MD News: About Physicians - From Physicians - For Physicians

Peer Perspective

• Medicare Reimbursement“The baby boomers begin entering Medicare in six months, and if the physician payment problem isn’t fixed, these new Medicare patients won’t be able to find a doctor to treat them.” Cecil B. Wilson, M.D., President, American Medical Association
  Source: AMA-assn.org

• Medicare Reimbursement“The biggest challenge from the SGR from the physician perspective is that if individual physicians or practices meet spending targets for that given year but our colleagues don’t, the SGR gets applied across the board. It was a flawed formula from the beginning.” Valerie Arkoosh, National Physician’s Alliance President
  Source: HealthBeatBlog.org

• Sports-Related Concussions“There is a concern that I have that the possibility of serious, long-term consequences [due to repetitive concussions experienced by some football players] are being overemphasized without clear evidence. It could turn out correct. It could turn out incorrect. We don’t know.”Constantine G. Lyketsos, M.D., M.H.S., Vice Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
  Source: The New York Times

• Medicare Reimbursement“There are two issues — one is fix the SGR; the other is cut wasteful programs within the federal government to pay for it. Rather than take a half trillion dollars out of Medicare and create another entitlement program, if we've got to take money out of Medicare, let's take to take care of the doctors that are caring for the Medicare patients now.”Tom Coburn, M.D., U.S. Senator (R-OK)
  Source: YouTube.com

• Sports-Related Concussions“We need to do a better job of teaching parents, coaches, athletes and some physicians that concussion is much more than just a loss of consciousness and vomiting.” Jeffery S. Kutcher, M.D., Michigan NeuroSport Program Director, University of Michigan Neurology Department Associate Professor
  Source: The Detroit News

• Most Pressing Practice Issue“The ability to care for and see patients and still allow my primary focus to be caring for the patients rather than having to deal with the layers and layers of bureaucracy surrounding billing and reimbursement.”Berry Campbell, M.D., Maternal/Fetal Medicine Department Chair at The Women's Hospital at Saint Joseph East
  

• Health Care Reform“As new health care reform laws drive us away from focusing on volume and more toward achieving greater value, physicians will have renewed opportunity to practice medicine as a science and art. Physician expertise will be vital to setting and achieving higher standards of care and in squeezing out redundant or unnecessary costs.”Tom DeSanto, Tom DeSanto Strategy and Communications
  

• Health Care Reform“The main thrust of the Healthcare Bill is insurance reform, which is 50 years overdue and is an essential reform if we are to begin to solve our healthcare problems.”Charles Acher, M.D., Professor of Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  Source: See Dr. Acher's entire statement in "Taking the Temperature: Physician Career Satisfaction"

• Health Care Reform “Medicare works relatively well. Why not extend it to everybody? Where will the money come from? From the savings after getting rid of the Insurance Carriers. How come Blue Cross worked well when it was a not-for-profit insurance company?”Francisco Tausk, M.D., Professor, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY
  Source: See Dr. Tausk's entire statement in "Taking the Temperature: Physician Career Satisfaction"

• Electronic Health Records“I don’t believe they’re going to be the panacea the federal government believes they will be. I do believe EHRs will standardize data, but I don’t think they will decrease workflow. I think a real danger, from a clinical perspective, is more time will be spent on the electronic record than on patient care.”Linda Holyfield, President and CEO, P&S Surgical Hospital
  

Opinion Poll

Do you use medical mobile applications?

Previous Poll:
Is social media an appropriate way to reach patients?

• 55^% Maybe. We would consider it to remind patients of events and screenings.
• 23^% Yes. We use it for office announcements and public health messages.
• 23^% No. This is not an appropriate way to reach out to patients.

MD News Survey

Take our brief survey on mobile devices by September 15, and you’ll be entered to win a $100 gift card to the mobile app store of your choice!

Physicians and Smart Phones
Q: What mobile device do you use?