Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Blogging gives voice to doctors in the trenches
My name is Dr. Rob, and I am the newest contributor to the ACP Internist blog. (That sounds a lot like a 12-step meeting, doesn't it?) Perhaps that's appropriate, as many of us internists feel powerless at this point in time, and we could certainly use help from a higher power (or at least from Washington, D.C.)
Since I will be a regular contributor, I thought a little bit of background information is appropriate:
--My full name is Rob Lamberts, ACP Member, and I am part of a private practice in suburban Augusta, Ga. I grew up in New York and went to medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Read between the lines: I get called "Yankee" a lot.
--I did a combined internal medicine/pediatric residency at Indiana University and my practice is a mix of both. Read between the lines: I have a masochistic streak.
--Our office has been on electronic medical records since 1996, and was recognized by Health Information and Management Systems Society for our excellent implementation, receiving the Davies Award for 2003. Read between the lines: I am a geek.
--Since 2006, I have authored the blog Musings of a Distractible Mind, which is a mix of personal musings about life as a doctor, an insider's view of our ridiculous system, and humor (with the inexplicable appearance of llamas in an inordinate number of posts). Read between the lines: I write whatever strikes me at the time.
--Since July of 2009, I have hosted The House Call Doctor podcast, part of the Quick and Dirty Tips family of podcasts. My goal is to give concise and accurate medical information that the general public can understand. Read between the lines: the apocalypse may already be upon us.
One of my main passions--and what I will concentrate on in this blog--is to give a voice to the practicing internist. The health care debate rages in Washington, lobbyists vie for influence, and bills are passed; yet, the people who are at the center of the whole debate have very little voice. Doctors do have their advocacy groups (ACP is among the best), but even those representatives don't truly understand our situation.
I make my living off of seeing patients in my office. I have to meet payroll, pay rent, and cover my other expenses before I can get paid at all. This means that I don't have time to spend in Washington giving my very important perspective. I only get paid for days I am at work.
Blogging has given the doctors "in the trenches" a voice. I have been honored to be able to actually have some influence on the debate through my blog. I have been cited by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and have appeared on NPR. I contribute to the website MedPage Today. It boggles my mind that a practicing doctor in the deep south could actually have the opportunities to voice my views before such a large audience; but, the reason I have gotten this opportunity is that I voice a very important perspective that is rarely heard.
So I hope you enjoy my contributions to this fine blog. I am going to start out re-posting some of my more popular posts. Read between the lines: I am being a little lazy but will cover hot topics when they come up. I am truly honored to be part of ACP, and relish the opportunity to contribute on this blog. I doubt llamas will come up much. Read between the lines: It's irony.
Rob Lamberts, ACP Member, writes the blog Musings of a Distractible Mind and is on Twitter. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and was an early adopter of electronic medical records.
Labels: advocacy, health care reform, health information technology, humor, Rob Lamberts, social media
posted by Dr. Rob at
8:00 AM
1 Comments
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
QD: News Every Day--payment fix inches forward (for this year, anyway)
ACP Internist's daily digest of news and events continues with incremental progress on fixing physician payments, and a double-take on Twitter during surgery.
Health care reform
Health care reform is increasingly unlikely to fix the annual threat of Medicare reimbursement cuts. For this year, at least, the U.S. House is expected to pass its part of the fix on Thursday. (Politico, New York Times)
Instead of a legislative solution, fixing health care will require a profound shift in what patients expect from a doctor's visit. And, the patient-centered medical home has to be at the center of any future health-care system, says one doctor. (WBUR FM of Boston, Indianapolis Star)
There won't be enough doctors to handle the uninsured, said one editorial. But, without health insurance, there are more deaths, said one survey that linked lack of insurance to ED mortality. (Wall Street Journal, AP)
In case you missed it ...
One article questions whether surgeons who broadcast procedures in- step-by-step detail using social media outlets such as Twitter are going too far. When patients do it, too, then maybe it's too much. (Biz Report, ACP Internist)
Labels: health care reform, primary care shortage, QD, social media
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
12:10 PM
0 Comments
Friday, October 16, 2009
Patient uses Twitter as he undergoes appendectomy
Today, live, patient Marc Needham is tweeting his hospital visit, which he just learned will result in an appendectomy. He's Scripps Health's Corporate Director of Web Technology. Also today, live, Henry Ford Hospital is again using Twitter to "broadcast" a surgery, in this case a kidney transplant. The first surgery was "tweeted" this morning, and the recipient surgery will follow this afternoon.
Labels: social media
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
10:43 AM
0 Comments
Friday, September 4, 2009
Why can't we be friends ... on Facebook?
Doctors may have nothing to fear about patients reaching out for medical advice via social media.
CNN profiled patients and physicians who've used Facebook to stay in contact with their patients--either for information or for routine clinical contact such as prescription refills. Social media has been a subject of much discussion but not much clarity. While a majority of ACP members use some form of social media personally and professionally, they also have expressed their concerns about privacy and trying to diagnose patients who need face-to-face visits instead.
Plenty of doctors have avoided patient contact even over e-mail, thinking it to be just one more unreimbursed time-drain. (Others have adopted it wholeheartedly: see here and here.)
But doctors may have nothing to worry about after all. Although the article cited surveys that found half of consumers want to be able to e-mail their doctors, a reader survey on CNN's home page showed that, among 240,000 respondents who'd voted through mid-day Friday, only 11% responded that they would want to contact their doctor through social media.
Labels: patient communication, social media
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
11:23 AM
1 Comments
Friday, July 24, 2009
Survey shows clinical use for social media
About 60% of ACP Internist readers acknowledged using some form of social media, using it not only personally and professionally but clinically as well.
ACP Internist polled its readership online, through its Web site, weekly e-mail update and through the College's Facebook and Twitter accounts, which probably skewed results. 
But results did show that internists are just like other social media users, with 90% using it to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries and marriages, or sharing pictures with friends and family. It's social media, after all.
But social media are increasingly being co-opted professionally, and nearly 70% of respondents use it to reconnect with distant friends or former colleagues, to promote health policy information, or to compare the legal and financial aspects of the practice of medicine. One respondent said social media "helps keep me in touch as a military physician stationed overseas--tough with the time change."
And almost one in four respondents used it clinically, keeping up to date on medical news, sharing cases through Sermo, or responding to questions as a health expert, such as using a blog for patient education. Respondents use social media to communicate lab results, or measure patient improvement or clinical response.
Physicians' cited privacy as their main concern, either releasing too much information online, or outright hacking of personal data, followed closely by the perceived lack of quality of clinical information online. Others worried about how social media might change the doctor-patient relationship.
"I do have patients that have asked to 'friend me,'" one respondent said. "I have always accepted these requests. I am more careful about my postings with that in mind." Another responded, "I would never use it with patients--there is a need to keep personal and professional lives as separate as possible."
And doctors are also aware of the pitfalls of trying to practice medicine online, with the potential for patients to oversimplify their symptoms online when a comprehensive, in-person exam would be warranted. "People may get too comfortable with using the Internet and neglect normal means of communication," one person said.
Labels: patient communication, social media, social networking
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
9:04 AM
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.
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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.
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Robert M. Centor, FACP, contributes short essays contemplating medicine and the health care system.
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EverythingHealth is designed to address the rapid changes in science, medicine, health and healing in the 21st Century.
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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.
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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.
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The alter ego of Kevin Pho, ACP Member, is the closest thing to royalty in the medical blog world.
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The Public Library of Science's open access materials include a blog.
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One of the most popular anonymous blogs written by a doctor.
