The man on the other line sits in a cubicle in a far-away city. He is a physician, another “provider,” as we are called on their website. The accent is British (how ironic), and his voice suggests to a trained observer, he is older. All I wanted to do was a simple stress test with […]
Category: Health Care Reform
It happened. Guilty. I confess. Reading about Dr Berwick’s recess appointment to lead CMS induced me to watch a Fox news clip. Gosh, I feel bad about it. It felt good, though. Patients–that’s you and me–should know that CMS controls doctors, nurses and especially hospital/practice managers. They are ten times more scary than the radar […]
“Hey David put that stone down. Don’t risk enraging the giant.” So it is in Louisville, where a small band of academic doctors have dared to challenge the multi-billion dollar local beast, Humana. The story, as reported on the front page of the Courier-Journel, describes how a small group of doctors are testing the waters […]
This week I traveled to a major “arrhythmia institute” in the southern US. For a specialist in a rapidly evolving field, venturing out of the protected cocoon of one’s routine, to see other’s approach, especially those at major referral centers, is immensely helpful. Although trips like this do not count for CME, they are just […]
Categories
Denied…
When a letter comes from a hospital employee with the title Appeals Coordinator, Patient Management Services, it is not likely to be good news. And it was not. That there is such a cubicle somewhere deep within hospital administration real estate speaks metaphorically to the current health-care delivery quagmire. Keeping the case details turned down low, […]
Can a consumer (patient) really comparison shop for their health-care needs? It seems there are entrepreneurs who want to help. Check the specifics at this website. It will not take long. In this age of monopoly-money like health care charges, isn’t the notion of comparison shopping a joke? Sure, you might find one doctor charges […]
When does Medicine in America rock? When things like this happens… The call came during one of the earlier cases to see this patient who had complete AV block. As her BP was normal, the report described her as“stable.” (Note: cardiac output requires an adequate heart rate, so just because one’s BP is stable, does […]
My late grandmother, Nellie, coined the term “chiseler.” I thought of her today at the oral surgeon’s office. It turns out, my wife, Staci, and I garnered a 50% discount on the removal of the 5 pesky baby teeth. How? It was a three pronged attack… I came from the hospital in between cases […]
I know a boy with these pesky baby teeth. They just won’t come out. The orthodontist recommends removal of these five persistent remnants before placing 5000 dollars worth of braces. So the next stop is the oral surgeon’s office. The oral surgeon’s receptionist says it’s cash up front before the procedure. She looks sad as […]
The interview, such as it was, happened on the walk in from the doctor’s parking lot. As early morning approachability of doctors varies widely, one is especially cautious about starting conversations at this time of day. He had recently changed his very busy Internal Medicine practice to a concierge style practice. Maybe because of this, […]
At the risk of exposing my naivete, or being too much like the geeky student who sits in the front of the classroom, I can’t help but welcome the upcoming policing of cardiac device implants. As recently written by Dr Wes, government policing agencies, the DOJ and RAC folks, are planning to focus on […]