Diabetes: Some Good News

Those who suffer from this debilitating and often deadly disease may be in line for some good news for a change. FoIB Holly R sent me links to two potentially wonderful breakthroughs.First up:"Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center are innovating new ways to treat diabetes using techniques from weight-loss surgery"There's a sort of "d'unh!" moment here: morbidly...

Nine Signs You Should Fire Your Patient

This post is a response to the article 9 Signs You Should Fire Your Doctor.A doctor keeping a patient that is medically non-compliant, or who displays unacceptable behavior, may seem the easier path to tread, but actually such patients are a detriment to one's medical practice as well as a malpractice suit waiting to happen. Here are nine signs that it’s time to fire your patient.1. You don’t mesh....

Why You Need an Umbrella (Liability) Policy, Part II

Because you just never know:"This was the moment when a woman driver caused a £700,000 five-car pile-up as her Bentley collided with a Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Marti...

Historically High. No, Wait: Historically Low

Do you sometimes (often?) get the feeling that the rocket surgeons in DC have been inhaling again? Take, for example, two emails I received today, just hours apart.The first one breathlessly exclaims:"Healthcare spending to reach new heights ... will account for almost a fifth of the nation’s economy by 2020, with government making up almost half of it, Medicare’s actuaries project"Oh noes, the sky...

Hips, Knees, Tonsils and the MVNHS©: Oh, my!

Those rascally rationers at the Much Vaunted National Health Service© are on a roll. Not content to deny essential medical care to cancer patients and patients dying in the hallways, they've set their sites on the more mundane.To wit:"Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the NHS money."If memory serves (and it most assuredly...

EMTALA vs DIY

It's not clear from this story, but it appears that the gentleman may have benefited from the services of an emergency room under the auspices of EMTALA:"A 63-year-old American man with a hernia plunged a butter knife into his abdomen to try to fix the problem, and later put a lit cigarette in the wound."As the young people say, "you're doing it wrong."But believe it or not, this was the most eye-opening...

MLR Revisited

In the law, there's an aphorism that goes "he who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client." I would argue that as regards insurance, and especially health insurance, "he who is his own agent has a fool for a client."[Click here for a detailed explication of why this is so. HGS]Basically, the agent is the interface between the carrier and the client, and serves as both advisor to and advocate for...

Cavacade of Risk #136: Riskiest Sports edition is up!

Jacob Irwin presents this week's collection of risky posts, all centered on risky sports, from horse racing to cave-diving (and don't miss the cheerleaders...

Weather or not....This is kinda cool [UPDATED]

About two months ago, our little corner of southwest Ohio was treated to a major thunderstorm, complete with "golf ball sized" hail.As an aside: I had heard the term "golf ball sized hail" before, but never seen it myself. I imagined a roughly 2" diameter sphere. What came from the sky was, in fact, a rather flat piece of ice about 2" in diameter. Very scary.All the west-facing windows at my office...

Grand Rounds: Good Care edition

The folks at the Prepared Patient Forum host this week's round-up of medblog posts, focusing on what it takes to find good care and make the most of it. Do check it o...

Fraud, Shmaud: Medicare/Medicaid edition

The folks at Cato have just released this video which shows just how rampant and out-of-control Medicare and Medicaid fraud have become. The numbers - our tax dollars! - in play here are truly astounding. What's perhaps more disturbing, though, is the sense one gets that this kind of abuse is considered by leadership to be a feature, not a b...

Medical Necessity Redux

It's time once again to open up the can o'worms known as "medical necessity." This caused an interesting kerfluffle some years ago when we discussed it as regards IVF. Yet here we go, once more into that (metaphorical) breech.Last week, Bob wrote about "free" prescriptions, and their true cost. In that post, he noted that the "Institute of Medicine wants women to get free birth control pills ... [w]ith...

California Health Care

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Helpful Alzheimer's News

Back in May, we brought to our readers' attention a new online resource for (pretty much) all things Alzheimer's-related. While this horrible disease continues to claim lives (both metaphorically and actually), there may be hope that it can be staved off, if not eradicated:"A provocative new analysis identifies the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer's disease — and concludes that more than half of...

Wait Times in the Medical Office

It seems that wait times in the doctor’s office has been as big an issue in civilizations as food and shelter. The new twist on this age old problem is to have physician’s pay patients for “unusual wait times”. Patient Elaine Farstad told CNN "to date, she's sent bills to six physicians who have seen her more than 30 minutes late, three of which have paid.” As a medical manager I have focused many...

Cavalcade of Risk #136: Call for submissions

Jacob Irwin hosts next week's CavRisk. Entries are due by Monday (the 25th).NB: We're now using this submission tool: The BC WorkAroundOnce there, you'll be asked to provide:■ Your post's url and title■ Your blog's url and name■ Your name and email■ A (brief) summary of the post ("Remarks")At the bottom of the form, you'll see a drop-down menu; simply select "Cavalcade of Risk" then press "Submit"...

Captain Obvious meets ObamaCare©

Breaking hard:"Healthcare law could leave families with high insurance costs"In related news:■ The sun may rise in the East tomorrow morning.■ Putting your hand on a hot stove may cause discomfort.■ Drinking water may avert thirst.[Hat Tip for ObamaCare© item: FoIB Holly...

Health Wonk Review: Get it while it's HOT!

HWR co-founder Julie Ferguson presents this week's red-hot round-up of healthcare wonkery, sizzlin' with great posts on everything from Medicaid in Oregon to cost curves and EMR. It's so hot, it's co...

ObamaCare© kills jobs, too

It's not just Grandma and Grandpa being pulled off life support, it's our jobs: [Hat Tip: Ace of Spad...

More On (Moron?) Those Exchanges

Even as Ohio voters look to shield the state from it, our new Governor has announced that "plans are moving forward to create a statewide marketplace or exchange for health insurance, as mandated by [ObamaCare©] ... the state has received federal money to plan for building an exchange."Um, John: what part of the word "No" don't you understand?But it gets worse:"Taylor, who also heads Ohio's Department...

Free Rx = Higher Premiums

The Institute of Medicine wants women to get free birth control pills. Care to guess how much free costs?As reported by the L. A. Times . . .The Institute of Medicine report, commissioned by the Obama administration, recommended that all U.S.-approved birth control methods -- including the "morning after pill," taken shortly after intercourse to forestall pregnancy -- be added to the federal government's...

No CLASS

Read my lips, no new taxes, but there will be new revenues . . .The gang of 6 in DC have cooked up a witches brew to satiate the head warlock but I don't think the natives back home are going to like it.KHN (Kaiser Health News) reports a plan to keep the country running, albeit in a deficit, but sputtering along none the less.The 'Gang of Six,' a bipartisan group of senators, today unveiled a deficit-reducing...

Another 1,000 Words...

From IWV:<Click here for details&...

Grand Rounds go virtual (touring, that is)

Elaine Schattner is on staycation, so she decided to take her 'Rounds on a beautiful tour of medbloggers' home towns. Great pics accompany even better posts, so don't miss o...

There IS a difference...

Both health and disability insurance are (like auto and home) based on the concept of indemnification . That is, they are designed on the premise that one can both identify and quantify a given risk, and then offload some portion of that risk to an insurer.Health insurance bases these quantities on the cost of health care; car insurance on the cost of a new vehicle (among other things); and disability...

Civility at the Medical Office

Over my 8 years as a medical practice manager I have had my share of patients not on their best behavior. I often have to tell patients no, we cannot do that because of 1) office policies, 2) federal policies, or 3) legality. It is at this point that the abusive language begins and I am accused of no customer service, being mean, and other colorful remarks. (The best question was, “Do you...

Welcome Aboard!

It's our pleasure to welcome long-time guest-blogger Kelley Beloff as a regular contributor. Regular readers know her as our resident Medical Office Maven (here, for example, or here); we're looking forward to showcasing her interesting and unique insights on a more regular basis.Her first post as an official blogger is coming up shortly, so stay tuned...

Sandy is Gone

Sandy Tucker, our dear cyber friend who was a very brave woman and inspiration to all who knew her, has left this world behind.She passed away last evening.Her soul is now at rest.But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not fai...

Lest We Forget: ObamaWaiver© Mania Rolls On...

Last time we checked (about a month ago), ObamaWaivers© appeared to have peaked at about 1400. That seemed to be the saturation point for these little political nuggets.Or so we thought.Turns out, HHS Secretary Shecantbeserious still had a few burning a hole in her purse:"The Health and Human Services Department granted 39 new waivers last month from part of the healthcare law, bringing the total...

Flying AirHealth

FoIB Michael Cannon, the Cato Institute's Director of Health Policy Studies, alerts us to this outstanding video that perfectly illustrates how health care will work under ObamaCare©.I'd say "enjoy," but...well, you'll s...

Please Sir, May I Have Another?

One of the provisions of Obamacrap was to close loopholes and eliminate "abuse" of FSA's and HSA's. By requiring a doctor's prescription for OTC medication the brainiac's in DC thought they would eliminate or reduce the purchase of these meds.In their distorted view of the world, they could "save $5 billion over 10 years by...

Taxpayers Hosed by Medicare Approved Scooters

Medicare will spend almost $1 billion on scooters for Medicare beneficiaries but more than half those dollars are wasted on people who don't need a motorized chair. According to a report by the OIG (Office of Inspector General for Health and Human Services), many who got the scooters didn't need one over 60% of the time Medicare...

HSA News

First, courtesy of UHC, we learn that next year's Health Savings Account contributions and policy regs have been published by the IRS.Some highlights:■ The max annual contribution limit for single coverage is up $50 to $3,100; family max is also increased to $6.250 (a $100 step up)■ The max OOP (out of pocket) limit for underlying High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), which includes deductible and...

AustraliaHealth© meets Mustang Ranch

Australia's national health care system (which is called, interestingly enough, Medicare) seems to have a problem. Although "(p)rimary health care remains the responsibility of the federal government," said government isn't actually keen on providing it.Which leads to, um, interesting personal solutions:"The day after Rachel Rohrlach and her soon-to-be-husband, farmer Chris Rohrlach, announced they...

Along the Oregon Trail

As we noted Monday, "you are more likely to die if you are on government insurance than if you have no insurance at all." And, of course, Oregon's health care "system" is an exemplar of this result. Well, Cato's Michael Cannon reports on a yearlong experiment on Beaver State citizens, and the results aren't pretty:"Oregon decided to enroll an additional 10,000 people in its Medicaid program via lottery...

Cavalcade of Risk #135: Independence Days Edition now up...

Celebrate your own independence from the mundane with Notwithstanding's unique take on this great collection of risk-related posts. BONUS: A cool sideshow game featuring the flags of countries with national holidays in Ju...

Speaking of Exchange Policies

One of ObamaCare©'s major pitfalls is the so-called Exchanges. As we've seen with RomneyCare©, these may look good on paper, but their real-life implementation leave much to be desired. We've long been proponents of state-based experimentation, of course, so if the Bay State's happy with them, fine. But that doesn't mean that turning over their basic structure to the likes of HHS Secretary Shecantbeserious...

Grand Rounds: "It's Up To Us" edition

Our theme this week is "Personal Responsibility" - only posts that address this issue have been included. I was quite impressed with the creativity that potential contributors brought to the table to make sure their posts fit the bill.We like outside-the-bun thinkers.The concept of personal responsibility (or accountability,...

Monday LinkFest

As is so often the case, these are items of interest which don't seem to merit their own, dedicated post. Still, we'd hate to miss mentioning them:■ Buckeyes Buck BambiCare©?Maybe so:"More than 540,000 voters in the state have signed petitions in favor of a ballot initiative to amend Ohio’s state constitution to directly conflict with Obamacare’s individual mandate."Assuming those half-a-million-plus...

Passages

[7/16/11: Sandy passed away last evening. She will be missed.]Best selling author Gail Sheehy wrote a book several years ago titled "Passages". The book discusses the changes in life as we move from one stage to the next.We start as a child, grow through the teen and young adult years and so forth. Along the way we have family...