Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Frontline has done extensive reporting on the problems of dental care in America. In particular, they cite the lack of quality that both children and adults receive at various corporate dental firms (e.g., KoolSmiles, Aspen Dental). The problem should not be placed solely on these corporate firms, however. Reimbursement rates for dentists are low to…
The Illenbergers wanted to have a home birth. To do this, they contracted with a Licensed Midwife. The birth was successful and the mother and baby are happy and healthy. But Blue Shield of California refused to pay for any of the cost. The cost of hiring the LM was $4500. WebMD reports that a…
A July 2012 IOM report recommends changing state laws to allow “nurse practitioners and physician assistants to practice to the full extent of their educational preparation.” Based on information from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), not all states currently allow permit NPs this flexibility. Currently 16 states and the District of Columbia (see below)…
As patients are becoming used to quicker turn-around times in other retail industries, expectations regarding health care waiting times are rising. As PwC reports: Heightened desire for “on-demand” healthcare in the form of telemedicine, mobile health, social media and retail clinics has fueled the move toward healthcare anywhere, anytime. Nearly one in four consumers surveyed…
Why aren’t physicians more supportive of home births and midwifery? The answer is that it eats into their market share and reduces their income. “[In the 1970s] feminists argued that medical care needed to be demystified and women’s lives demedicalized. They maintained that childbirth was not a disease and normal deliveries did not require hospitalization…
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are non-physician clinicians that can often either assist or directly provide primary care. Some studies have found that NPs can independently manage 80 percent of patients’ primary care needs. Other studies show that NPs provide high-quality care. A recent article, however, suggests that NPs may not be cost effective. This is a curious…
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, physician home visits in the U.S. were very common. In fact, the home was the primary place where medicine was practiced. Because physician wages at this time were comparable to those of the average laborer, a market which forced physicians to internalize the time and transportation costs to…
Hot off the press: Walmart announced it would stop offering health insurance benefits to new part-time employees, the retailer sent out a request for information seeking partners to help it “dramatically … lower the cost of healthcare … by becoming the largest provider of primary healthcare services in the nation.” Why would Wal-mart want to…
Accountable Care Organizations. Medical Homes. Integrated networks of providers. Many of the latest health services research catch phrases are attempting to provide patients with a one-stop shop for all their health care needs. The integrated systems attempt to prevent situations such as when multiple physicians prescribe a host of drugs, some of which could be contraindicated. These integrated…
I recently watched a video advocating for increased use of midwives during births. There is little doubt that using a midwife reduces costs. In addition, many studies have shown that home births with midwives have comparable health outcomes to those in the hospital setting. In fact, even births using non-nurse midwives have health outcomes similar or…