Emergency Room: Revolving Door or Backstop?
I received a call recently from an emergency room (ER) physician about a patient who presented there with rectal bleeding. Does this sound blogworthy? Hardly. We gastro physicians get this call…
Pre and Post Operative Nutritional Considerations…
A guest post from John La Puma, MD… Thanks JohnLast year, my Mom had her first operation: a total knee replacement.Active and curious, and having recently celebrated her 29th birthday…
Treat Patients as People… Not Diseases
We as physicians are commonly trained to treat diseases, not patients. Another way of looking at it is that we are trained to think mechanically. If ”X” is present, administer “y” and if “A” is…
AARP Ready to Deal on Social Security Cuts
Modifications are not really a bad thing, just depends on who’s talking and what they are proposing. Now when it comes to charging those in high income brackets higher contributions,…
Readmissions: Hard to Predict Who it Will Be and Why
Reducing readmissions is becoming increasingly important for hospitals. In the olden days (and still to some extent now) a readmission was simply a new opportunity to earn revenue on the…
Children on Medicaid: Less Access, Longer Waits
Sixty-six percent of those who mentioned Medicaid-CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) were denied appointments, compared with 11 percent who said they had private insurance, according to an
Path Dependency in Health Reform: The Case of Medicare
I think I first learned about path dependency when studying physics — but it surely applies to public policy, too. Despite the scholarly disputations about health reform, what drives most…
Popular Smoking Cessation Drug Increases Adverse Cardiac Risk
First, and almost immediately out of the box, it was the concern for serious mental health effects.[1] Now, somewhat controversial smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix)
7 Fold > in 100+ Projected
Turning 100 isn't such a big deal anymore. That according to a recent Associated Press article. Turning 100 isn't such a big deal anymore. That according to a recent Associated…
Innovation Opportunities Abound
A new conference has been announced by the NIH: Crowdsourcing: The Art and Science of Open Innovation. Speakers incude Tim O’Reilly and ” will focus on the key aspects of…
