Friday, October 16, 2009
QD: News Every Day--One stolen laptop threatens all doctors' personal data
ACP Internist's daily digest of news and events continues with a stolen laptop's threat to physician's personal info, plus the Senate voting and voting and voting on physician payments, and the reasons why the public is so divided on the way they view public health issues.
Almost all U.S. physicians, 800,000 total, have been warned that a stolen laptop had their names, addresses social security numbers and provider identification numbers on it. An employee of the trade group representing Blue Cross insurance plans moved information to a personal laptop that was then stolen, which leave as many as 20% of all doctors vulnerable to identity theft.
H1N1 influenza
The World Health Organization urged prompt antiviral treatments in people with suspected H1N1 flu because it can lead to pneumonia so quickly in young, otherwise healthy people.
Physician payments
A bill that would increase Medicare payments to physicians will require three votes by the Senate--needing 60 votes each time--before the Senate can take a fourth vote. Greatest legislative body in the world, indeed. Oh, and the Congressional Budget Office estimated the $240 billion bill will actually cost $247 billion over 10 years.
Primary care shortage
A blog post explaining the reasons why there is a primary care shortage doesn't offer any new insight so much as it puts all the reasons in one easy-to-read place. These aren't esoteric issues; they play out in real life all across the country, as this profile explains what's happening in Omaha.
In case you missed it ...
Much of the disconnect on health care reform can be explained by political beliefs, researchers reported in the American Journal of Public Health. They tested a news article describing how a lack of sidewalks and presence of fast food were linked to type 2 diabetes. Republicans were less likely to believe junk food led to a diabetes epidemic than Democrats. Researchers told ABC News that the same message has to be framed differently to the two audiences to garner support.
Labels: H1N1, medicare, physician shortage, QD
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
12:27 PM
0 Comments
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Pay attention! Primary care faces a shortage
NBC devoted prime time news coverage to the shortage of primary care physicians, and interviewed residents on why they're not pursuing primary care. (Apologies for the short commercial NBC posts before its online outtakes.)
Near-daily coverage of the provider shortage crosses our desks at ACP Internist, shown here, here and here to post just a few from recent days. And to post a few more, here, here and here.
It may be cold comfort, but the issue doesn't lack for attention, just a solution.
Labels: health care reform, physician shortage, primary care shortage
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
2:04 PM
0 Comments
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Who's referring who?
There's an interesting column in the New York Times today about the business of physician referrals. The physician author worries about the financial incentives generated by the dynamic in which specialists rely on primary care physicians to keep their schedules full.
Here in Philadelphia, at least, that concern seems almost laughable. Studies have established (and we have discussed) the long wait times to see a doctor here. And in the time it has taken me to write this post, I've been sitting on hold with a dermatologist's office--the same office that I've been calling for two months to try to schedule an appointment. At least with some specialties, the dynamic has so reversed itself that patients look to their internists to help them jump the queue to get in to see a specialist.
There's a lot of talk about the shortage of primary care, but what's with the shortage of specialist appointments?
Labels: physician shortage
posted by Stacey Butterfield at
2:36 PM
0 Comments
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Need to see a doc? Take a number.
It's almost Medical News of the Obvious to those of us who have lived in big cities.
Merritt Hawkins released a survey today on the cities with the longest wait times to get a new patient appointment. Number one on the list of 15 metro areas? Boston, where it takes, on average, 70 days to see an Ob/Gyn, 63 days to see a family doctor, 54 days to see a dermatologist, 40 days to see an orthopedic surgeon, and 21 days to see a cardiologist.
Next on the list is Philadelphia (no surprise to yours truly), followed by L.A., Houston, Washington, D.C., San Diego, Minneapolis, Dallas, Miami, New York, Denver, Portland, Seattle, Detroit and Atlanta.
It's always been a little perplexing to me that it's so difficult to get appointments in Philadelphia, when there is such a large supply of medical schools and facilities. Boston is also chock-a-block with doctors, although, as the Merritt Hawkins release points out, there's been a surge in demand there since the state mandated coverage for all residents in 2006.
The survey also looked at Medicaid acceptance rates among medical offices, and found the overal rate for all 15 metro areas was 55%. It was highest in Minneapolis at 82%, and lowest in Dallas at 39%.
Labels: appointments, Medicaid, physician shortage
posted by Jessica Berthold at
12:20 PM
0 Comments
ACP Internist hosted Grand Rounds on June 16, wrapping up the best of the medical blogosphere. Click here for the complete wrap-up.
Contact ACP Internist
Send comments to ACP Internist staff at acpinternist@acponline.org.
Previous Posts
- QD: News Every Day--Santa's take on H1N1 influenza...
- Rethink pink: breast cancer screening evidence met...
- QD: News Every Day--Santa's take on H1N1 influenza...
- QD: News Every Day--when evidence and politics col...
- Ghostwriting haunts Congress' hallowed halls
- QD: News Every Day--payment fix inches forward (fo...
- QD: News Every Day--not the intended effect
- Medical news of the obvious
- QD: News Every Day--flu's growing tally
- QD: News Every Day--no holidays for Congress
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American Journal of Medicine
Also known as the Green Journal, the American Journal of Medicine publishes original clinical articles of interest to physicians in internal medicine and its subspecialities, both in academia and community-based practice.
Clinical Correlations
A collaborative medical blog started by Neil Shapiro, ACP Member, associate program director at New York University Medical Center's internal medicine residency program. Faculty, residents and students contribute case studies, mystery quizzes, news, commentary and more.
db's Medical Rants
Robert M. Centor, FACP, contributes short essays contemplating medicine and the health care system.
Everything Health
EverythingHealth is designed to address the rapid changes in science, medicine, health and healing in the 21st Century.
Getting Better with Dr. Val
Getting Better is the continuation of Dr. Val Jones' previous blog at Revolution Health. It is devoted to helping people understand health issues from a balanced, scientifically sound perspective.
HealthHombre
A roundup of health policy news drawn from a database of hundreds of Web sites.
Interact MD
Michael Benjamin, ACP member, doesn't accept industry money so he can create an independent, clinician-reviewed space on the Internet for physicians to report and comment on the medical news of the day.
Kevin, MD
The alter ego of Kevin Pho, ACP Member, is the closest thing to royalty in the medical blog world.
LSUHSC-S Medical Library Evidence Alert
Major guidelines, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and/or major reviews by national and international organizations.
PLoS Blog
The Public Library of Science's open access materials include a blog.
White Coat Rants
One of the most popular anonymous blogs written by a doctor.
