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The merging of MDs and DOs: A unification of training standards
From the KevinMd.com blog:
More than a century of American medical history was turned on its ear recently by the announcement that the groups that accredit medical residencies will unify their standards. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you failed to understand the significance (or notice at all). But this should be viewed as good news across the land. As someone who trains doctors from both traditions, I certainly welcome a more level playing field.
It’s about time that there are common standards for MDs and DOs. After all, don’t all states treat allopathic and osteopathic physicians the same and expect them to provide comparable healthcare to their patients? Don’t PI lawyers sue them on the same grounds when there is a bad patient outcome?
Medibank Private to push benefits of preventive healthcare
MEDIBANK Private has been given the go-ahead to launch a co-ordinated attack on the costly chronic disease burden by promoting the benefits of user-pays and preventive health schemes that could result in lower premium increases.
Healthcare and controlling healthcare costs have become global concerns for the West. What is going on in the East — is health and healthcare better, or is concern over healthcare an unaffordable luxury for countries whose economies are woefully behind and desperately trying to catch up?
See on www.theaustralian.com.au
New Hopes for Apple’s HealthBook | HL7 Standards
Leonard Kish offers his thoughts on the promise of Apple entering the mHealth arena, which will put a spotlight on squarely on user experience.
There are a zillion health and exercise monitoring apps. All are relatively young, because the smart phone platform is relatively young.
So my question is — are people actually getting healthier? If they are, is the better health the result of the apps or the result of our near obsessive interest (with or without real results) in getting healthier?
See on www.hl7standards.com
Physician Joint Ventured Pharmacies Require Guidance
The pressure is intense on physicians to find additional sources of revenues to balance their losses as a result of reduced reimbursement and other moves to reduce healthcare costs.
In return, physicians are pressuring compounding pharmacies and other healthcare providers for ways to participate in the income stream that physicians and their scripts and referrals produce. There are those who want to put their hands in the pockets of others, and the result is a perfect storm that must be carefully monitored by the legal advisers to physicians and to compounding pharmacies to make sure that EVERYONE complies with the regulatory requirements.
And this is a very fluid environment — what may be acceptable today may not be tomorrow — the OIG’s concerns with PODs and the company-model for anesthesia in ASCs are instructive to physician owned pharmacies..
Florida physicians are being approached to become owners of pharmacies to which they may refer, often compounding pharmacies, but may be unaware of the regulatory issues involved. Physicians need to be aware of the core laws that apply, which include the Florida Patient Self Referral Act (FPSRA), the Florida
Anti Kickback Statute
, the Patient Brokering Act and the Federal Investment Interest Safe Harbor.
View original post 1,390 more words
Internet access is a basic human right: A Q&A with Keren Elazari
With the increasing importance of patient safety and need to have universal access to health records, the internet’s importance grows as a foundation for improved healthcare.
Health care providers embrace the challenge to do better
Iowa is a leader in providing high-quality, low-cost health care.
— This is what is supposed to happen under Obamacare.
Let’s all admit one thing — the serious talk of improving quality of healthcare, increasing access to care, and reducing the cost of care began in earnest as a result of Obamacare.
See on www.press-citizen.com
Obamacare Faces Major Struggles
Public support for President Barack Obama’s health care law is languishing at its lowest level since passage of the landmark legislation four years ago, according to a new poll.
At some point the liars win and progress stops. Has there ever been a bigger campaign of deceit and misinformation than what the ACA has had to endure?
See on www.huffingtonpost.com
Tampa pill mill pharmacist tells court his attorneys didn’t get it right
TAMPA — Disgraced pharmacist Christopher Switlyk shows no love for the attorneys who defended him over his key role in a Tampa pill mill ring.
When you break the law and can’t get off after turning others into addicts, I suppose it’s a good time to blame the lawyers.
See on www.tampabay.com
The Next Big Health App Needs to Do More Than Just Track Our Numbers | Gadget Lab | Wired.com
This week we got a deep look at the rumored new health and fitness tracking application for Apple’s next iPhone, called Healthbook. Supposedly, Healthbook will not only track things like how much exercise and sleep you’re getting, but also your blood pressure, your blood sugar levels, and much more. All that collection will be great, but without a way to not just collate them, but make them meaningful, it runs the risk of becoming data clutter.
Parochial restrictions on telemedicine will become irrelevant when smartphone apps effectively aggregate healthcare data to help individuals become and stay healthier. It is only a matter of time when face to face interaction between healthcare providers and their patients become the exception rather than the rule. Physicians will be able to devote their time to sicker patients while still monitoring their healthier patients to keep them healthy.
See on www.wired.com
Doctors on Twitter: 2006 – 2014 Worldwide growth mapped #hcsm
[Video maps growth in doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals using Twitter since its launch in 2006 to 2014.]
While Facebook lends itself better as a professional social media portal, it would be interesting to know the growth in patients’ following their physicians on Twitter (and other social media). If we can get past the hurdles of HIPAA restrictions and other legal silliness, social media could become the mechanism through which patients and their physicians effectively interact and improve their healthcare.
See on www.youtube.com
Joseph Rugg's Health Law Blog 