Dec 3, 2019
In every major metropolitan area within the United States, you will find the names of leading medical malpractice attorneys, on TV and billboards, alerting you to their availability. I sometimes wonder if TV and radio stations would face imminent bankruptcy if the advertising revenue from plaintiffs' attorneys and politicians was restricted on the airwaves? As a licensed attorney for many decades, I can remember when these massive advertising campaigns by lawyers were considered illegal by the respective state bar associations. However, as time has moved forward, we have achieved this excessive commercialization of medical malpractice. In a recent Medscape Survey...
Read MoreFiled Under: changes in healthcare, doctor shortages, healthcare quality, Insider, patient satisfaction
Nov 20, 2019
I once read an article that one of my colleagues left on my desk entitled "2017 Healthcare in Crisis, Needs a Revolution" by Dr. Bill Bysinger, PhD. The opening sentence of this articles states "Having been involved in healthcare since 1980, I continue to be frustrated by the lack of real change or improvement in the industry". In addition, we are confronted every day with news about what our political leaders are contemplating doing in regards to repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). For those of us who spend most of our waking hours involved in the process of...
Read MoreFiled Under: changes in healthcare, doctor shortages, healthcare quality, patient satisfaction
Jun 26, 2019
“Heart Disease Roars Back,” was the front page headline of an extensive article in the June 22-23, 2019, “Wall Street Journal” on the increase in heart disease. The article by Betsy McKay states, "The death rate for cardiovascular disease – which includes heart disease and strokes – has fallen just 4% since 2011 after dropping more than 70% over six decades, according to mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." The article goes on to state, "Particularly alarming is that the death rate that is actually rising for middle-aged Americans."In another article in the “Jerusalem Post” introducing a new innovative test for sleep...
Read MoreFiled Under: Health Management, mental status affects health, patient satisfaction, preventive healthcare
May 29, 2019
Some years ago I spoke at an American Hospital Association meeting to a large group of hospital executives and trustees. The first slide of my presentation was a picture of a 747 jumbo Jet. The question I asked was, “Why would I start my presentation with an aircraft to an audience of hospital leadership?” Then I asked, “How long would we Americans tolerate a 747 jumbo jet crashing every day-and-a-half?” The response was obviously universal - we would not. My next comment was that if you do the calculation, that was the number of hospital deaths caused by nosocomial (hospital...
Read MoreFiled Under: changes in healthcare, chattanooga, doctor shortages, Health Management, healthcare quality, Insider, medical access, patient satisfaction
Mar 26, 2019
In an interesting article on Medscape.com, “Have We Missed the Hidden Cause of Medical Overuse,” the author raises a provocative issue about medical overuse. He cites the story of when a mother kisses the scrape of a toddler, "No healing takes place, yet both parties appreciate the ritual." Continuing, he states, "The ritual shows how we might be programmed to both seek and offer healthcare even when it isn't medically useful.” He believes this is "Conspicuous Caring". The provocative conclusion is that healthcare isn't just about health; it's also a grand signaling exercise called conspicuous caring. If healthcare was only a transaction about getting well,...
Read MoreFiled Under: changes in healthcare, Health Management, healthcare quality, Insider, mental status affects health, patient satisfaction, unnecessary testing
