Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Looks like the convenience clinic trend is coming to my neck of the woods in Southern California. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune (“Are retail clinics a healthy choice?“) six Minute Clinics are opening in San Diego county with ten more on the way before year’s end. These clinics likely will lower the cost of…
Here are some tips from Dr. Marissa Weiss on building a good doctor-patient relationship from the patient side. Thanks to Dr. Rich’s Covert Rationing blog for the link. Greet the doctor–or introduce yourself if this is a new physician–with a professional handshake. Let your doctor know what is on your mind and how the doctor…
According to the Telegraph (‘Record numbers go abroad for health‘), “More than 70,000 Britons will have treatment abroad this year – a figure that is forecast to rise to almost 200,000 by the end of the decade.” Many of these individuals are seeking treatment in countries such as India, Hungary, Turkey, Germany, Malaysia, Poland and…
This is how a very interesting article (“P4P is changing me“) in Medical Economics begins. The essay won an award in the 2006 Doctors’ Writing Contest. The author of the story is a physician who has been under much financial pressure of late; a divorce, med school loans, a mortgage, alimony and child support were…
On the news yesterday that Microsoft purchased a 1.5% stake in Facebook for $240 million, social networking appears to highly valued commodity. “…[T]he strength of social networks among Mexican-Americans is positively related to access to care.” Is this true? That is hypothesis that a recent NBER working paper by Roan Gresenz, Escarce and Rogowski attempt…
Revascularization (bypass surgery or angioplasty) have been frequently used procedures to treat patients who have experienced a myocardial infarction (MI). These procedure are expensive, but are supposed to enhance longevity. Do they? This is the question analyzed by David Cutler in his NBER working paper titled “The Lifetime Benefits of Medical Technology.” The problem with…
Many health care policy researchers believe that non-physician clinicians, such as physician assistants, nurse practitioners and midwives can help to reduce cost while maintaining quality. Midwifery has gained in popularity over recent years. Groups such as the American Public Health Association, Public Citizen and the National Organization for Women all support increased access to midwifery…
What has happened to physician assistant (PA) education in recent years? An article by P. Eugene Jones (Academic Medicine 2007) enlightens readers with the latest information. The states with the most PA programs are: New York (19), Pennsylvania (15) California (10), Texas (8) and Florida (6). Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, Vermont and Wyoming all have…
A new study by Tai-Seale, McGuire, and Zhang (HSR 2007) analyzes how primary care physicians allocate their time in a typical office visit. The authors use data from 392 videotaped office visits conducted in three settings: 1) a salaried group practice in an academic medical center (AMC), 2) a managed care group (MCG), and a…
Much has been written on this site about the growth of convenience clinics (see posts on July 25, April 26, and April 17). The Economist’s Free exchange blog adds to the discussion (“A spoonful of monopoly…“). It warns how the AMAs monopoly powers may be a threat to convenience clinics such as Medical Marts. “The…