The number of people applying to law schools is in steep decline. So says a recent post on a website called “The National Jurist.” The post cited some remarkable data from the American Bar Association. In 2012, law school...
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Several weeks ago, Primary Care Progress asked me to serve as one of their guest bloggers for this...
Read MorePatient satisfaction surveys are flawed in many ways. Here are just a few: 1. Sampling is a huge problem. A description of why sampling is an issue can be found here. It’s a bit complex. To summarize, the validity of a survey is...
Read MoreThere are many interesting unintended consequences of electronic medical records (EMRs). I was reminded of this by a recent blog I wrote about what interns really do when they are on call. According to a study from a VA hospital...
Read MoreBurnout appears to be more common among physicians than other working class adults in the United States, according to survey results. Among physicians, 37.9% had symptoms of burnout and 40.2% were dissatisfied with work-life...
Read MoreOver the last few years, medical specialty boards have begun to compel physicians to maintain board certification by a number of means. This is an extension of recertification requirements that have been in existence since the...
Read MoreA recent survey published in Health Affairs found that 20% of nearly 2,000 physician respondents said that “they had not fully disclosed mistakes to patients for fear of being sued” in the past year. When I first heard about...
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Medscape’s 2012 Ethics Report surveyed over 24,000 US physicians across 25 specialties about their...
Read MoreNot long ago, I blogged about a plastic surgeon who aggressively pursues patients who refuse to pay her bills. The state is suing her to make her stop and also considering lifting her medical license. You may want to take a look...
Read MoreMore than 100 hospital emergency departments are borrowing an idea from the restaurant industry: online reservations. Additional concierge services such as mobile apps for wait times make ER experiences more agreeable. ERs are...
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A recent article in a major newspaper asked why physicians still wear white coats. The theme...
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Physician empathy appears to be significantly associated with clinical outcomes in patients with...
Read MoreYounger, newer doctors tend to run up a higher healthcare tab for their patients than their more established colleagues, according to a new study published in the November 2012 issue of Health Affairs. A study, sponsored by RAND...
Read MoreA report from the Institute of Medicine, available at www.iom.edu, identifies several tools that should reduce complexity of care as well as costs for the nation’s healthcare system. The report discusses computing power,...
Read MoreI recently wrote about my plan to reduce hospital readmissions. Now I will discuss the problem of reducing length of stay. The recent hurricane in New York City and the closures of some hospitals requiring the transfer of a...
Read MoreIt happened again. I was talking to a particularly sick patient recently who related another bad experience with a specialist. “He came in and started spouting that he was busy saving someone’s life in the ER, and then he didn’t...
Read MoreYou may be surprised and dismayed when you find out. A study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine from a VA hospital affiliated with the University of Wisconsin reveals some startling facts. During a 14-hour call period...
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A recent survey from the Physician’s Foundation revealed a snapshot of what physicians are...
Read MoreAlthough 96% of office-based physicians accepted new patients in 2011, a study has found that 31% would not accept new Medicaid patients. The investigation also revealed that 17% would not accept new Medicare patients and 18%...
Read MoreEducation and training matter when it comes to who provides healthcare, but do most patients know the qualifications of their healthcare provider? A dozen states have now implemented laws that require healthcare providers to be...
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