As I walked through the labor and delivery unit, a short-cut to my office, I laughed out loud as I read this email. It is from a good friend, who is a prominent attorney, bike racer and Republican. It was in response to my recent post using electrophysiology examples to show that health care costs continue […]
It’s official. It now takes longer to do all the necessary forms, than to do a simple cardiac procedure, like a cardio-version. Seeing the patient, administering a sedative, and delivering a synchronized shock that converts AF to regular rhythm takes just a few minutes. However, in 2010 (in all hospitals), the number of forms has […]
The chief actuary of CMS has recently released a 20,000 word document stating that even with the expected cost savings from our new health-care law, medical costs will continue to increase. Shocking. Our new health-care law means well. It will surely help some, like those with pre-existing conditions. As a preamble, I need to say: […]
Medical prowess has exploded in the past decade. Â The toolbox of therapeutic options has grown so large that often times, the most challenging aspect of patient care is in matching the right tool to the right patient. Â There is no better example than the expanding capability to ablate atrial fibrillation. Now that I can successfully […]
His wife said, “I couldn’t wake him from his nap.” The coroner told her he died in his sleep without moving a muscle. His family doctor told me that Parkinson’s had slowed him greatly in the past year. He was 81, and the day before, he had enjoyed the usual lunch with friends. His multi-lead […]
Yesterday, I wrote that doctors might need help in getting our patients to make only modest changes in their lifestyle. Could our government help? Like the fat guy climbing the hill who needs a push, our patients need help. In Louisville, we have donuts worthy of feature stories in the local paper. The banning of […]
The solution is so easy. It sits right before our eyes. The methodology is known. Small Steps to Heart Health was big headlines in today’s WSJ. As if the secret was revealed. The report succinctly argues that simple lifestyle choices, like daily exercise and better nutrition are surprisingly successful. Shocking! As an illustration of a […]
The solution is so easy. It sits right before our eyes. The methodology is known. Small Steps to Heart Health was big headlines in today’s WSJ. As if the secret was revealed. The report succinctly argues that simple lifestyle choices, like daily exercise and better nutrition are surprisingly successful. Shocking! As an illustration of a […]
Reading news reports on the future–and present–of doctoring can get gloomy. The question came from the quiet one in the back. Self-reflection came upon me immediately. There were so many technical questions: AF ablation, when to use an LV lead, who gets an ICD, and how do you decide on warfarin–just to name a few. […]
Unfortunately, there are therapies in medical practice which become worse than the disease they are intended to treat. Us heart specialists are not immune from these transformative therapies. Even dumber than the ineffective rhythm drug that comes highly recommended by academia, is the LifeVest: a wearable automatic shock collar for people. He was in his […]