life expectancy is improving, therefore major changes aren’t necessary. Some say that the difference in life expectancy between the U.S. and the rest of the developed world is explained in large part by more premature deaths from...
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