Million Med March October 1, 2009

Docs 4 PATIENT CARE Ok everyone, we are on the eve of our second big trip to Washington. It will never be perfect, but as good as it was for everyone last time, I expect that this one will be even better, because we learned a lot from last time and we'll be a bit more organized, I hope. Enclosed are suggested talking points. Remember, they are SUGGESTED talking points. You can add your own to the list if you think that there is something missing. Please don't ask us to redo this with your point that we left out. 20 doctors can come up with 21 different talking point lists. This list encompasses 95% of the things that we all seem to agree about. We have some appointments set up. The Congressmen and Senators know about us and word has gotten...

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Million Med March

   Put this on your schedule:  October 1, 2009 in Washington, D.C. An Interview with Hal Scherz, MD a Pediatric Urologist. Hal Scherz practices in Atlanta, Georgia.. Hal has taken the bold step of forming a grass roots organization to link individual physicians and groups with patient advocacy groups to visit congressional representatives (U.S. Sentate, and House of Representatives) during the Health Reform debate and afterward. The organization is ‘DOCS4PATIENTCARE.ORG ‘. The organization also goes by the same name. Health Train: Hal, tell me about docs4patientcare . Dr. Scherz: I decided to form a group that would go to Washington DC for the   "White Coats to Congress Rally "   during the initial...

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More 'free' Things..

Health IT continues to be in the limelight of health reform. And there is a great deal of scrambling to obtain a share of the stimulus IT funding passed by congress this year. Two cardiologists from Johns Hopkins University , David Meyerson and Sammy Zakira elaborate in the Washington Post a typical frustrating encounter for the majority of physicians who are confronted by a seriously ill patient and an unobtainable coherent medical history. Both of these physicians attend patients at the VA Hospitals in Baltimore, MD. They write, "Most currently available electronic medical record software is unwieldy and difficult to quickly access, and there is still no vehicle for the timely exchange of critical medical data between providers and facilities." The cardiologists note that the federal...

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He's Back

  Most of us realize that our government in D.C. has been out of control for over a decade (perhaps much longer). According to this interview with Pete Stark, Congressman from California it makes sense that the more debt the government has, the wealthier the country is.     I am not certain of the rationale of this statement but perhaps it alludes to the ability of our government to borrow money reflects upon our income, ability and willingness to make payments on that debt.  In October 2008 we came to an abrupt ending to that rhetoric.  The past 12 months are a witness to the failure of that economic model .  We shall call that "Pete Stark Economics".  Perhaps in 30 years or so Mr. Stark will be the Nobel Prize winner in Economics.  However I...

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The Uninsured Patient

One of the greatest frustrations for any physician in the U.S. is the "uninsured patient".  Coming face to face with one of the 'forgotten' patients can ruin an entire day of work. Knowing how to help a patient and being totally powerless to do so ranks right up there with an announced audit from the IRS and/or a letter from a plaintiff's attorney that you are about to get your a-- sued. In fact what has evolved in most practice offices is a highly refined  filtering mechanism to keep these patients away from you, the physician.  This vicious and exclusionary process developed without any forethought as a means to insure the financial survival of our present health system.  It flies in the face of what  physicians are really all about....caring for people. In order...

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THE MILLION MED MARCH

  JOIN THE MARCH!!!     "I'm tired, mad as hell, and just not going to take it anymore," says Richard Chudacoff, MD, a gynecologist from Las Vegas. "I am going to Washington, DC. At noon, on Thursday, October 1, 2009, I will be on the Mall with a few other physicians." How many times have YOU thought or even muttered this under your breath?? "We simply decided that we will not work that day and perhaps the day before and maybe even the day afterward," says Dr. Chudacoff. "Perhaps we will show the country that physicians are worth more than a $5 copay; that physicians are more important than a mid-level healthcare worker; and that our profession is needed, our services are required, and our practice is a calling to...

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The Medicare Value Index

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has advanced this proposal as part of her Medicare Payment Improvement Act, and it is now at the center of the Senate's discussion on how to craft health care reform. The value index would penalize Medicare providers that spend above the national average and reward providers that spend below the national average with more funding. The idea is to raise the quality of health care and encourage efficiency, but in reality it will undercut those with the greatest health care needs, namely the poor and minorities. By failing to consider major factors driving regional spending differences, the value index is not what proponents make it out to be. Consider this: The average monthly rent in San Mateo is $1,658 while it's $873 in Minneapolis. Salaries for medical support...

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OBAMA LIES??

  A few simple solutions:  Are we up to it?   From the California Health Care Foundation: Another simple solution. Gubernatorial Candidate Campbell Offers Health Plan for California OBAMA   LIES??     or perhaps to put it more gently, HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT. Recently in MedPolitics,     EvanMadianosMD    -discuses's the producers of health care. The largest problem in our health cares system is....the uninsured.  Physicians when they come across uninsured patients feel great angst that they cannot order tests, or do appropriate indicated procedures for a patient.  This perhaps is the greatest stress of today's medicine.  This is the reason many physicians chose to work...

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It's True, It's True

I wanted to thank all of you who attended the recent 'golden llama awards ceremony, attended by  Representative Paul Ryan, Joe Wilson (you lie,  you lie) Vice president Joe Biden, ex VP Dick Cheney,and numerous honored guests. I also have it from an undisclosed source who prefers to remain anonymous  since (he,(she) is not authorized to make a statement) that Michelle Obama was lurking under one of the tables hoping that her husband would  receive a Llama. Mr. Obama, however was making the rounds of CNN, MSNBC, ABC,  Foxnews, NPR,  CBS,  CW, CNBC,  SciFi, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, and his most important appearance on "Dirty Jobs". I should also recognize Borat and Bruno ...

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Well Worth Repeating on the Health Train

September 08, 2009 From  The Health Care Blog (Thank you Matt Holt) 10,000 US physicians have something to say and we're not wasting time. By DANIEL PALESTRANT, MD Today, as Congress returns to session, all 100 Senators will be listening to physicians on SERMO when they deliver the “US Physician’s Appeal” on Capitol Hill.   Wasting no time, my physician colleagues and I, armed with the over 10,000 signatures will deliver the Appeal directly to lawmakers, requesting them to include us in national health reform strategy. We are pledging our commitment to true healthcare reform focused on the real sources of spiraling, bureaucratic costs and by doing this on day one of Congress’ return, we are telling them that true healthcare...

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Health care Systems in Europe

It is down  to 'crunch time'. The media are calling this the biggest speech of President Obama's first year in office.  The media thrives on playing off Republicans vs. Democrats, Left vs. Right. We physicians are cynics when it comes to government and bureaucracy.  We like to get down and 'dirty' and see and treat with minimal interruption, minimize record keeping, and other paperwork.   Let's be real....for every patient encounter..ten minutes of recording data or notes adds up to several hours/day. Will EMR improve efficiency?  Perhaps it will if someone other than the physician enters the data.  At 200 dollars/ physician  hour in productivity assigning this responsibility is both foolish, and not...

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Labor Day

Here it is the last of the four day weekend for me.  Seems it was just Friday with three days off. I had a chance to do much reading and study all the different propositions for health care reform. Analysts all agree that the United States has the best quality of science, and technology available to those who can pay for it. Our system of health care payments is failing (or has failed), much like the 'bubble' in real estate, financial markets, and internet technology. So why should we be any different? T.R. Reid offers a dispassionate appraisal of health systems throughout the developed world.  Reid is a strong proponent of unified health care delivery. He states that the best programs, such as those in Switzerland, France, Germany and Taiwan (yes Virginia, Taiwan). are actually...

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The AMA has a Blog

The AMA has a blog (no comments allowed, yet), and a VISION for Health Reform. It all sounds so wonderful and idyllic. Some of us bought into this mindset decades ago with good intentions, only to be used, abused, and betrayed by many who we thought were on the same road to provide care to our patients. The AMA still has good intentions, but it may be warped into positions which are not intended by the membership, (and non-membership). These physicians have little to say in the organization, if they continue voting with their feet. del.icio.us Tags: ama,blog,social media,health reform...

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Universal Debt

I have not been posting as regularly as I would like to. I've been busy working and spending whatever leftover time reading about proposed health care reform....The townhall meetings have raised a lot of questions and questionable answers.  Legislators admit, there is no bill.  (How could President Obama even suggest it could be decided an passed before the August recess?) One has to learn to read between the lines and hear what is not being said during these townhalls. A disturbing trend is how the media develops opinions and offers criticisms regarding the proposals.  I've taken some time to read parts of the drafts and read some analysis by those who have a lot more time than I do. There is a high interest and    opinions in the blogosphere as well. I check...

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HR 3200--The not so Fine Print

Congressman Mike Rogers, Michigan speaks about HR 3200.   Pass this along to your colleagues, and  your patients..... Perverse incentives::: ...

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Don't Leave Us Behind

KEVINMD always finds these 'neat programs'....

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The AMA has a Blog

The AMA has a blog (no comments allowed, yet), and a VISION for Health Reform. It all sounds so wonderful and idyllic. Some of us bought into this mindset decades ago with good intentions, only to be used, abused, and betrayed by many who we thought were on the same road to provide care to our patients. The AMA still has good intentions, but it may be warped into positions which are not intended by the membership, (and non-membership). These physicians have little to say in the organization, if they continue voting with their feet. del.icio.us Tags: ama,blog,social media,health reform...

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