Archive for March 17th, 2010

New England Journal of Medicine: "Nearly 1/2 of primary care doctors say they'll leave medicine if healthcare reform bill passes" … talk about something that's being under-reported !

March 17, 2010

Story line:

(1) Dems tout that the AMA supports ObamaCare.  But, the AMA represents less than 25% of doctors, and has a vested interest — they get paid millions by the government to manage “treatment codes” used for reimbursements.

(2) The NEJM surveyed the broader base of doctors and concluded: “A very dramatic decrease in the physician workforce could become a reality as an unexpected side effect of health reform.”

(3) Specifically, almost half of primary-care physicians said that they would either want to leave medicine or that they would be “forced out” by the changes to the system.

(4) The “changes” they cite: more regulations, gov’t coming between them and patients, lower reimbursements, continuing threat of junk law suits.

* * * * *

Details:

According to a survey published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine:

  • Nearly one-third of all practicing physicians may leave the medical profession if President Obama signs current versions of health-care reform legislation into law …  If a public option were included in the legislation, the number jumps to 45.7%.
  • 46% of primary-care physicians said that they would either want to leave medicine or that they would be “forced out” by the changes to the system.
  • A majority of physicians said health-care reform would cause the quality of American medical care to “deteriorate” and it could be the “final straw” that sends a sizeable number of doctors out of medicine.

“Many physicians feel that they cannot continue to practice if patient loads increase while pay decreases.”

The survey shows that many doctors already find their situations difficult:

  • 36% said that they would not recommend medicine as a profession to others, regardless of whether health-care reform passes;
  • 27% would still recommend medicine as a career, but not if the current reform proposal passes.
  • In total, 63 percent of doctors would not recommend the profession after health-care reform passes.

96 percent of the physicians surveyed  favor of health reform, in some form or fashion … but relatively few are in favor of the current legislation.

* * * * *

But the AMA says doctors are in favor …

Congressional Democratic leaders ,have said that doctors favor the bill and are part of an “unprecedented coalition” of doctors rooting for its passage. The claim is based on the American Medical Association’s endorsement of the legislation in Congress.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2008 there were 661,400 physicians and surgeons within the United States. Of that number, 250,000 are members of the American Medical Association (AMA) — and nearly 100,000 of those are medical students.

Full article:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/62812

* * * * *

Key Findings from thePhysician Survey: Health Reforms Potential Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of Medical Care
New England Journal of Medicine, Mar. – Apr. 2010 

Physician Support of Health Reform in General

  • 62.7% of physicians feel that health reform is needed but should be implemented in a more targeted, gradual way, as opposed to the sweeping overhaul that is in legislation.
  • 28.7% of physicians are in favor of a public option.
  • 3.6% of physicians prefer the “status quo” and feel that the U.S. health care system is best “as is.

Health Reform and Primary Care Physicians

  • 46.3% of primary care physicians (family medicine and internal medicine) feel that the passing of health reform will either force them out of medicine or make them want to leave medicine.

Health Reform, Public Option, and Practice Revenue/Physician Income

  • 41% of physicians feel that income and practice revenue will “decline or worsen dramatically” with a public option.
  • 30% feel income will “decline or worsen somewhat” with a public option.
  • 9% feel income will “improve somewhat” with a public option, and 0.8% feel income will “improve dramatically” with a public option.

Health Reform, Public Option, and Physician Supply

  • 72% of physicians feel that a public option would have a negative impact on physician supply, with 45% feeling it will “decline or worsen dramatically” and 27% predicting it will “decline or worsen somewhat.
  • 24% of physicians think they will try to retire early if a public option is implemented.
  • 21% of physicians would try to leave medicine if a public option is implemented, even if not near retirement age at the time.

Health Reform and Recommending Medicine to Others as a Career

  • 36% of physicians would not recommend medicine as a career, regardless of health reform.
  • 27% would recommend medicine as a career but not if health reform passes.
  • 25% of physicians would recommend medicine as a career regardless of health reform.
  • 12% would not recommend medicine as a career now but feel that they would recommend it as a career if health reform passes

Source:“Physician Survey: Health Reform’s Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of Medical Care,”
The Medicus Firm, http://www.TheMedicusFirm.com

Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | 2 Comments »

New England Journal of Medicine: "Nearly 1/2 of primary care doctors say they’ll leave medicine if healthcare reform bill passes" … talk about something that’s being under-reported !

March 17, 2010

Story line:

(1) Dems tout that the AMA supports ObamaCare.  But, the AMA represents less than 25% of doctors, and has a vested interest — they get paid millions by the government to manage “treatment codes” used for reimbursements.

(2) The NEJM surveyed the broader base of doctors and concluded: “A very dramatic decrease in the physician workforce could become a reality as an unexpected side effect of health reform.”

(3) Specifically, almost half of primary-care physicians said that they would either want to leave medicine or that they would be “forced out” by the changes to the system.

(4) The “changes” they cite: more regulations, gov’t coming between them and patients, lower reimbursements, continuing threat of junk law suits.

* * * * *

Details:

According to a survey published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine:

  • Nearly one-third of all practicing physicians may leave the medical profession if President Obama signs current versions of health-care reform legislation into law …  If a public option were included in the legislation, the number jumps to 45.7%.
  • 46% of primary-care physicians said that they would either want to leave medicine or that they would be “forced out” by the changes to the system.
  • A majority of physicians said health-care reform would cause the quality of American medical care to “deteriorate” and it could be the “final straw” that sends a sizeable number of doctors out of medicine.

“Many physicians feel that they cannot continue to practice if patient loads increase while pay decreases.”

The survey shows that many doctors already find their situations difficult:

  • 36% said that they would not recommend medicine as a profession to others, regardless of whether health-care reform passes;
  • 27% would still recommend medicine as a career, but not if the current reform proposal passes.
  • In total, 63 percent of doctors would not recommend the profession after health-care reform passes.

96 percent of the physicians surveyed  favor of health reform, in some form or fashion … but relatively few are in favor of the current legislation.

* * * * *

But the AMA says doctors are in favor …

Congressional Democratic leaders ,have said that doctors favor the bill and are part of an “unprecedented coalition” of doctors rooting for its passage. The claim is based on the American Medical Association’s endorsement of the legislation in Congress.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2008 there were 661,400 physicians and surgeons within the United States. Of that number, 250,000 are members of the American Medical Association (AMA) — and nearly 100,000 of those are medical students.

Full article:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/62812

* * * * *

Key Findings from thePhysician Survey: Health Reforms Potential Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of Medical Care
New England Journal of Medicine, Mar. – Apr. 2010 

Physician Support of Health Reform in General

  • 62.7% of physicians feel that health reform is needed but should be implemented in a more targeted, gradual way, as opposed to the sweeping overhaul that is in legislation.
  • 28.7% of physicians are in favor of a public option.
  • 3.6% of physicians prefer the “status quo” and feel that the U.S. health care system is best “as is.

Health Reform and Primary Care Physicians

  • 46.3% of primary care physicians (family medicine and internal medicine) feel that the passing of health reform will either force them out of medicine or make them want to leave medicine.

Health Reform, Public Option, and Practice Revenue/Physician Income

  • 41% of physicians feel that income and practice revenue will “decline or worsen dramatically” with a public option.
  • 30% feel income will “decline or worsen somewhat” with a public option.
  • 9% feel income will “improve somewhat” with a public option, and 0.8% feel income will “improve dramatically” with a public option.

Health Reform, Public Option, and Physician Supply

  • 72% of physicians feel that a public option would have a negative impact on physician supply, with 45% feeling it will “decline or worsen dramatically” and 27% predicting it will “decline or worsen somewhat.
  • 24% of physicians think they will try to retire early if a public option is implemented.
  • 21% of physicians would try to leave medicine if a public option is implemented, even if not near retirement age at the time.

Health Reform and Recommending Medicine to Others as a Career

  • 36% of physicians would not recommend medicine as a career, regardless of health reform.
  • 27% would recommend medicine as a career but not if health reform passes.
  • 25% of physicians would recommend medicine as a career regardless of health reform.
  • 12% would not recommend medicine as a career now but feel that they would recommend it as a career if health reform passes

Source:“Physician Survey: Health Reform’s Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of Medical Care,”
The Medicus Firm, http://www.TheMedicusFirm.com

Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | 2 Comments »

Obama’s poster child’s plight revealed to be a crock … would that constitute misinformation ?

March 17, 2010

Ken’s Take: Didn’t anybody smell a rat when Natoma Canfield — the uninsured leukemia letter-writer — couldn’t appear with Obama because she was getting treatment  … at the Cleveland Clinic no less.

Turns out that:

(1) she is getting healthcare (which is different from health insurance)

(2) she is being treated by the prestigious Cleveland Clinic

(3) The Cleveland Clinic says not to worry about the bills …

(4) … because, Natoma already qualifies for Medicaid. 

(5) She hasn’t bothered to sign up … probably too busy writing letters

* * * * *

Excerpted from WTOP / AP: Woman championed by Obama eligible for aid, March 16, 2010

A woman championed as the Obama administration’s emblem for health care reform does not have to choose between her home and her health, according to officials at the Ohio hospital where she is being treated.

With a self-reported annual income of about $6,000, Natoma Canfield is a prime candidate for financial aid in the form of Medicaid – the federal health care program for low-income and disabled people – and charitable assistance.

And the Cleveland Clinic said it has no intention of putting out a lien on Canfield’s house — or letting the billing process interfere with her treatment.

“It appears that I think she’ll be fine,” said Lyman Sornberger, the hospital’s executive director of patient financial services. “By nature of the fact that she was not early on rejected by either program, that’s a key indicator that she will most likely be eligible.”

Despite the grim reality of Canfield’s fight against cancer, hospital officials say it’s not the case that she can have either a home or her health.

Like any patient who walks through the Clinic’s doors without medical coverage, Canfield was immediately assigned an adviser to help assess whether she was eligible for financial aid, hospital officials said.

Canfield said Tuesday that she had just met with her adviser in her hospital room before undergoing a round of chemotherapy in the afternoon.

“I will have to apply for Social Security disability and then something called Medicaid,” she said.

Asked whether she had understood what Medicaid was, she said: “I heard of it but I didn’t really realize what it was.”

Full article:
http://wtop.com/?nid=106&pid=0&sid=1913750&page=1

Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | Leave a Comment »

Why we make mistakes: frame of mind, skimming, tidiness

March 17, 2010

In this and a couple of preceding and subsequent posts, I’m  excerpting  the 13 reasons from:

Why We Make Mistakes, Joseph T. Hallinanm, Broadway Books 2009

Today, we add reasons 6, 7 and 8 to the list.

* * * * * *

The errors we make can be explained through 13 lessons:

1. We look but don’t always see.

2. We all search for meaning.

3. We connect the dots.

4. We wear rose-colored glasses.

5. We can walk and chew gum — but not much else.

* * * * *

6. We’re in the wrong frame of mind.

How we frame an issue can greatly affect our response to it.

In situations where we expect a loss, we are prone to take risks. However, when we are considering gains, we become more conservative; we simply want to hold on to a sure thing. This pattern seems to stem, in part, from the human approach to risk perception.

Many factors can affect the way we frame our decisions. One of the least obvious factors is time. When the consequences of our decisions are far off, we are prone to take bigger gambles. However, when consequences are more immediate, we become more conservative.

7. We skim.

We rely on context to guide our perception of everyday events. The better we are at something, the more likely we are to skim.

However, this ability comes with a trade-off: Accuracy is sacrificed, and details are overlooked. As something becomes familiar, we tend to notice less.

We see things not as they are, but as we assume they ought to be. This ingrained behavior can cause us to overlook not only small things, but some things that are startlingly large.

8. We like things tidy.

The process of retelling a story in our own narrative style places certain constraints on what we recall, and these constraints guide our reconstruction of events.

If we tell a story in a funny way, for example, we’re likely to leave out certain details or maybe even add a few of our own making. In this process, a story doesn’t simply become a vision of the original event, it becomes the event; it is the way we remember it.

* * * * *
Next up: Men shoot first …

Posted in Decision-making, Problem solving, Psychology | Leave a Comment »

Social networking can be infectious ….

March 17, 2010

Excerpted from: USA TODAY : How cybercriminals invade social networks, companies , Mar 4,2010

Cybercriminals are moving aggressively to take advantage of an unanticipated chink in corporate defenses: the use of social networks in workplace settings.

They are taking tricks honed in the spamming world and adapting them to what’s driving the growth of social networks: speed and openness of individuals communicating on the Internet.

“Social networks provide a rich repository of information cybercriminals can use to refine their phishing attacks.”

This shift is gathering steam.

One sign: The volume of spam and phishing scams more than doubled in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008.

“Phishing” lures — designed to trick you into clicking on an infectious Web link — are flooding e-mail inboxes, as well as social-network messages and postings, at unprecedented levels.

An infected PC, referred to as a “bot,” gets slotted into a network of thousands of other bots.

These “botnets” then are directed to execute all forms of cybercrime, from petty scams to cyberespionage.

Authorities in Spain announced the breakup of a massive botnet, called Mariposa, comprising more  than 12 million infected PCs in 190 countries.

The criminals had been spreading infected links for about a year, mainly via Microsoft’s free MSN instant messenger service.

Full story:
http://www.usatoday.com/cleanprint/?1267714767796

Posted in Internet - Soc Networking | Leave a Comment »