Physician Autonomy

Is the Patient-Doctor Relationship Still Alive? Yes.

It seems perverse to deliver healthcare services at a place called the Minute Clinic. The kind of physician-patient relationship that can be cultivated in a minute is not one to write home about. While CVS and Walgreens see geriatric primary care as yet another untapped gold mine, for me, the relationship memorialized in Norman Rockwell’s “Physician” resonates as much today as it did 90 years ago. Seamless ecosystems are no match for a “willingness to place professional expertise at the feet of childhood magic.”

Are Health Insurance Companies Practicing Medicine Without a License?

The Regence auditor in charge of my case, Anke Menzer-Wallace, failed to turn up any irregularities in our documentation. But, still, Ms. Menzer-Wallace issued a stern admonition to my father and me, ordering us not to open our clinic on Saturdays to administer flu shots.

The Reasons Childbirth is safer in Libya than the United States

During the same period, the U.S. maternal mortality more than doubled, skyrocketing from 9.8 to 21.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. That’s six times higher than most Scandinavian countries and three times higher than Canada and the United Kingdom. In the U.S., around 700-900 women die and another 65,000 experience life-threatening complications during or after childbirth. By any standard, the U.S. has the worst performance on this crucial measure of any country in the developed world.

27 Pediatricians on the Chopping Block

In the fiscal fight over health care costs, pediatricians are on the chopping block. In hospitals and clinics across the country, pediatricians are being laid off in droves, leaving the clinical burden to mid-level providers, family physicians, and emergency room doctors. These decisions are being made by suits over scrubs, and they are putting patients at risk.

MedStar Franklin Square Hospital: The Case Against Global Capitation

The unforeseen casualty in this story is the pediatric department at MedStar Franklin Square Hospital. On April 3rd, 2018, MedStar abruptly announced all pediatric inpatient care and emergency services were closing, effective April 6th, and all pediatric staff, including eight physicians, were terminated. Sadly, Baltimore County is home to some of the nations’ most vulnerable families, struggling with high rates of drug addiction, domestic violence, and poverty.

How These Useless Doctors’ Exams Are Raising Health Care Costs (via Fortune Magazine Online)

MOC is a cash cow for the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and its 24 specialty boards, which administer the exams. According to its most recent tax filings, ABMS president Lois Margaret Nora made nearly $700,000 in compensation from the organization in 2016. Thirteen other executives made over $150,000 from the nonprofit in the same year. In total, ABMS spent over $10 million on compensation, more than half its annual revenues, which largely come from inflated testing fees.

Health Savings Accounts: Are Lawmakers Being Target-ed or Getting Amazon-ed?

Our Government should be Of the people, By the people and For the people – not Of Target, By Amazon, and For Berkshire Hathaway. Being seen by a midlevel provider at a big box retailer cannot save money. Lawmakers sponsoring H.R 5138 are doing the nation a grave disservice by sponsoring this atrocious legislation.

The Peril of Online Physician Reviews

Online reviews are not a reflection of medical care quality. Patients do not like receiving medical bills and do not like rude clinic staff. They are unhappy if the physician disagrees with them, they abhor long wait times, and they detest prior authorizations, (news flash, so do physicians!) Yet these criticisms are not a reflection of the healthcare quality provided by the physician. It is doubtful these grievances even have an impact on the mortality rate.

CMS Quietly Launches an Offensive Against Direct Primary Care

The DPC movement offers the first successful and innovative alternative health care approach to emerge in years. CMS is focusing on physician capture, control, and capitulation, yet should not underestimate the fortitude of independent physicians. We are steadfast, experienced in trench warfare, and refuse to succumb to their demands. We will continue to fight relentlessly against mounting administrative burdens which interfere with the provision of patient care.

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