Quick Links: Catron, Rushing Patients, Poor Coverage

David Catron takes a closer look at the various claims that, "ObamaCare is working".

USA Today: "You're on the clock: Doctors rush patients out the door".

 (Note that this is a problem with the standard model, not with concierge medicine practices which allow doctors and patients ample time to discuss medical issues in depth.)

CBS San Francisco: "Some Covered California Patients Say They Can't See A Doctor".

(As always, "coverage" does not equal actual medical care. Politicians can promise the former, but can't decree the latter.)

Hsieh Forbes OpEd: Should Doctors Limit Medical Care To Save Money For "Society"?

My latest Forbes piece is now up: "Should Doctors Limit Medical Care To Save Money For 'Society'?"

Here is the opening:

Can your doctor serve two masters at once?

That's the question American physicians are grappling with. The New York Times recently reported on a growing debate within the medical profession as to whether doctors should make treatment decisions in the best interests of their individual patients -- or if they should limit care to save money for "society."

This would represent a seismic shift in standard medical ethics. Traditionally, a doctor's primary ethical duty is to the patient. Patients literally put their lives in our hands, trusting that their physician will always act as their advocate. But with health care costs currently consuming 18% of the US economy (and an enlarging share of government budgets), some doctors are openly calling for fellow physicians to limit their use of more expensive tests and therapies to save money for "the larger society."

As Dr. Martin Samuels (chairman of neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston) warned in the Times piece, doctors risk losing patients' trust if they say, "I'm not going to do what I think is best for you because I think it's bad for the health care budget in Massachusetts."

We don't expect our lawyer to balance our legal interests against saving money for "the court system" or our real estate agent to balance our housing preferences against what's best for "the regional housing market." Shouldn't our doctors adhere to the same code of ethics?...

I also discuss how this conflict of interest will worsen under ObamaCare as well as how adapting an idea by UCLA law professor Russell Korobkin may help avoid this problem and protect the doctor-patient relationship.

For more details, read the full text of "Should Doctors Limit Medical Care To Save Money For 'Society'?"

Adalja AMA on Infectious Diseases, Antibiotic Resistance, and Biosecurity

Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert, recently did a Reddit Science AMA: "Ask me anything about biosecurity, emerging infectious diseases (e.g., Ebola, MERS, H7N9), influenza, polio, norovirus, antibiotic resistance, measles, mumps, STDS, and related history, science and policy issues".

Future Medical Advances

Vivek Wadhwa explains that, "Why our medicine will soon be cooler than Star Trek's".

If we can keep our economy relatively free and allow medical innovation to progress, many of his predictions might come true!

BRI Calendar

The Benjamin Rush Institute has an exciting series of talks and debate scheduled around the country this spring. Check out their calendar for more details!

(You can support their work via this link.)

Primary Care Doctors Burning Out

The 3/31/2014 Washington Post (in conjunction with Kaiser Health News), reported on the growing burn-out problem with primary care doctors.

A few key quotes from the article:

* "Perhaps the single greatest source of frustration for many physicians is a tool that was supposed to make their lives easier: electronic medical records."

* "[N]early half of more than 7,200 doctors responding to a survey published in 2012 by the Mayo Clinic reported at least one symptom of burnout. That’s up from 10 years ago, when a quarter of doctors reported burnout symptoms in another survey."

* "[O]ne of the drivers of physician dissatisfaction is their sense that they are shortchanging patients: that they are too rushed, don’t have time to listen and aren’t always providing good care."

I'm very glad that more people are recognizing the hazards of government-mandated electronic medical records (EMRs) -- for both doctors and for patients.

(For more on the hazards EMRs pose for patients, see my recent Forbes piece, "Can You Trust What's In Your Electronic Medical Record?")

The article also notes that burnt-out doctors provide lower quality care for their patients.  In contrast, Dr. Martin Kanovsky noted that when he switched to a "concierge" practice model, he was happier -- and so were his patients.

For more details, read the full text of the Washington Post piece, "A growing number of primary-care doctors are burning out. How does this affect patients?" (The story is also mirrored on the Kaiser Health News site under the title, "Burnt Out Primary Care Docs Are Voting With Their Feet".)

Sandefur Fisks Obama

Tim Sandefur takes a closer look at President Obama's April 1 speech on ObamaCare. He fills in a few facts that the President left out.

Catron: Put the ACA Out Of Its Misery

In the American Spectator, David Catron says we should do the humane thing and just end ObamaCare: "Obamacare: They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"

One of the many good points he makes is on the difference between "coverage" and actual access to care:

What about all those people who are signing up for Medicaid in the states that expanded coverage? As I pointed out here last January, those individuals will discover that Medicaid coverage has reduced their ability to access primary care. Why? Because Medicaid pays primary physicians less than it costs to see patients. Thus, fewer and fewer doctors will accept Medicaid patients, who will be forced to seek care in the local ER.

So, Obamacare has not merely failed to provide relief in the two areas where the public most wanted help — cost and access — it has actually made matters worse...

 For more, read the full text of "Obamacare: They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"