Dr. Kevin

1. How will the media influence health reform?
   Here's a fascinating look at how the media will play a major role in the upcoming health reform efforts.The public will rely on the on media to disseminate health policy information in order to obtain informed opinions. The problem is, health policy is dry, and rarely results in attention-grabbing ...
   Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:00:06 -0600
   
   

2. An early C-section risks infant complications
   The magic number is 39 weeks.MedPage Today reports on a NEJM study that looked at women who underwent a repeat Caesarean delivery. It found that infants who delivered early, defined as less than 39 weeks, had a markedly increased risk of adverse outcomes, which included "adverse respiratory outcom...
   Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:00:01 -0600
   
   

3. President Bush, lauded by The New York Times? On health care?
   Read it to believe it.The editorial staff (via Catron) throws the outgoing president a bone, praising him for increasing American support for the global fight against AIDS, pushing through Medicare's drug prescription plan, granting Massachusetts a Medicaid waiver to help with their health reform pl...
   Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:09:50 -0600
   
   

4. Recruiting a surgeon to a rural area, it takes more than money
   Surgeons are often lured to practice in rural areas for large initial sums of money.A typical package can be as high as a $350,000 salary, guaranteed for 3 years, along with a large signing bonus.But long term, the prospects aren't as rosy says Jeffrey Parks. First off, rural surgeons may perform p...
   Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0600
   
   

5. Poll: Which events of 2008 most affected and will continue to affect practicing physicians?
   Which events of 2008 most affected and will continue to affect practicing physicians?Here are my top 3.First, is Medicare's institution of "never" events, where payment is denied for certain medical errors. In addition to uncontroversial events like operating on the wrong patient, Medicare has also...
   Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:21:29 -0600
   
   

6. How Obama's health reform will hurt Canada
   Providing universal care will stretch our already thin primary care resources beyond capacity.So where will the new doctors come from, given the influx of 50 million or so newly insured patients? Look no further than our neighbors up north.Analysts are predicting a surge in primary care demand that...
   Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:00:00 -0600
   
   

7. How doctors can stay on time when seeing patients
   I see close to 30 patients a day and generally stay on time.So yes, it's possible. With customer service being an important component of patient satisfaction, it pays to stay on time. That's literally true, as you can also see more patients in a day when you're punctual.Most patients do not like s...
   Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:09:49 -0600
   
   

8. Ban smoking and watch the rate of heart attacks drop
   Consider the town of Pueblo, Colorado.Since banning smoking in public places three years ago, hospital admissions for myocardial infarctions had declined 41% from pre-ban levels.MedPage Today points to the numbers from the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, and also finds that neighboring ...
   Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:00:00 -0600
   
   

9. How to intubate yourself
   Don't try this at home.(via The Happy Hospitalist and Bad Medicine, Good Solutions)
   Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:38:28 -0600
   
   

10. What if restaurants were paid like doctors?
    Imagine if food was a universal right in America, and citizens can forward the bill to the national government.Wendy Lynch does so, and hypothetically describes a system which assigns an "RVU" value to weigh the cost of different meals. Examples include "basic oatmeal and fruit served at a diner in...
    Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:00:01 -0600
    
    

11. Treating chronic pain with narcotics and avoiding the risk of addiction
    Management of chronic pain and anxiety is a significant challenge in primary care.Rob Lamberts provides an excellent overview of how he manages pain requiring narcotic medications, and touches on other controlled substances like benzodiazepines.Physician prescribing patterns can be quite variable, r...
    Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:00:01 -0600