Medicine
Incentives are good things!
The problem with employee physicians Part II - Alijor is right (see Part I). As the Canadian health service and the UK’s NHS have found out, incentive based work arrangements can be critical to the success of their systems.
There are good and bad points to being a salaried employee physician but let’s never underestimate the […]
Should Docs be Employees?
The problem with employee physicians - [NOTE: The following is based on my experiences as an internist and hospitalist]
So, you are nearing or at the end of your medical training and you can’t decide what type of job arrangement to enter into. Should you start your own practice, join a practice, or get hired as […]
The New Concept of the Alcoholic.
The clichéd idea of an alcoholic is usually a “wino” type (middle aged or older, male, usually homeless), a barfly (your official address is a bar), or an abusive husband or boyfriend in a “wife-beater” Tee-shirt (please see any “COPS” episode for examples). I think it’s safe to say that most Americans still believe that […]
Are video games to blame for mass murder?
Dr Phil: Mentally ill mass murderers are programmed by violent video games and movies - Appearing on Larry King Live on the day of the tragedy, psychologist and host of his own show, Phil McGraw had the following little gem to say about the etiology of mass murder (emphasis added).
“The problem is we are […]
Murder-Suicide and tragedy at Virginia Tech.
A young male armed with two handguns (reportedly either 22 and/or 9 mm caliber) and a ton of ammunition confronts his girlfriend whom he accuses of infidelity. He then kills her and an adviser. Two hours later (presumably, the same murderer) kills 30 more at a nearby lecture hall and then shoots himself before police […]
No wonder you can’t afford your health care!
Old and busted: Saving for future health care costs.
New Hotness: 65 inch Plasma 1080p HDTV! - In 2005 Americans were saving money at an average rate of NEGATIVE 0.5% meaning that on average we spent more money than we earned. Spent it on what? Here is a list (link via Fark.com) of the average household […]
Legalized crack.
How the tobacco settlement has failed.
Remember back in 1994 when seven CEOs representing the largest tobacco companies testified before the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment and stated, quite clearly, their beliefs that nicotine is NOT addictive? Well, according to a new study, these same tobacco companies thought it important enough to increase the […]
I want to do charity work. Reduce my taxes!
Yesterday’s MLK day (except maybe in AZ) got me thinking about charity care and our medically under served and uninsured population. While the number of uninsured in this country has climbed past 45 million, the percentage of physicians who provide any type of discounted or free care has dropped from 76 to 68% in the […]
What if sex had no health consequences?
Recently the FDA approved a vaccine (Gardasil made by Merck) against human papiloma virus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer. This cancer kills about 3,700 women per year in the US. The vaccine prevents 70% of cancer causing HPV types and 90% of the HPV that cause genital warts. The problem is that in order to […]
The DMV and the state medical board, part II.
Although there were some excellent comments to part I, no one really addressed the inherent question in my analogy; Why do we let first time speeders off so easily and throw the book at every physician no matter how minor or correctable the complaint? Why don’t we throw the book at first time speeders? Why […]
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