In recent times, one of the issues most complained about by patients comes down to this: Why does my doctor zip through my office visit and fail to give me the attention I need and deserve? To be sure, doctors these days struggle ever more with “efficiency” pushes in medicine by profit-obsessed business interests and….
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Hospitals assailed for Emergency Department crush, causing long, risky waits for patients
Almost three dozen leading groups representing a range of doctors, specialists, and other health workers have called on the Biden Administration to deal urgently with the long-running but increasing and dangerous practice of hospitals allowing their emergency care facilities to be overwhelmed because they also are parking patients waiting for rooms and treatment. This “boarding”….
Continue ReadingHedge funds under fire as doctor wins $26 million case on short-staffing
Medical leaders and politicians carp endlessly about medical malpractice suits, but when an emergency medical specialist diagnosed staffing shortfalls that threatened patient safety, guess what legal mechanism became crucial to his corrective crusade? Why, yes, of course, it was a lawsuit. A big one over wrongful termination. Let’s not over-focus on the irony of a….
Continue ReadingGood news for patients on credit reports and maybe that Medicare hike
Patients battered by sky-high health care costs are getting a bit of promising news: One set of federal regulators may have jawboned the leading credit reporting agencies to deal better with how they tell lenders about individuals’ medical debt and its significance for their hiring, renting, borrowing, and more. And another set of federal regulators….
Continue ReadingPatient safety’s new perils: Lack of medical staff and their mental wellness
The coronavirus pandemic and the wrenching demand this public health nightmare has put on the U.S. health care system and its people have become such a worry that staffing shortages and workers’ mental health have become top safety concerns in 2022. That is the evidence-based view of ECRI, aka the nonprofit, independent Emergency Care Research….
Continue ReadingFor Dept. of Veterans Affairs, an overhaul and time of reckoning on care
One of the largest, most important health care systems in the country has plans in the works for a huge revamp, including shutting down many of its big, aging hospitals or slashing services there, shifting to smaller clinics, and refocusing its caregiving to parts of the country where its patients live. Taxpayers will want to….
Continue ReadingIn U.S. health care, the relentless pursuit of sky-high profits goes on
While the folks who toil in the front lines of U.S. health care deserve the highest praise and support in the continuing battle against the coronavirus pandemic, those who run care systems deserve a Bronx cheer and worse for their rapacious pursuit of profits — at the expense of patients: Just consider how health systems….
Continue ReadingWomen MDs face lifetime pay gap of $2 million less than male colleagues, and patient care suffers as a result
They excel through four years of rigorous undergraduate study, then battle their way through four more years of tough, tough medical school. They cram to pass their medical boards and grind through exhausting internships. They also pursue years more of exacting, sleep-deprived training in residencies and fellowships. But, wait a minute: Women doctors earn over….
Continue ReadingAll U.S. patients need a primary care doctor, panel of top experts recommends
The U.S. health system is in dire need of dramatic reforms to put patients first, most notably by ensuring that everyone in this country has a formally designated primary care physician to help monitor, navigate, and oversee their medical treatment. That is the latest recommendation of yet another blue-chip experts’ group: the National Academies of….
Continue ReadingInsurers and employers could save $352 billion if hospitals stuck to Medicare rates
Who wouldn’t want $352 billion in health care savings in 2021? Insurers — and more importantly employers — could see that hypothetical big chunk of change staying in their pockets, if somehow they could persuade hospitals to forgo their sky-high and ever-increasing prices, tying those charges instead to rates established and paid in the federal….
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