Since I zoned out on the last Grand Rounds theme, I feel like maybe I should take this one a little more seriously and talk about gifts – specifically, the most important gift I’ve ever gotten. That gift is money. If you’re looking for a gift to give the sick person in your life, money [...]
Sun, December 21 2008 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
These days, a person can buy just about anything online with one or two clicks. When I tried to pay my COBRA premium, it took me half an hour. My employer subcontracts COBRA management to a company called ADP Benefits Services. They’re supposed to send me a coupon every month, which I return with payment. [...]
Sun, December 21 2008 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
I get a lot of spam from websites that want me to put an “award” on my blog, which is really just a way to drive traffic to their advertisers. So when I saw a link to my site from Medgadget’s Medical Weblog Awards, I assumed it was more of the same. It turns out [...]
Fri, December 19 2008 » Uncategorized » 2 Comments
Pauline Chen, MD writes that patients should be more educated about their surgeons. She quotes Dr. Thomas Russell of the American Colllege of Surgeons. “If we are truly going to reform the health care system in the U.S.,” Dr. Russell said, “everybody has to participate actively and must educate themselves. That means doctors, nurses, other [...]
Fri, December 19 2008 » Uncategorized » 3 Comments
Kevin, responding to Ezra, argues that nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants aren’t willing to take on a bigger share of primary care: Already, 42 percent of mid-level providers practice in specialty fields, and I fully expect this number to rise if the primary care environment continues to deteriorate, especially when contrasted to the salary and [...]
Thu, December 18 2008 » Uncategorized » 10 Comments
The company that makes Airborne has to pay out yet another shitload of money for the bogus claims it makes, in what I hope is a blow against all sorts of quackery. Why we don’t do a better job of regulating ‘supplements’, I know not – but in the meantime, at least we have the [...]
Wed, December 17 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
I know disease management is supposed to be the next big thing for those of us with chronic illness (see Jaan Sidorov’s blog, for example), and I think it’s generally a good idea. But when somebody calls you at 9 in the morning and wants to talk about your health, it’s… unnerving. I’m reasonably certain [...]
Wed, December 17 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
A doc named Jonathan Glauser somehow got a rant on the lousy state of primary care published in the Emergency Medicine News, raising a bit of a stink (and then some). I agree with his critics that this piece is mostly a failure, but a lot of the problems he describes in primary care are [...]
Tue, December 16 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
Dave Racer has a novel argument about what’s wrong with our health care system: it’s the immigrants. U.S. residents have come from every nation, and our newest residents sometimes bring with them decades of health-related problems. Racial, cultural, hereditary and disease histories have a great impact on U.S. societal outcomes; this is far different from [...]
Tue, December 16 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
A Chronic Does hosts this week’s Grand Rounds. Funny thing: I missed the whole “best of the year” theme, so I sent along the best of the week, as always. If I were to pick my best post, it would probably be my entry into the discussion of whether health care is a right. First [...]
Tue, December 16 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
A novel crime against decency by Duncan Cross
