The other night my friend and I went to our favorite late-night doughnut shop and were seated next to a veteran and his wife. After we chatted for a bit, he mentioned how the scandal at a Miami Veteran Administration’s health facility has caused him to live in fear, because he had received treated there several years ago. Best practices in … [Read more...]
Hospital Scandal Prompts Patients’ Concerns
Waits in Hospital Emergency Departments Worsen
If you pick up a newspaper, you will more likely than not, find negative articles reporting the current state of our healthcare environment. I recently read an article online, and found the bottom line difficult to digest: emergency room wait times, across the country, are endangering the lives of sick and injured patients. Almost two years ago, … [Read more...]
CMS Relaxes Anesthesia Guidelines, Allows ED Exception
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) report that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) responded to ACEP’s concerns and now allows an exception for emergency departments in their interpretive guidelines on use of anesthesia services. This is a big win for hospital based and non-hospital based emergency physicians, … [Read more...]
Physician Job Outlook
Employment of physicians is projected to grow 22% through 2018, according to the US Department of Labor. This growth is much faster than average for all occupations. Job opportunities should be very good especially in rural and low-income areas. Physicians and Surgeons held approximately 661,400 jobs in 2008. Of the wage and salaried physicians, … [Read more...]
Hospital Based Physicians in the Obama Health Plan
Healthcare Reform will bring new challenges to Hospital Physicians and all providers in healthcare. Historically, the physician reimbursement in the US has been that of fee-for-service. This model essentially provided greater reimbursement to the practitioner and hospital, for greater services rendered. Utilization and cost-effectiveness were … [Read more...]