Doctors and Politics
When I was a young pediatrician I took for granted that doctors could and should “stay above the fray” when it came to most things you read about in the newspaper – things like politics , economics, the environment. As medicine and healthcare have grown increasingly complex doctors no longer have a free pass to … Continue reading
Medical Advice: Republicans Should Take It
The upcoming election will have long lasting effects on U.S. healthcare, and by extension, on our economy. What should matter the most to us is not what Republicans or Democrats think about the Affordable Care Act, but what doctors and nurses and other healthcare experts have to say. As I discussed in an article for the Huffington … Continue reading
At This Year’s Conventions, I’ll be Watching the Doctors
Lately, when the topic of elections comes up, and someone casually asks, “When do the conventions start?” I find myself rattling off dates — “The Republican Convention starts this Monday, August 27th, in Tampa.” To the surprise of friends and acquaintances I could go on, like I was rattling off my kids’ birthdays. I’m not … Continue reading
Re: The scope of the standard of care in medicine has changed
commentary on the role of medical malpractice suits in improving healthcare.
Rethinking Healthcare Spending
Recent attempts to fundamentally alter Medicare, and the public outcry that followed, provide a working template for how to view broader health care reform. Everyone agrees that our healthcare system – and Medicare in particular – is financially unsustainable. Any step we take to address this requires a choice to either cut services or be … Continue reading
Healthcare Reform: Doctors Shaping the Narrative
With the roll out of the Affordable Care Act and perhaps more significantly the approach of the 2012 elections, public discussions of healthcare reform has been drowning in an alphabet soup of ACOs (not to be confused with the above ACA), CMS, SCHIP, and RUVs, just to name a few. The challenge is twofold. Most … Continue reading
Healthcare Reform: We Need to Reframe the Questions
One year after passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the debate roars on, in Congress and everywhere else. And these debates often revolve around a big question, even when it is left unspoken or implied: Is health care a basic human right? In 1990 I made a quantum leap from practicing in … Continue reading
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