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 'happy hospitalist'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:53:44 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322510&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Faverage-hourly-earnings-of-primary-care-relative-to-other-specialists-graph%2F2011.01.07 Here’s an interesting article, talking about stuff that’s not new to anyone who has read my blog for the last three years. The current relative value unit (RVU) system is a scam, perpetuated by a super-secretive group of subspecialists each  inflating their own worth for the benefit of themselves, at the expense of primary care. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, first read about RVUs explained. Then come back and read this article put out by the National Institute for Health Care Management. It’s titled “Out of Whack: Pricing Distortions in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.“ In his essay, Dr. Robert Berenson shows how distorted primary care specialties are paid, relative to other specialties, in an all Medicare practice with t... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322510 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:00:00 +0100 4322510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233186&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fgetting-quality-and-profit-out-of-medicine%2F2010.12.06 Looking for a great story about the state of hospital care in America? Look no further. The Health Care Blog has a great article by hospitalist Dr. Robert Wachter that sums it up nicely. It’s about money. Thats how hospitals get paid. That’s how everyone gets paid. It will always be about money. We don’t pay doctors, nurses, or administrators with smiley faces and candy canes. We pay them with cold hard cash. For example: One of the physicians, an invasive cardiologist, stopped me in my tracks. “Actually, our hospital already provides a tremendous amount of support and feedback,” he said. “When I perform a catheterization or angioplasty, a hospital staff member watches the entire procedure, she sometimes suggests mid-course corrections, and as soon as I’m do... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233186 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:00:00 +0100 4233186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214110&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-medicare-pays-for-inpatient-care%2F2010.11.29 Have you ever wondered how hospitals get paid by Medicare? The New York Times has an excellent and simple explanation of this highly complicated process. It’s simple really. First the hospital labor component is adjusted for geographic location and then added to the capital depreciation expenditures adjusted for geographic location and then a medical severity adjusted diagnosis related group multiplier is added (MS-DRG). Once this adjusted payment rate is calculated, the hospital is given a bonus to cover the costs incurred if they are a teaching hospital, through the indirect medical education payment. Added to that is the disproportionate share payment for hospitals that see a lot of uninsured or Medicaid patients (strange that Medicare subsidizes Medicaid, isn’t it?) If... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214110 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4214110 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4197070&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmaking-circumcision-a-crime%2F2010.11.23 Have you heard? First San Fransisco bans toys in Happy Meals. Now CNN is reporting there’s a  circumcision ban proposed in San Fransisco as well.  To recap: Anti-circumcision activist Lloyd Schofield has drawn up a proposal outlawing all circumcisions, even for religious reasons (circumcision of boys is traditional in Judaism and Islam.) The punishment would be up to a year in jail or up to a $1,000 fine. Boy, oh boy. What a hot-bed topic circumcision is. Mandating a ban against all circumcisions is like mandating a requirement that all boys be circumcised. Nobody is right. Everyone is an expert. You’re either for it or against it. But making circumcision a crime? I don’t know. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4197070 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:00:00 +0100 4197070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4162926&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-much-pesticide-is-in-that-cigarette%2F2010.11.12 I had a fascinating discussion with an ex-tobacco farming expert. He’s an expert because he used to grow tobacco, but not anymore. If you’re a smoker, or user of any tobacco leaf product, what he said should shock you. I take that back — you’re a smoker: “shocked” is never going to happen to you. What did he say that was so striking? I’m not a farmer, so it became a little difficult to understand all the science behind the conversation. Needless to say, he said they used to farm vegetables and tobacco side by side. He said something about potato farming being timed with tobacco crops, and when the potato market went south he got out of the tobacco farming business for good and went with just vegetables. Now he’s a full-time vegetable fa... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4162926 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4162926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139238&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-clocks-tick-tock-and-our-tickers%2F2010.11.05 With the daylight savings fall-back date for 2010 rapidly approaching (remember: “Spring forward, fall back” — which is this Sunday, November 7th, 2010), I’m reminded of some research I read a few years back suggesting a link between daylight savings and heart attack risk. The research suggested the Monday effect of increased heart attacks was not related to stress, but rather the sleep cycle. When looked at from the daylight savings fall-back perspective, the research suggests the extra hour of sleep we gain from the November 7th, 2010 daylight savings fall-back date will be protective against heart attack risk. Good to know, especially if you’re the cardiologist on call the week following either date. *This blog post was originally published at T... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139238 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:00:00 +0100 4139238 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118931&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-do-you-hide-100-from-a-doctor%2F2010.10.29 How do you hide $100 from a surgeon? Put it in the patient’s chart, next to the labs. How do you hide $100 from an orthopedist? Put it in a textbook. How do you hide $100 from a neurosurgeon? Tape it to his kid. How do you hide $100 from an OB/GYN? Tape it to the patient’s head. How do you hide $100 from an internist? Stick it under the patient’s bandage. How do you hide $100 from a radiologist? Give it to the patient. How do you hide $100 from a cardiologist? You can’t. How do you hide $100 from a plastic surgeon? You definitely can’t. – Compliments of The Happy Hospitalist *This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118931 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:00:00 +0100 4118931 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097934&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhospitalist-food-service-too%2F2010.10.23 What is a hospitalist and what kind of care does a hospitalist provide? It’s funny to read what people are writing these days about my professional role in patient care. It now appears hospitalists don’t manage medical issues anymore, but rather go through seven years of medical training to discuss the efficiency of the cafeteria food with their patients. I read one article where the reader (obviously not a hospitalist) suggests that a hospitalist is a medical doctor who can do all the things normal doctors can, but instead of seeing patients all day, he makes rounds through the hospital, talking to patients to find out what can make their hospital stay better. And what kind of issues does the hospitalist deal with on their rounds? Why, the efficiency of the cafeteria food, of ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097934 Sat, 23 Oct 2010 22:00:00 +0100 4097934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4018175&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhospital-medicine-trying-to-recruit-a-lead-doctor%2F2010.09.30 How can you find a hospitalist director with enough experience to lead a team of hospitalists? Recruitment can be tough. A reader recently asked for my opinion: I am searching for a Hospitalist to lead a department in the state of XXX and I’m not finding any leads. On a good day, I can find a new graduate interested in moving to XXX, but I have not been able to find an experienced Hospitalist who has the supervisory experience to lead a department.  …and this is an opportunity (full time & permanent) for good pay with an excellent work/life balance. Where would you suggest I look for my Lead Hospitalist? My first thought is for you to purchase a booth at the Society of Hospital Medicine’s yearly conference and then bombard all the hospitalists with pens and squeez... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4018175 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:00:00 +0100 4018175 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3998985&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-big-apple-tells-smokers-to-take-a-hike-and-not-in-the-park%2F2010.09.24 It looks like New York City is leading the way for public health safety by introducing a public smoking ban in all public parks, malls, plazas, beaches and playgrounds or risk a $50 fine: Research showed, he said, that someone seated within three feet of a smoker — even in the open air — was exposed to roughly the same levels of secondhand smoke as someone sitting indoors in the same situation. What took so long? Go, New York. I hope you succeed. Next up: Charging parents who smoke in their homes occupied by minors with child negligence. *This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3998985 Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:00:00 +0100 3998985 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2063356&cid=t_186026_88_f&fid=38203&url=http%3A%2F%2Fprecordialthump.medbrains.net%2F2008%2F12%2F24%2Fhop-over-to-highlight-health%2F …to check out the holiday season medical blog Grand Rounds (Vol. 5 No. 14): Highlight HEALTH. Once again a great job done uniting a week in the world of medical blogging. Probably my favourite link is to Happy Hospitalist’s When I am 30 - an essay by a school student assessing their possible future career as a doctor… be careful you don’t crack a rib! You can also find a link there to Jack Barnes and the Irukandji Enigma. And finally… to my fellow Christmas curmudgeons… Happy Newton Day for tomorrow! (Source: AEQUANIMITAS) AEQUANIMITAS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2063356 Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:45:48 +0100 2063356 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1492003&cid=t_186026_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fgrand-rounds-4-37.html The Happy Hospitalist is a physician in the USA.  He presents his choice of the best of the week's medical and other blogging from the USA and around the world.+++++++++Next week, Grand Rounds will be here at NHS BLOG DOCTOR. In the two years since Dr Crippen last hosted Grand Rounds much has changed in the medical blogosphere. All submissions from medical and other bloggers welcome, and all submissions received before 20.00 hours GMT on Sunday 8th June will be included. Submissions to nhsblogdocATgmailDOTcom with the usual substitutions. Please mention Grand Rounds in the email title. (Source: NHS Blog Doctor) NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1492003 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:59:00 +0100 1492003