I do not consider myself a right-wing healthcare fear-monger. But if I were, this study would be worthy of amplification. As reported concisely in the NY Times, from the journal Demography (not previously known to me), population researchers reported that even though elderly Americans have more medical problems than their peers in Britain, once they […]
Category: Health Care
Have you ever thought, “What if I won an election and was put in charge of an administration.” Halloween weekend seems the perfect time for considering the fantasy (or some would arguer horror) of a DrJohnM administration. (Let it be known, I have some leadership experience: I lead local group rides with some success. A […]
In response to my story on how physician consolidation and hospital ownership of doctors is affecting patient referral patterns, I received an email with this attached PDF file. (Smudges mine) Click to enlarge It is from a cardiac surgeon who doggedly chooses to remain independent. This document appears on his website and also ran in […]
As a specialist, one of the saddest truisms about practicing medicine in the private world has always been how little one’s clinical skills determines referrals. Unfortunately, as our present healthcare climate pushes “providers” to consolidate along the lines of major hospital networks this injustice will only worsen. A decade-or-so ago when I started private practice […]
There can only be one cardiology story to report today. Earlier today, the FDA approved Dabigatran (Pradaxa), an oral anticoagulant for the prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation. Previously, the only drug approved to prevent stroke in patients’ with AF was warfarin. Despite the well known sound scientific data in support of warfarin for the […]
I have an easy solution to a vexing problem in today’s healthcare crisis. A problem so widespread it is worth hundreds of words in the WSJ: long wait times at the doctor’s office. But first, before I give my simple, pragmatic, master-of-the-obvious solution let me say something truthful. I try. I try really hard—to run […]
He was here for routine follow-up. He has atrial fibrillation. He is, and has been well controlled on generic, well-tolerated anti-arrhythmic medicine for years. “I feel great, Doc” He is happy, as am I. But he was confused. Why hadn’t he been switched to the “new” AF medicine. Hmm. Uh-oh. Here we go again. He […]
You can be for freedom. You can be for smaller government that intrudes less. You can be for lower taxes. You can be for most anything, but if you are interested in improving the sagging health of American citizens, get on Michael Bloomberg’s wheel. Today, as reported in the WSJ, NYC mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has […]
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Dear Nurses…Thanks
This came today from a social media stream. It was penned by a hard-working conscientious nurse. “Somewhere right now, a nurse is getting yelled at for being late with meds, holding their bladder because they don’t have time to pee, starving cause they missed lunch, being puked on, pooped on, bled on, yelled at, and […]
“Did you sign those (three) consents?” “This patient needs a short form; your office letter was done 30 days and one hour ago.” (just over the legal limit) “The insurance ‘people’ in area code (***) denied the stress test.” “Mr Smith’s son, an alternative medicine specialist in California wants a phone call to discuss herbal […]
I have heard this for years, “Doc, that stuff is rat poison!” But only lately have I heard this, “Doctor M, that company who can’t talk about their drug brought lunch again today.” Well, it is finally here (well almost), the first warfarin substitute, dabigatran. Sine antiquity, or at least it seems that long, the blood […]