Reducing Bloodstream Infections
There’s this light on my way to work that is just a royal pain. It’s set up so that you have to wait for the arrow to make a left hand turn. The intersection is busy, especially in the mornings, and...
View ArticleBrinksmanship
I may end up eating my words about this. We’ll see. James Rohack, the current AMA President, made a post at Kevin MD about why patients should care about fixing the pending Medicare payment cuts....
View ArticleMedicare Cuts Delayed Again — PHEW
I had planned to log on and write a quick post reminding docs that they have less than a week to decide whether or not to remain a participating provider in Medicare in the face of 21% payment cuts —...
View ArticleWe’re From The Government, We’re Here To Help …
The clock is ticking for Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Last week, Parkland was cited by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for several “serious threats” to patient safety. As a...
View ArticleCertificates of Medical Necessity
Not too long ago I got a letter labeled “URGENT” in my mailbox at work. The letter was from Walgreens regarding a patient I had seen several weeks earlier. I cut and pasted parts of the letter to...
View ArticleChoosing Wisely – Good Medical Practice or Prelude to Rationing?
EP Monthly has an important Pro-Con debate between ACEP President David Seaberg and EP Monthly founder Mark Plaster about the “Choosing Wisely” program. Choosing Wisely is being pushed by the ABIM...
View ArticleCMS Offering Us Some Rope
Our beloved government is now seeking comments on how it can deny payments to hospitals through patient assessment of the emergency department experience. According to this entry in the Federal...
View ArticleMore Joys of Electronic Medical Records
Go up to your favorite emergency department staff member and ask them what they think of “twofers.” Depending on that person’s mood, chances are that you’ll get anything from a scowl to a punch in the...
View ArticleCMS One Way Data Transparency
According to an article on the CMS Blog, in 60 days the government plans to begin disclosing information regarding payments it has made to individual physicians. In order to receive the information,...
View ArticleBMI Measurements Inaccurate But Still A Government Gold Standard
Everyone needs to read this NY Times article and then think about how inane the concept has become. The Body Mass Index or “BMI” is used as a measure of a person’s body weight. If your BMI is between...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....