Big Brother in Your Medicine Cabinet
Should individuals be required to give up their privacy and submit to government tracking as a condition of receiving medical care? Some Colorado elected officials say yes. They introduced House…
Study: Increasing Scope of NP Practice Does Not Undercut Physician Reimbursement
One of the arguments physician opponents of the increasingly widening “scope of practice” some states grant nurse practitioners has been the perceived loss of potential reimbursements in a given market when…
Bringing Digital Radiology to the Developing World
According to the World Health Organization, two-thirds of the world lacks access to basic X-ray services. According to the World Health Organization, two-thirds of the world lacks access to basic…
Online Healthcare Discussions 98% Patient or Caregiver Driven
Here is a fascinating Infographic on the source and content of online healthcare discussions. Turns out that in all but one case Healthcare Providers are supplying 2% or less…
Promoting Prevention through Health Insurance Exchanges
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced regulations to guide state-level development of health insurance exchanges. The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) looks forward…
Encouraging Medicare News From Senate Republicans
I’m excited that four of the most conservative Senators are offering a serious plan to reform Medicare. They would end fee for service Medicare in 2014, place everyone in the plan currently…
What is a HIPAA Violation?
What is a HIPAA violation? While an endless variety of scenarios exist, a few of the most common and avoidable include certain characteristics, such as unencrypted data, employee error, data…
Bone Density Tests – Too Many Not a Good Thing
Frequent bone density tests for senior women may not be needed, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine. Medicare pays for a bone density test every…
The Bliss of Forgetting
Quick: what did you have for lunch 2 weeks ago? Let’s try another one: who was secretary of labor in the Truman administration? (no Googling!) Don’t remember? you are not…
PSA screening: Does It or Doesn’t It?
A study in the NEJM reports that after 11 years of follow up in a very large cohort of men randomized either to PSA screening every 4 years (~73,000 subjects)…
