MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'business of medicine'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:27:00 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159458&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F22%2Fdoes-your-practice-need-a-business-manager%2F When we first opened our practice, we knew we needed to hire an office manager to handle paying the bills, managing the staff’s time of and buying all the office supplies. But we didn’t anticipate that we’d need a business manager. Soon after we opened, it was apparent that the practice needed a business manager – not an office manager – but a business manager. Medical practices are relatively complex businesses. And they generate a lot of cash when you compare them to other small businesses. Thus, a practice should have a “qualified” business manager that manages the practice for physicians in order to run the business efficiently. In my experience, I’ve seen physicians give this position to nurses and in some cases, medical assistants with a knack for organization. Howeve... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159458 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:00:51 +0100 5159458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130713&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fis-pharma-ready-for-a-conversation-on-facebook Jonathan at Dose of Digital talks about pharma’s fear of Facebook pages centering around 2 issues that pharma thinks require 24/7 monitoring: Adverse Events and negative publicity. I hear the same excuse on why pharma companies are so scared to look at patient comments on blogs: adverse events. I’m sorry, but adverse events are happening [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130713 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:28:26 +0100 5130713 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050924&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F12%2Fdo-you-need-to-hire-pediatrics-practice-management-consultant%2F Written By Chip Hart I will never forget the scene. I was the lonely consultant in the dark and shag-carpeted basement “conference room” of a large pediatric practice and was giving them a stern lecture about their pricing. The practice hadn’t updated its prices in years and was undoubtedly losing money. Lots of it. After my explanation of RVUs and why 105% of Medicare wouldn’t cut it, the senior partner – well, the loudest one, anyway – looked me in the eye and said, “OK, that sounds smart, let’s just raise our prices.” It was the response I was hoping to get. The youngest and newest partner jumped in quickly, “What?! How can you listen to this guy?” Uh oh, I thought. His voice cracked, “…I’ve been telling you this same information for almos... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050924 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:00:45 +0100 5050924 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028713&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F12%2Fdo-you-need-to-hire-pediatrics-practice-management-consultant%2F Written By Chip Hart I will never forget the scene. I was the lonely consultant in the dark and shag-carpeted basement “conference room” of a large pediatric practice and was giving them a stern lecture about their pricing. The practice hadn’t updated its prices in years and was undoubtedly losing money. Lots of it. After my explanation of RVUs and why 105% of Medicare wouldn’t cut it, the senior partner – well, the loudest one, anyway – looked me in the eye and said, “OK, that sounds smart, let’s just raise our prices.” It was the response I was hoping to get. The youngest and newest partner jumped in quickly, “What?! How can you listen to this guy?” Uh oh, I thought. His voice cracked, “…I’ve been telling you this same information for almos... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028713 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:00:45 +0100 5028713 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934561&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F14%2Fno-margin-no-mission%2F The private medical practice world is constantly changing. Not to mention unpredictable as lawmakers settle on health care reform. Private medical practice’s are faced with an increasingly larger uninsured and under insured population, State Medicaid cuts, increasing capital needs, and labor shortages. That’s why… Having an enthusiastic, intense, dedicated and even fanatical outlooks on your financial management is now more important than ever. Remember, you are business and as such, you must align your responsibilities in an effort to remain competitive. Without a strong financial foundation, your practice will undoubtedly fail thus not being able to care for anyone. To compete in this new, value-driven, fast-paced aggressive market, healthcare providers must carefully r... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934561 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:00:05 +0100 4934561 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911668&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F07%2F15-reasons-why-you-should-go-to-pcc%25e2%2580%2599s-2011-pediatric-practice-management-coding-conference%2F This summer, PCC will have their annual pediatric practice management & coding conference. This year, the conference is extra special for me because I’ve been asked to be a speaker. PCC usually has the top speakers give classes at their event. So I’m so excited and pleased to have been chosen to speak at this year’s event. My talk is titled 101 ways to transform your medical practice. I’ll be talking about some of the changes we need to make in our medical office to meet the demand of this new, value-driven, high volume-low-margin healthcare environment we face. If you’ve never been , I think you should consider going. It is truly one of the best pediatric specific conferences in the country. In an effort to convince you, I’ve put together a list 15 reasons you should go. ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911668 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:00:32 +0100 4911668 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872044&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fstop-pretending-you-dont-know-pharma-companies I remembered years ago I was speaking to a Forest employee who told me how proud she was to be working at Forest because of how ethical the company and the CEO was. That same employee was critical of me for talking to the WSJ about some of the less ethical practices that pharma companies [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872044 Fri, 27 May 2011 17:24:42 +0100 4872044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862484&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fpharma-and-social-media-its-not-about-controlling-the-conversation-but-finding-the-right-venues-for-engagement Now that Facebook Pages is to Marketing what LinkedIn Profiles is to Job Seeking – pharma companies are in pickle: Facebook is going to open up comments no matter what. This means pharma companies can no longer restrict people from commenting on their Facebook pages. Er…. DUH! Why is this big news? People get on [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862484 Wed, 25 May 2011 17:33:14 +0100 4862484 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841406&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fcme-and-pharma-doctors-want-support-that-they-cant-trust “Doctors want CMEs paid for them but can’t trust the people they want to help pay for their continuing medical education.” That’s how I sum up the below survey published by Archives of Internal Medicine. Look at what the conclusion said: “Although the medical professionals responding to this survey were concerned about bias introduced from [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841406 Thu, 19 May 2011 18:51:53 +0100 4841406 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813483&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F11%2Fwhat-can-your-medical-practice-learn-from-watching-the-show-iron-chef%2F I enjoy watching Iron Chef America. I am amazed that the Food Channel can create a show about cooking that is exciting, competitive, informative, nail biting and fun all in a single show. Theoretically, a competitive cooking show sounds boring. What is fun and exciting about that? But Iron Chef makes you root for a guy to pull out a lobster from the boiling water so he can plate it in time, while the other guy is running franticly chopping things up ’til the last minute all while the commentator gives a play, by play and insights as to the ingredients and technique of each chef. For those that haven’t seen the show, it consist of two chef (one is the iron chef and the other is the challenger) trying to make several dishes in an hour with a secret ingredient that is revealed to them... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813483 Wed, 11 May 2011 14:00:18 +0100 4813483 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789187&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fwill-technology-replace-pharmacists Maybe it can. But there are aspects of healthcare that can never be automated. Yes, I worked in healthcare and consulted for one of the stakeholders, and I have seen the benefits of automation – reducing human errors, improving delivery efficiency. But healthcare is a human profession, dealing with human beings and usually human beings [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789187 Thu, 05 May 2011 00:33:29 +0100 4789187 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789188&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fwould-you-cancel-a-surgery-if-your-surgeon-is-getting-a-kick-back The specific question is about getting kickbacks as a surgeon using a medical device, and was originally asked on Quora. The explanation to the question (posted by the asker) said, “The department of justice has investigated conflicts of interest, and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette has published on the topic. To quote from the gazette: Payments [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789188 Wed, 04 May 2011 21:55:06 +0100 4789188 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658467&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F30%2Fmedical-practice-insurance-distribution%2F Looking through some numbers from last year, I found an insurance distribution graph in my archives. Essentially, this graph lets me glance at our top payers, and what they represent to us in terms of patients count, charges, revenue and cents on the dollar. See the graph below for details. Here is how we interpret the graph:  If we take the Blues Bros (as an infamous speaker likes to call them) for example, we see they represented 40% of our entire patient panel. In others words, 40% of patients that we saw in 2010 had BCBS. In terms of [gross] charges, the Blues represented 45%. When we look at revenue they accounted for 50% of our entire income averaging 73cents on the dollar. Out of our top 10 payers, UHC jumps out at me. Here is why. Only 8% of all the patient saw in 2010 were UHC p... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658467 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:00:12 +0100 4658467 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789189&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fwhy-i-chose-not-to-be-a-doctor I was once a premed. I chose not to become a doctor because I wasn’t truly interested in the profession, it was something I felt I “had” to do or “should” do because I happened to major in biology. And being a first generation Asian-American there was also pressure from being a “Tiger Cub”: we [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789189 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:45:25 +0100 4789189 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600677&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F16%2Fwhat-does-chef-owned-restaurant-have-in-common-with-a-doctor-owned-medical-practice%2F In a restaurant, the chef makes the food. But if a chef is not there to make the food, the restaurant can still operate at full capacity because the chef has sous chefs and cooks that can prepare the same food the chef makes. In other words, the chef’s absence does not directly affect the operation of the restaurant. Patrons can continue buying delicious meals. In a medical practice, the doctor is like an executive chef. But unlike the restaurant, if the doctor is not available to serve/treat patrons/patients, the medical practice can’t operate at full capacity. Patrons can’t continue receiving services like the restaurant. Not to say that there isn’t anything else the staff can do while the doc is gone. But what I’m saying is that if the doctor is not seeing patients, th... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600677 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:00:53 +0100 4600677 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4566224&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F09%2Fwill-buying-more-vaccines-save-you-money%2F Don’t you just love these big companies that try to have their stuff sound more important. I mean, Customer Transition Program, who doesn’t want to be a part of that? I wish they’d call it what it really is “Sales Rep Needs to Meet Her Quota Program.” I’m sure you’ve gotten something like this ad on the side and since you are a smart, level headed business person you ask yourself, should I jump on these savings? Is it worth to buy more vaccines than I actually need? How much will I actually save? If you asked an MBA to answer these questions for you, here is what she’d say: The MBA Response First, we need to estimate the future cash flow that the vaccine will generate. Then compare it to a return from an investment account option, like a CD or a treasure bond to see which o... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4566224 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:00:07 +0100 4566224 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455240&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Ffda-has-to-slow-down-to-keep-up-with-drug-companies Steve Woodruff is hopping mad with the apparent gross inefficiency and indecision of the “guidance process” for pharma company promotional practices when it comes to social media, and I can’t blame him! But I’m on the FDA’s side this time. Let me say up front that I never liked how the FDA remains vague and [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455240 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:53:09 +0100 4455240 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450263&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fbig-pharma-shilling-and-webmd-com-mayoclinic-com-smack-down New York Times Online is likening WebMD’s “information” as “using the meretricious voice of a pharmaceutical rep”. I don’t know… I never found WebMD’s interface “apparently attractive” but I suppose some people like all the flashy stuff. I mean, I find the ads on NakedMedicine.com mildly annoying, but these only go toward keeping the site [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450263 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:42:06 +0100 4450263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450264&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Foigs-top-10-most-wanted-fugitives John Walsh probably isn’t going to be featuring these on his “Most Wanted” show, but these criminals are on OIG’s Most Wanted for defrauding the government (and tax payers like you and me) out of millions of dollars by submitting false claims for services or goods (motorized wheelchairs seem to be a popular vehicle). These [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450264 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:54:19 +0100 4450264 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4355713&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fjohnsonjohnson-dont-just-cite-your-credo-apply-it When I used to consult in the pharma world, I notice that J&J employers love their company credo. It makes a deep impression on them. They believe truly that they’re joining a company that takes pride in their history and reputation. There’s this feeling of “pedigree” for being part of the Johnson & Johnson family. [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4355713 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:24:59 +0100 4355713 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4253285&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F13%2Fmanage-the-business-your-patients-depend-on-it%2F The first pediatrician we took our daughter to was my wife’s preceptor during her residency. He is one of those tenure professors that never miss an opportunity to teach a valuable lesson. One time I was in the clinic when a resident came up to the professor and said she had a question for him. He replied, “Are you asking as a student or as a mom?” The student’s child was also a patient we came to find out. With that reply alone he taught us the distinction between objectivity and subjectivity. I remember our very first newborn visit with him. He walked in the room, acknowledged our baby, sat down and started reading the chart. Casually, he said, “so, how are you doing?” to my wife. My wife responded by giving him what I imagine a morning report would sound like when physicians... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4253285 Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:00:07 +0100 4253285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233301&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F06%2Fis-your-front-desk-a-command-center%2F The front desk plays a big role in any practice. It can be either a bottleneck or an open water dam as far as patient flow. Likewise, the front desk can be the cause of a hemorrhage of money or work like a skilled plumber that makes sure no leaks (ie money, patient info, eligibility checks) are falling thru the cracks. A few years back, I realized that if we were to survive as a practice, we would have to make some changes to how the front desk functioned. Adapting to changes So I sat with the front desk and explained that from now on, they had a few more responsibilities they had to master. Simply handing people forms and checking people in is only the tip of the iceberg. The front-desk in essence would be the command center of operations for our practice. Kind of like a control tower at ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233301 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:00:09 +0100 4233301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4168086&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F15%2Fmedical-practices-don%25e2%2580%2599t-compete-on-price-compete-on-value%2F   Image Courtesy of: thisisindexed.com   When other establishments offer services that overlap a medical office’s services, like for example, CVS and Walgreens offering flu shots, or retail clinics offering inexpensive school physicals, I read and hear about medical offices rushing to match prices in an effort to stay competitive. BAD IDEA Competing on price is almost always a bad idea. Why? It is a bad idea because it diminishes the services private medical offices provide. By “matching” retail clinics, or other low end establishment, a medical practice is suggesting that there is a not a qualitative differentiation between their services, expertise, and knowledge when compared to these businesses. In other words, offering service for as cheap as a retail, drive-by clinic ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4168086 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:00:49 +0100 4168086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4142872&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F08%2Fthis-is-our-core-problem-our-ridiculous-attitude-toward-business%2F On PedTalk – a pediatric mailing list for those that don’t know – another discussion erupted concerning vaccines. As usual, the topic was about insurance companies not compensating pediatricians enough to cover the cost of vaccines. One person asked why pediatricians were not fighting this issue and why the American Academy of Pediatrics was not doing more to help pediatricians in this regard. Dr. Hershel Lessin responded… and boy did he respond. I thought his response was so good, that I asked his permission to repost his comments on the blog. It was important for me to share this discussion as well as Dr. Lessin’s response because I think:  1) the discussion brings awareness to a fundamental challenge pediatricians face, which is, vaccine management; 2) the response al... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4142872 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 11:00:22 +0100 4142872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118849&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fpharmacy-and-mcdonalds-strange-bedfellows-that-arent-so-strange My friend Natalie Bourre saw my post about the non-biodegradable Happy Meal photo-essay and told me about a Canadian Pharmacy that had, as part of its weekly promotion, a coupon for McDonald’s. This promotion is no longer on the corporate website, so you will have to visit Nat’s blog to see the screenshot she captured [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118849 Tue, 26 Oct 2010 20:02:57 +0100 4118849 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4086241&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fteva-canadian-ms-community-no-win-for-the-company Teva is closing its community forum from its Canadian multiple sclerosis education website because of Canadian healthcare regulations around dissemination of information relating to prescription drugs. You’ll read the explanation if you visit the Teva MS website, but keep reading for the crux of the situation: I have to agree with Teva’s decision because it [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4086241 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:12:19 +0100 4086241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074006&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fadvil-pm-v-tylenol-pm-ad-is-misleading This has been bugging me for a long time, but recently I saw another one of these “advil PM versus tylenol PM” commercials, so I am going to finally write about it! First of all, the commercial is basically a “why Advil PM is so much better” ad. It talks about how the person taking [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074006 Sat, 16 Oct 2010 03:13:24 +0100 4074006 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4053390&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F10%2Fis-asking-for-a-payment-guarantee-bad-business%2F I don’t know of any other business where a person buys a product (or service), and walks out the door without giving some sort of financial commitment. So, why do doctors’ offices allow people to get medical care and walkout the door without offering some sort of payment guarantee? If you think about it, only doctor offices and financial institutions allow this. But here is the kicker. Financial institutions asses a person’s creditworthiness before they lend anybody any money. When a doctor provides medical care, they are extending the patient credit just like a financial institution does but without a guarantee. Oh yeah, I forgot; we check the patient’s insurance and some spend hours on the futile task that is insurance eligibility. But let’s be honest. Flashing an insurance ca... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4053390 Sun, 10 Oct 2010 10:00:06 +0100 4053390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4003337&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F27%2Fi-have-a-proposal%2F Since I’ve started the blog, I’ve gotten a few requests from people to help them out with different practice/business issues. After answering a few of these questions, I’ve realized that I really enjoy doing this type of work. I enjoy analyzing data, researching topics, and giving different perspectives in an effort to solve medical practice business problems for other managers and physicians. Here’s why I like it Not only do I help people out (which I think is a cool thing to do), but I also benefit from it because every situation is unique and there is always something to learn. The Proposal So here is the deal. If you have an interesting practice management issue, and need some help resolving it, I’d like to help. Just reach out (email, phone, Twitter) and I’ll be happy ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4003337 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:30:05 +0100 4003337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3823029&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F08%2F04%2Fcan-a-medical-practice-learn-from-an-airline%2F I got a chance to fly JetBlue for the first time last week. Since I had heard so many good things about the airline, I was looking forward to experiencing the JetBlue, well, experience. I took four flights in total with them. While outbound, they lost my bag. While inbound to Chicago, my last leg was delayed about 2-hours. I then I had to wait another1:20 minutes for my bag to come down the carousel. Would I fly them again?  Read on and find out. Here are 10 observations  I noticed while flying with JetBlue and how a medical practice can implement these observations. 1)     Service with a Smile. – All JetBlue employees have a smile on their face. And what I appreciated the most is that the smile appeared genuine. If it wasn’t, they did a very good job convincing me it was. Their ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3823029 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 03:51:06 +0100 3823029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3786980&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Ftop-10-healthcare-social-media-predictions 3 of my predictions appeared here: Industry consultant and entrepreneur Jane Chin (@janechin) goes even further, alleging that next year PhRMA will appoint its first ever ‘Chief Tweeting Officer.’ Jane Chin (@janechin) thinks social media will spur new approaches to customer care and technology, as “cutting edge pharma …companies will experiment with a blend of [...] (Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM) NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3786980 Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:43:40 +0100 3786980 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699609&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F25%2Fhow-many-customers-do-you-need-to-break-even%2F In the late ’90′s I was working for an Internet start-up that was going to revolutionize the travel industry (insert sarcasm). I joined the company about 9-months before the Internet bubble exploded. The story of my life. Before all that went down, I had the opportunity to attend several meetings with different venture capital (VC) firms the company was pitching. One of the points our CEO highlighted during the VC meetings was that the travel industry was a multi-billion dollar industry in the US. The pitch was that if the Internet startup could capture just one percent of the market share, we’d be rolling to the bank with cash. Great pitch, but the investors were not buying it. Investors weren’t interested in “if only we could get…” statements. What they wanted t... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699609 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:00:53 +0100 3699609 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3617961&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F01%2Fstay-on-track-by-looking-forward-instead-of-backwards%2F Seems like an obvious statement. But few of us apply it; especially those of us that manage or own small medical practices. How so? Medical practices, and many small business in other industries, are always comparing their current practice numbers, to their past performances. When people ask, how is the practice doing? Managers respond, “… billing is up 15% when comparing same period last year” or “we saw 100 more patients this March than last March.” Another common response is, “net income is  flat compared to last year.” I think this is the wrong approach. The pertinent questions to ask is: how are you doing against your goals? In other words, how are you doing against the company’s financial expectations? Assessing a company’s performance against their forecast, as op... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3617961 Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:00:36 +0100 3617961 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3545537&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F08%2Fpediatric-practice-management-conference%2F Discussion How to get Government Funding for EHR How to be Successful in a Tough Economy Top Ten Legal Issues Practices Need to Know Negotiating in the New World of Managed Care Coding 2010: Modifying, Documenting, and Getting Paid Coding Tips and Billing Strategies For Getting Paid What You Deserve The Silents, Boomers, GenXers and GenYers: Managing the Generations and more! To check out the course schedule, click on this link For more information about the conference check out this link I attended last year’s conference and it was completely worth it. What I loved most about the conference, is that it is pediatric specific. There is a big difference in a conference that focuses on multiple medical specialties (like the MGMA for example), and a conference that makes pediatric practic... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3545537 Sat, 08 May 2010 15:00:15 +0100 3545537 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3294715&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F21%2Fhow-does-one-deal-with-physician-rating-sites%2F It seems that every couple of months, I hear a story about how a group of doctors that are trying to stifle patient’s ability to post negative comments online. The online community of course strongly opposes the notion of giving patients “gag orders.” People argue that if one can rate their local restaurant or mechanic shop, then why can’t patients rate physician and their offices. I’ve given doctor’s rating sites a lot of thought and I do have a lot of issues with them. However, I also think they are an important factor in our (transparent) Web2.0 world and by becoming aware of them, we can become better “service providers.” Not to mention these sites are not going away any time soon, so it is in our best interest to learn how to manage negative online criticism. But, how ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3294715 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:43:13 +0100 3294715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3201811&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F22%2Fdoes-your-medical-practice-have-a-sales-force%2F Many businesses have the benefit of having a sales force. The sales force of course is out there, day in and day out, selling products or services, promoting the business, addressing issues, inviting, schmoozing and doing all the things sales people do. In theory, the more there out there pounding the payment, the more business they’ll get. In our private practice, we get lots of visits from sales people. And the sales rep we see the most frequently and the ones that establish better relationships with us tend to benefit the most from our business. But, a medical practice can’t really hire a sales force to increase business; right? Private medical practices can’t really hire sales people, divide the practice’s footprint into territories and expect them to go door to door promoting ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3201811 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:55 +0100 3201811 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3180328&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F16%2Fwhat-does-the-lost-baggage-counter-and-your-medical-office-have-in-common%2F I think businesses like restaurants or retail stores have a huge advantage when trying to make a customer feel comfortable at their location or making customers’ experience exceptional. And the reason for their advantage is because customers actually want to be there. We go to a restaurant because we’ve heard it was good, we’re hungry, it’s convenient, cheap, offers great service or hundreds of other reasons. Bottom line, we decided to go there, thus our expectations are different than if we were there because we had to go. Same goes for retail stores. We visit a store because we are looking for something to buy. And for the most part, our expectations have already been set. For example, when we go to buy clothes at Target, we have different expectations as when we go buy something... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3180328 Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:05:31 +0100 3180328 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3118965&cid=t_90825_117_f&fid=38158&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vadlo.comhttp%3A%2F%2Famericanacupuncture.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fbusiness-of-medicine.html Doctors have always focused on the treatment necessary to cure your medical illness.  Today's healthcare reforms require that doctors change their mindsets and become businessmen in the practice of medicine. Universities have responded to this business challenge to make doctors business men!As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a ho... Dr. Needles Medical Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3118965 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:40:00 +0100 3118965 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3035960&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F27%2Fwhich-customer-would-you-prefer%2F Photo: DannyBrown.me As business owners, I think we have to be very careful about how we treat (punish) customers. Way to state the obvious, Brandon. But businesses punish their customers all the time. Don’t believe me? Consider the deals on Black Friday. To me, this is a way to punish one’s customers. It is like saying to your customer “…I’ll give you a good deal, but you are going to have to work for it…  you’ll have to put in an extraordinary effort in order to earn the deal I’m about to give you.” Can you imagine buying a car and the sales rep saying, “…well, this deal I’m giving you is so good, you are going to have to do something extraordinary in order for me to agree to sale you the car. How about 500 jumping jacks? Oh, and I forgot to mention... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3035960 Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:36:43 +0100 3035960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2924901&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F10%2F25%2Fdoes-your-paycheck-depend-on-your-performance%2F So here is something to think about… Photo credit: Publicinsomniac What if your pay checks were not guaranteed, but instead you got paid solely on your performance? How would you treat patients knowing that the way you took care of them, the way you responded to them, the way you acknowledged them, stems your paycheck? I suspect things would be different. You may still get annoyed with parents, but you’d keep that smile on your face the entire time. Would you not? If you think about it, we are not that different from someone that solely earns money based on their performances. As a staff member you may get a salary or get paid by the hour, but the “practice” does not get a guaranteed paycheck every month. We only get paid when we provide a service/perform. If there is no o... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2924901 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:57:46 +0100 2924901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2879584&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F10%2F05%2Ftwelve-customer-service-rules%2F Lately, we’ve been getting customer service complaints at our practice. If you’ve read my post in the past, you know that customer service is a huge thing for me. So admitting we’ve been having customer service issues is a big deal. But this blog isn’t only about our successes as a medical practice, but also about our challenges, lessons learned, and how we’ve dealt with those challenges.  If you notice up at the top of this page, the description of the blog reads, “dissecting the business of a private practice for the purpose of examining its parts and discourse.” Anyway, I wrote an email to our staff letting them know my thoughts about the customer service issues we were having and I came up with a list of 12 things to have in mind in customer service. I wanted to share wi... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2879584 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:14:50 +0100 2879584 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2879586&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F27%2Fwhat-are-the-priorities-of-a-private-practice%2F I believe every PRIVATE practice has two priorities. Priority number one is: The Patient No question whether or not the patient is priority number one. We always do what is best for the patient. Priority number two is: Profitability Private medical practices ought to have a reasonable expectation of profitability. The fact is, a private medical practice is a business just like the dry cleaning business, just like the grocery business and just like the car dealership business. At the end of the day, more money has to come in, than goes out. I bring this up because I spend a lot of time talking in function of priority number two, profitability. But rest assure, our private medical practice does not lose sight of our patients’ needs. It just so happens that in our practice, I take care of p... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2879586 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:12:02 +0100 2879586 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2879587&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F22%2Fwhy-i-like-physician-computer-company%2F In August I attended Physician’s Computer Company (PCC) practice management conference in Orlando, Florida. I’m going to share some of the things I learned at the conference in a subsequent post, but before I do that, I wanted to tell you about Physician Computer Company, the company that hosted the event. PCC develops a practice management (PM) software application for pediatricians. That alone is cool because there are not any (that I know) PM applications that are pediatric specific. Would you  rather work with a vendor that has many specialties or work with a company that makes your specialty their specialty? Big difference in my mind. PCC not only sells a fine piece of software, but the company partners with their clients in an effort to leverage the software for practice improve... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2879587 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:34:36 +0100 2879587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2879589&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F07%2Fgoogle-apple-printers-and-vaccines%2F Google offers free services like Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Maps. So how do they make money if they offer these things for free? They know their business isn’t about these products; it is about advertising. Thus, by creating all these cool services, they get eyeballs; and eyeballs drive advertising dollars. Apple sells songs via their iTunes store at 99 cents. Apple gets to keep just 29 (30%) cents from every MP3 they sell. Do they make money on these songs at 30 cents a pop? Maybe. When you consider Apple’s cost to manage the iTunes store (i.e. software development, support) and the cost to deliver each song (bandwidth), I’m sure they are not left with much. So why would they continue selling MP3’s if they don’t make much money? Because Apple knows their business… and ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2879589 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:07:56 +0100 2879589 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2879590&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F24%2Fhealth-care-mess-explained-on-a-napkin%2F Dan Roam, from Back of the Napkin blog created this great presentation that explains the health care mess. I generally don’t like to share this type of stuff.  I rather not get in to the politics of health care (on this blog. Not saying I don’t have strong opinions about it) and stick mostly with practice management, entrepreneurship, and things along those lines. But Dan’s presentation is the first that hits the health care mess on the head. At least he gets as close as anybody I’ve seen, publicly. If anything, it is a creative way to explain the issues to non-health care people. I do have my issues with the presentation. But I’ll let you see it first so I don’t spoil it for you. There are several things I have an issue with, but really the one that bugs me t... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2879590 Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:17:32 +0100 2879590 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2719686&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fwhich-side-are-you-really-on-jane-chin I received what is probably the most passionate email from a reader of this blog that I’ve ever gotten since creating NakedMedicine.com in 2006. The email concludes with this: I can’t figure out what your agenda is Ms Chin. Are siding with the poor hard working physicians who are fighting a losing battle with their idiot patient’s lifestyles? Are you siding with the tirelessly industrious pharmaceutical scientists who are selflessly dedicating their efforts to cure our ills? Are you siding with the poor neglected suffering individuals who are bravely pushing onward in their lives, struggling with disease, possible disease, possible pandemics, or just plain plainness requiring cosmetic medicine? Doctors, business, persons, for whom are you advocating? I was shocked by the ... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2719686 Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:42:29 +0100 2719686 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2601977&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fpharma-offering-lifestyle-drugs-power-will-shift-to-patient-customers You’ve probably seen it coming – smelled hints of it on TV – pharmaceutical companies are getting into what we call “lifestyle drugs”; products that focus on “enhancing” your life rather than “extending” it. Yes, there is a big difference, and you may think that “extending” life pays big, “enhancing” life may pay even BIGGER. (just ask the Botox people.) It’s only a matter of time before pharmaceutical companies shift their focus from “therapeutic intervention” to “lifestyle / recreation” because they now deal with a ready-and-willing customer base who are willing to pay. This also creates a more dramatic shift: one of bargaining power from the physicians to the patients. Eventually,... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2601977 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:20:51 +0100 2601977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2550211&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fpharma-industrys-job-is-not-disease-prevention-thats-your-job I’ve heard the argument, so have you. “Those evil pharma companies aren’t interested in prevention! They want people to get sick and stay sick because that’s how they make their money! On the drugs!” Recently I had railed against the pharma companies that are capitalizing on increasing trends of people using certain prescription drugs as “lifestyle drugs” – not to mention appearing on the Wall Street Journal this past Friday to rail against pharma companies that abuse the role of medical science liaisons, so I have my own pet peeves and criticisms with pharma. What irks me is when a criticism about any industry is not based on a fundamental flaw in that industry, but is simply born of politicking sensationalizing this-is-how-I-get-more-reader... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2550211 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:12:57 +0100 2550211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2414761&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Ffemale-sexual-dysfunction-pharmas-next-lifestyle-market I’m posting this from one of Steve Woodruff’s blog posts that I shared via my Facebook profile, which turned into a full blown debate between me, Dmitriy Kruglyak, and Yvette - one of my FB friends. Jane Chin’s Profile Jane Chin I’m pro-pharma, but I’m NOT happy w/ female sexual dysfunction disease mongering I expect to see from pharmacos! http://ow.ly/4xQH Dmitriy Kruglyak at 8:18am April 30 Where do you draw the line between “disease mongering” and “disease awareness”? Jane Chin at 8:21am April 30 When the ‘awareness” generated makes patients who otherwise are not candidates for the drug pressure docs to write the Rx. Dmitriy Kruglyak at 8:23am April 30 Ah, but who gets to decide “who are the candidates” and wh... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2414761 Sun, 17 May 2009 04:56:10 +0100 2414761 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375906&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fhow-to-see-through-pharma-ad-bs Like all marketing campaigns, the aim of any pharma advertisement is to get you to think that you need a certain product or a service. I understand that all pharma companies will say that they want to educate patients on the condition first and foremost, but I guarantee that when pharma companies are forking over multimillion dollar checks to ad agencies, they’re looking for more product sales as a return on investment (ROI). This is not a “bad” thing - this is business. Let’s say you’re an inventor and you created a program that would improve the amount of sassing teenagers give to their parents. Would you pay an agency half of your annual paycheck so that parents can be educated about the prevalence of sassing by teenagers? NO! You want parents to buy your ... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375906 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:49:26 +0100 2375906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306849&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fwe-already-have-been-personalizing-medicine By Jane Chin, Ph.D. Let’s take the trend of “personalized medicine” to start. Yes, gene-based and protein-based medicines sound alluring. We talk about targeted therapies like they’re silver bullets against deadly diseases, when we still don’t know of the long term effects of many small molecule and biologics as medicines. All that talk about personalized medicine and how wonderful it would be if we were to have drugs tailored for us? We’ve been doing that for years! Yet pharma has been providing a level of “personalized” medicine for years, which has created its reputation as a greedy industry with “mediocre” innovation as perceived by its critics. Critics ask why we need yet another statin? Do we really need to have that many an... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306849 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:05:25 +0100 2306849 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2167714&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fwill-healthcare-become-a-moral-question-are-we-already-there By Jane Chin This morning I was skyping with one of my favorite people, Bhupesh of Ethnicomm, when we began talking about the current state of healthcare. Bhupesh lives in Canada, where healthcare is socialized in a way that has become apparently very attractive to various healthcare “activists” and interest groups here in the U.S. Right now many people here in the U.S. are tremendously upset with insurance companies because of the way these companies make financially based decisions about people’s lives. The stereotype, for example, is the image of a middle-aged MBA-educated executive sitting in front of a spreadsheet that gets him to conclude that letting a chronically ill patient die may be cheaper than approving for reimbursement certain “non-standard” med... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2167714 Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:46:11 +0100 2167714 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1502618&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fmost-doctors-dont-recommend-their-own-profession Dan Abshear Lately in the media, others have said and expressed concern about the apparent shortage of primary care doctors, most notably. Typically, the main reason stated for this shortage is lack of pay of this particular specialty compared with others chosen by potential physicians. Yet considering the additional attention of shortages of students in some medical schools, one may ask the question as to whether or not people want to be any type of doctor in the first place in the United States. About one third of their lives are spent achieving the requirements of this profession. Reasons for not choosing to enter this profession are several and valid. There is the issue of long hours- with primary care in particular because of the apparent lack of doctors of this specialty. Such doctor... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1502618 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:39:56 +0100 1502618 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1502619&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fretail-clinics-quick-when-youre-sick By Dan Abshear Recently in the media, issues have been addressed regarding the specialty of primary care or family practice doctors and the shortage of them in the U.S. In summary, reasons for the shortage that exists are due to the specialty not being that profitable for a doctor compared with other specialties. As a consequence, the doctors view the specialty as not a desirable choice apparently quite often, although the specialty is greatly needed in the health care system and for the public health. As a layperson, I view primary care as ultimately a specialist in nothing in particular, yet knowledgeable in a large variety of medical areas, which I believe, makes them very valuable to those patients seeking restoration of their health. Furthermore, there is a comfort level with those i... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1502619 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:31:52 +0100 1502619 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1492125&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fprovenge-and-fda By Dan Abshear Terminal patients are those who are not expected to live due to usually illness such as advanced prostate cancer (cT3). If the patient has 6 months or less to live, those patients are considered terminally ill. Regardless, if a patient is terminal, they are without a cure or tolerable treatment for their illness. Since such patients will likely die in a short period of time, treatment options, even if unproven, are often desired by such patients. This is understandable, because at such a severe stage of illness, such as prostate cancer, possible extension of their lives with comfort is worth it to them, regardless of lack of evidence of proof of whatever treatment that may be advantageous to them regarding these issues. The FDA, however, claims authority on the treatment opt... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1492125 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:44:47 +0100 1492125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1081601&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=35049&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedmedicine.com%2Fdevice-company-payouts-mostly-royalties Regarding, “Device Companies Post How Much They Paid Orthopedic Surgeons” today’s Health Blog revealed that the millions of dollars paid to orthopedic surgeons are mostly in the form of royalty payments (74% of total payouts), at least, for Zimmer: Zimmer’s CFO broke down his company’s payments during a talk today at a Piper Jaffray health-care conference. According to a slide in the CFO’s presentation, 74% of the outlays were for royalties, 11% for consulting, 10% for “research & clinical” work, 4% for “education & other” and 1% for travel and expenses, Dow Jones reports. Source: Health Blog If the docs did indeed own the intellectual property that device companies are licensing to use, then royalty payments make perfect sense. Still, from the bl... NAKEDMEDICINE.COM blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1081601 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:42:25 +0100 1081601 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2510389&cid=t_90825_87_f&fid=34867&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thediabetesblog.com%2F2007%2F09%2F11%2Fshould-you-seek-a-dietician-over-a-doctor%2F Filed under: Type 2, Adult Onset, Diet, Research, Opinion, Services, Allie Beatty, Support, Care, PersonalitiesThomas Smith began reviewing scientific literature after conventional medicine failed him in controlling diabetes. Smith found research that shows dietary toxins impair cell membrane function. These toxins include trans fatty acids and refined sugars. Cells begin to have trouble absorbing nutrients, and the blood sugar rises. Over time, this results in chronic elevated blood and urine sugar levels. Sounds like a growing epidemic, doesn't it? This damage to cell membranes, caused by a poor diet, can be repaired. The diabetic syndrome can be cured by eliminating all processed fats and oils. The protocol calls for supplementing high-dose Omega-3 fatty acids. This protocol normalizes... The Diabetes Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2510389 Mon, 10 Sep 2007 23:00:00 +0100 2510389 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=825411&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=34879&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdistractiblemind.ambulatorycomputing.com%2F2007%2F08%2F28%2Fwhy-google-healthcare-is-scary%2F Google’s mission statement is: Organizing the World’s Information.   In terms of delivering content that can accomplish this, they have done a great job.  I use Gmail, a Google homepage, Google Calendar, and sometimes even Google Documents.  Yet there are times when they seem to blur the line between organizing and delivering information and influencing behavior. In a recent lawsuit, American Airlines charges that Google is unfairly selling ad-words to competitors, so that if you type in “American Airlines” in a Google Search, the accompanying ads are those of the competitors.  Google Adwords dive-bombed by American Airlines By Cade Metz in San Francisco Published Friday 17th August 2007 20:09 GMT Yet another trademark owner has gone t... Musings of a Distractible Mind blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=825411 Tue, 28 Aug 2007 05:42:43 +0100 825411 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=747658&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=34879&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdistractiblemind.ambulatorycomputing.com%2F2007%2F07%2F20%2Fa-day-in-the-office-with-emr%2F The headline read: Electronic Health Records Don’t Lift Care. Balderdash! That’s like saying that cars don’t improve transportation compared to walking. Now, certainly if people don’t know how to drive, cars are not much use to them, but there is no way I would ever go back to practicing without my EMR. I couldn’t do it in good conscience. To show why this is the case, let me go through my day today for you (this is not made up). 8:00 AM - Arrive in office, Log on to EMR. Check Schedule. Look over unfinished work on desktop. Look over labs from patients in office yesterday that came through interface. Any abnormal results are flagged and put on the top of my list. Gentleman with wt loss and abdominal pain whose labs were OK, although sugar is up. I’ll ad... Musings of a Distractible Mind blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=747658 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 03:28:00 +0100 747658 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=478790&cid=t_90825_123_f&fid=34879&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdistractiblemind.ambulatorycomputing.com%2F2007%2F03%2F08%2Fi-hate-immunizations%2F Start Rant OK, now that I caught your attention, I need to explain (before some of the wacky folks who visit Flea start thinking I am in their camp). First off, aside from germ theory, sterile technique, and public sanitation, I think immunizations have saved more lives and improved the quality of more people’s lives than nearly any other scientific discovery. Second off, I do not think there is any merit to the whole thimerosal/MMR/autism “debate.” I think vaccines are safe and should be used whenever possible. So why say I hate immunizations? It is the business side of being a doctor that hates them, not the medical side. Immunizations: Are the largest line-item on our budget apart from staff salaries. Have incredibly small margins of profit, so any rejection, failure... Musings of a Distractible Mind blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=478790 Thu, 08 Mar 2007 23:32:04 +0100 478790