June 2010 - Health Beat - The Network of Care

Media Myths about Dr. Donald Berwick; Is There A Chance He Won’t Be Confirmed to Head Medicare & Medicaid?

Kaiser Health News (KHN) reports that “the nomination of Dr. Donald Berwick to run the agency overseeing Medicare appears to be languishing.” Friday, KHN’s “Health Policy Week in Review” quoted a story that appeared in the New York Times a... Read More...

Published Mon, Jun 28 2010 2:32 PM by Health Beat

“It Will Take Ambition. And It Will Take Humility”

Atul Gawande gave the commencement speech at Stanford’s School of Medicine this year. Below, the speech, which was published in the New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/06/gawande-stanford-speech.html Summary: In his speech,...

Published Sun, Jun 27 2010 12:15 PM by Health Beat

Patient Safety Advocates Give Plan to Reform Medical Residency a Failing Grade

Accreditation Group’s Proposal on Resident Physician WorkHours Do Not Measure Up to Institute of Medicine Recommendations Summary: As regular HealthBeat readers know, resident sometimes work 30 hours shifts. In 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended...

Published Thu, Jun 24 2010 12:11 PM by Health Beat

Should We Lift the Retirement Age and Make Social Security and Medicare More “Progressive”?

Speaking at a Third Way event earlier this week, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) had this to say about the deficit: “On the spending side, we could and should consider a higher retirement age, or one pegged to... Read More...

Published Thu, Jun 24 2010 11:49 AM by Health Beat

Are Doctors Really Boycotting Medicare?

As Congress once again wrestles with “the doctor fix”—yet another postponement of the 21% cut in Medicare reimbursement that went into effect this month—the media has been swirling with stories warning of a mass exodus of doctors out of the... Read More...

Published Wed, Jun 23 2010 1:01 PM by Health Beat

The New York Post Offers Medical Advice To Its Readers—Contradicting the American Cancer Society

As regular HealthBeat readers know, I’ve been writing about the risks of PSA testing for early-stage prostate cancer since I launched this blog in 2007. The American Cancer Society does not support routine PSA testing for prostate cancer. Testing often...

Published Mon, Jun 21 2010 12:12 PM by Health Beat

One Family’s Story

I urge everyone to read “What Broke My Father’s Heart” in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, a superb first-person narrative by Kay Butler http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/magazine/20pacemaker-t.html?ref=magazine Butler describes how our money-driven...

Published Sat, Jun 19 2010 1:36 PM by Health Beat

Let Me Say It Again: Congress Will Not Slash Medicare Payments to Physicians

Summary: Opponents of reform will continue to pretend that at some point in the future, “Obama-care” will mean drastic across-the-board cuts in reimbursements to doctors who take Medicare patients, forcing many to abandon their patients. The Senate’s...

Published Sat, Jun 19 2010 11:29 AM by Health Beat

Don’t Confuse Pete Peterson’s Desire to Slash Medicare with the Goals of HealthCare Reform –Part 1

Summary: Deficit Hawks want to slash both Medicare and Social Security, and they seem to be in control of the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Hovering in the wings, aging mogul Pete Peterson is eager to help... Read...

Published Fri, Jun 18 2010 2:34 PM by Health Beat

What Many Liberals Don’t Understand About Health-Care Reform

Both liberals and conservative critics have charged that the health reform legislation that President Obama signed this spring focuses mainly on insurance coverage, and does little to rein in the spiraling cost of health care. This isn’t true. But the...

Published Wed, Jun 16 2010 5:22 PM by Health Beat

A Little-Known Provision in Reform Legislation: Safety Net for Alzheimer’s Patients and Others Who Need Long Term Care

Last week, the New York Times asked me to write an opinion piece for its “Room for Debate” section. Here is the topic that the Times asked participants to discuss: “An article in the Times this week focuses on a... Read More...

Published Fri, Jun 11 2010 5:43 AM by Health Beat

Medication and Kids: A Growth Industry

Children have become the new growth industry for prescription drug makers. A study released last month by the pharmacy benefit manager Medco found that 26% of kids under 19—almost 30% of those aged 10 to 19—are now taking prescription medications... Read...

Published Thu, Jun 10 2010 12:24 PM by Health Beat

When Residents Are Not Supervised—Part 2

Lewis Blackman, a healthy, gifted 15-year-old, underwent elective surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina-- one of the state's most modern hospitals, he was in good health. Over the next four days, he bled to death. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

Published Mon, Jun 07 2010 2:36 PM by Health Beat

Yet Another Source Distressed By How the NYT’s Presented Its Data In A Story About the Dartmouth Research -- Part 2

Yesterday, I commented on a New York Times story that appeared Wednesday, June 2, attacking the Dartmouth Research. The work that Dartmouth has done over the past two decades suggests that hospitals in some parts of the country are over-treating... Read...

Published Fri, Jun 04 2010 1:46 PM by Health Beat

The New York Times Attacks the Dartmouth Research Part 1

Today, the New York Times published a piece about the Dartmouth research that is raising eyebrows-- in part because there are so many factual mistakes in the story, in part because the tone is so personal. “It sounds as if... Read More...

Published Thu, Jun 03 2010 3:20 PM by Health Beat

June 2010 - Health Beat

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