Tag: Doctors

Doctors’ Personal Health Choices

Tom Emerick

Posted 2/28/12 on Cracking Health Costs

Doctors often do not seek for themselves treatments they offer patients. This is particularly true for end of life care.  I’ve seen examples of that all my career.  I’ve also asked doctors about whether or not they personally would seek aggressive of treatment if they had a specific type of cancer.  Rarely do they say yes.

The question is, what’s up?  The WSJ today has a really good article on this topic. Click here to read it.  The following quote probably sums it up: “It’s not something that we like to talk about, but doctors die, too. What’s unusual about them is not how much treatment they get compared with most Americans, but how little. They know exactly what is going to happen, they know the choices, and they generally have access to any sort of medical care that they could want. But they tend to go serenely and gently.” 

I’ve made it abundantly clear to my family that when my time comes I want to exit quietly, as painlessly as possible, and with dignity.  That makes the best sense to me, and evidently to most doctors too.

The 100 Year Shift? Introduction and Overview

Vince Kuraitis and Jaan Sidorov

First posted 7/5/11 on the eCareManagement Blog

Gazing at the horizon, we foresee the potential for a tectonic realignment among physicians, hospitals and payers. Here’s a quick visual representation:

Past100

Next100

This essay is the first of a seven part series. In this first post we will capsulize our vision of this potential 100 Year Shift, answer initial FAQs, and lay out the structure for the rest of the series.

Continue reading “The 100 Year Shift? Introduction and Overview” →

Shaw Got It Right

PAUL LEVY

Originally published on [Not] Running A Hospital

George Bernard Shaw

Brian’s Note: I hadn’t seen this Shaw piece, but when Paul pointed it out, I easily found it on the Web and devoured it. The language is a little outdated but if you can muddle through it, the writing is fabulous and the insights unerring. It is a perfect weekend read.

George Bernard Shaw wrote The Doctor’s Dilemma, Preface on Doctors in 1909. It is fun to read some excerpts:

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Who’s A Medical Doctor?

JANE SARASOHN-KAHN

Originally published 1/27/11 on Health Populi

While 8 in 10 U.S. adults want a physician to have primary responsibility for the diagnosis and management of their health care, many people are not sure who’s a medical doctor. Surprisingly numbers of health consumers don’t think that orthopaedic surgeons, family practitioners, dermatologists, psychiatrists, and ophthalmologists are MDs.

The American Medical Association‘s survey, Truth in Advertising, published in January 2011, follows up the AMA’s 2008 survey which had similar results.  Data based on consumers answering the question, “Is this person a medical doctor,” are organized in the chart.

Continue reading “Who’s A Medical Doctor?” →