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 'healthcare law'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:56:43 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841481&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fconservative-viewpoint-the-ipab-is-the-frightening-lynchpin-of-obamacare%2F2011.05.18 In the speech President Obama gave responding to Congressman Ryan’s budget plan (the one in which he lured Ryan to sit in the front row in order to be publicly pilloried), the President did something DrRich did not think he would do before the next election. He openly invoked, and openly embraced, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) as the chief mechanism by which Obamacare will control the cost of American healthcare. “IPAB” might be a new term to many Americans, but DrRich pointed his readers to this entity, within a few weeks of the passage of Obamacare, as the lynchpin (and a very scary lynchpin at that) of the whole enterprise. Until President Obama’s recent “outing” of IPAB, however, this new board has been almost entirely ignored by most commentators. Since the... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841481 Wed, 18 May 2011 19:00:30 +0100 4841481 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445804&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-problem-with-casual-medical-advice%2F2011.02.07 It’s happening more frequently: Requests for medical advice by email. The more I do, the more people I meet. The network grows and friends of friends learn about what I do. So junior has a little pain and shows at the local ER where the requisite CT shows a little thickening of the ileum. Someone suggests that the family drop me a line. Here’s the problem: There’s more to this than digital correspondence will allow. While the statistical reality of this child’s situation is that this finding represents a little edema from a virus, the differential is precarious: Crohn’s disease, lymphoma, tuberculous ileitis, eosinophilic enteropathy. A case of this type requires the thorough exploration of a child’s story and a compulsive exam that takes into consideration the problems in the... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445804 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:00:30 +0100 4445804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405776&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fstate-of-healthcare-in-the-union%2F2011.01.27 Short and sweet. That’s how President Obama addressed healthcare reform in his State of the Union address [Tuesday] night. In less than 700 words, he outlined how he’d improve but not retreat on what’s been enacted into law. He’s willing to work on changes, he said, naming malpractice reform and reducing onerous paperwork burdens for small businesses. But, he cautioned, “What I’m not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition.” President Obama had invited two real people to his address to highlight the law’s successes. One is a brain cancer survivor who can access health insurance through high-risk pools created by the law. The other is a small business owner w... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405776 Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:00:00 +0100 4405776 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372045&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fshould-doctors-be-banned-from-asking-if-a-patient-owns-a-gun%2F2011.01.19 Via an article entitled “Proposed Law Would Ban Docs From Asking If Patient Owns Gun” from First Coast News: TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A state lawmaker has filed a bill that would ban doctors from asking their patients if they have a gun in the home. Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, said he has heard of a number of cases in which doctors asked their patients that question, which he thinks should be off limits. “What we don’t want to do is have law-abiding firearm owners worried that the information is going to be recorded and then sent to their insurance company,” he said. “If they’re on Medicaid maybe it’s sent to the government. If the overreaching federal government actually takes over health care, they’re worried that Washington, D.C. is going to know whether or not... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372045 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:00:29 +0100 4372045 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4355719&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ffive-dead-babies-a-lesson-in-prenatal-politics%2F2011.01.16 When the Nebraska lawmakers voted to end Medicaid prenatal care for approximately 1,500 women, their unborn babies paid the ultimate price. Any labor room hospitalist who is responsible for the care of unassigned pregnant women will tell you that it is far easier to take care of pregnant women who have had prenatal care than it is to take care of women who haven’t. The recent vigil of the Equality Nebraska Coalition in front of their state capitol to honor five dead babies whose death can be related to the lack of access to prenatal care speaks volumes. On or about February of 2010, Nebraska expectant mothers received a “Dear John” letter from Nebraska’s Health and Human Services stating that their pregnancies were no longer covered under Medicaid. It appeared that the rationale fo... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4355719 Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:00:17 +0100 4355719 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4352711&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealthcare-cybersecurity-an-internet-id-for-all-americans%2F2011.01.15 From CBS News: President Obama is planning to hand the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans, a White House official said here today. It’s “the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government” to centralize efforts toward creating an “identity ecosystem” for the Internet, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said. That news, first reported by CNET, effectively pushes the department to the forefront of the issue, beating out other potential candidates including the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The move also is likely to please privacy and civil liberties groups that have raised concerns in the past over the dual roles of police and intel... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4352711 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:00:00 +0100 4352711 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4331015&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Frepealing-healthcare-reform-to-gain-campaign-ammunition%2F2011.01.10 Repealing healthcare reform has become a way of stockpiling ammunition for the campaign trail. The Republican-led House has scheduled a repeal of healthcare reform for Wednesday, Jan. 12, and they’d garner as allies some but not all 13 Democrats that voted against healthcare reform to begin with. The House’s quixotic vote would then promptly die in the Democrat-held Senate. But recording votes on repeal would put pressure on already vulnerable lawmakers, as well as give a quick boost to incoming ones. A Gallup poll shows 46 percent of Americans want healthcare reform to be repealed, 40 percent don’t want repeal. Unfortunately, not only can’t the law be passed, it would add $230 billion to the federal debt by 2021, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Hous... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4331015 Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:00:00 +0100 4331015 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4331016&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ffirst-report-from-the-society-of-participatory-medicines-newly-appointed-public-policy-committee-chair-david-harlow%2F2011.01.10 In December, the Society for Participatory Medicine’s executive committee appointed health law attorney David Harlow to represent the Society in public policy matters. Regular readers of HealthBlawg::David Harlow’s Health Care Law Blog know what a patient-centered, participatory thinker David is. This is his first report. I am delighted to offer my first report as Public Policy Committee Chair for the Society of Participatory Medicine. I encourage all of you who are not yet Society members to join, and I encourage new and old members to consider volunteering to help with the wide range of public policy issues facing us today. Over the past couple of months, the Public Policy Committee has gotten its sea legs. We are beginning to add the Society’s voice to the national discourse on p... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4331016 Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:00:15 +0100 4331016 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4304876&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-secret-to-the-virginia-healthcare-decision%2F2011.01.03 Unconstitutional? How can the mandate to buy health insurance be unconstitutional? It must be some kind of misguided resistance to progressivism. Or maybe it’s someone finally taking a stand against a power-grabbing government program. But it’s actually about something else entirely. And if you don’t know what it is, you won’t understand why the Virginia court ruled the way it did. Here’s the secret: The U.S. Constitution grants to the federal government certain powers. These are things like raising an army, controlling currency and establishing courts. It also gives it the power to regulate interstate commerce, through something called the “Commerce Clause.” Everything else is the domain of the states. Notice that the Commerce Clause only gives the federal government po... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4304876 Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:00:08 +0100 4304876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214114&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealthcare-reform-law-is-gaining-public-support%2F2010.11.29 GOP hardliners soon to be in control of the House have made repeal of the detested healthcare reform law a cornerstone of their agenda, despite the impossibility of actually being able to repeal it, politically, at least until an election or two has passed, and despite the fact that their ascent to power had more to do with the terrible economy and high unemployment than any mandate to repeal the law. It seems that, finally, there may be movement towards increased public support for the law. A new McClatchy poll shows a majority of Americans now in favor of the law: A majority of Americans want the Congress to keep the new health care law or actually expand it, despite Republican claims that they have a mandate from the people to kill it, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. The post... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214114 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:00:00 +0100 4214114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4167961&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Froadmap-for-new-physicians-how-to-avoid-fraud-and-abuse%2F2010.11.15 In October, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report on Fraud and Abuse Training in Medical Education, finding that 44 percent of medical schools reported giving some instruction in the anti-kickback statute and related laws, even though they weren’t legally required to do so. (As an aside, do we really live in such a nanny state? Over half of all medical schools don’t teach their students anything about this issue — because nobody’s making them — even though it is an issue that looms large in the practice of medicine.) On a more positive note, about two-thirds of institutions with residency programs instruct participants on the law, and 90 percent of all medical schools and training programs expressed an interest in having dsome instructional... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4167961 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:00:16 +0100 4167961 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4125009&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-future-of-american-healthcare%2F2010.11.01 You want to see a doctor? You’re going to have to wait. And I don’t mean like an hour in the office. I mean like 53 days. It’s not some doomsday story from the future. It’s happening today here in Massachusetts. Massachusetts — the state whose 2006 law was the model for the federal healthcare reform law. Massachusetts — home to some of the world’s best medical centers and doctors. And, as the Boston Globe’s “White Coat Notes” blog reports, Massachusetts — home to doctor shortages and long waits to see a doctor: When primary care patients do secure an appointment for a non-urgent matter, they have to wait to get in the door, the survey found. The average delay is 29 days to see a family medicine doctor, down from 44 days last year, and 53 days ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4125009 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 14:00:44 +0100 4125009 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4105669&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-new-healthcare-law-so-sad-its-funny%2F2010.10.25 Thanks to Scott Hensley over at Shots, NPR’s Health Blog, for highlighting this sad but funny video on where we’re going with healthcare. Scary what happens when theory meets reality: -WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist. *This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4105669 Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0100 4105669 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3911699&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fanother-law-to-ensure-doctors-do-right-by-their-patients%2F2010.08.27 Recently the [state of] New York signed a law requiring hospitals and doctors to discuss breast reconstruction options with the patient prior to her undergoing cancer surgery. It troubled me that this law was needed. Is it not the duty of the physicians and surgeons to educate the patient on the options available?  We need to make sure the patient and their family know of the treatment options which may vary depending on the diagnosis and stage: Radiation, chemotherapy, surgery (lumpectomy, mastectomy, axillary dissection) – a combination of treatments. Even if the patient and her physicians don’t chose to do immediate reconstruction, isn’t the discussion and information part of the discussion? At least inform the patient of the option. Do we physicians and surgeons need an... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3911699 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:00:00 +0100 3911699 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3872555&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsecurity-of-patient-records-the-weakest-link%2F2010.08.16 The Queen of Soul famously wailed about being a link in a “chain of fools.” The lead story in the August 13th Boston Globe tells us about another sort of link in the chain — the weakest link in the chain of custody of patient records. In brief, a pathology billing service bought out by another service apparently dumped all records more than a year old in a town dump. A Globe photographer taking out his own trash noticed that the paper records (which he was looking at because he thought they ought to be recycled rather than dumped) had identifiable patient data and represented at least four hospitals from across Eastern Massachusetts. Clearly, these records ought to have been shredded or otherwise destroyed before disposal. (more…) *This blog post was or... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3872555 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:00:13 +0100 3872555 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3724490&cid=t_350589_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorandpatient.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Finformed-consent-how-technology-can.html Image by thinkpanama via FlickrThis is a guest post from Mr Parag Vora, CEO, Infoseek, in which I am an angel investor. Infoseek makes patient educational videos in India.Getting Informed consent from the patient remains a very tricky area in medical practice today . Failure to obtain valid consent is one the commonest reasons patients go to court when they are unhappy with their doctor.Unfortunately, no standardised guidelines have ever been published by the Medical Council of India, Indian Medical Association, or any other ‘reputed’ medical body. This is a huge lacuna, and the importance of taking consent has never been taught to most doctors properly, even though there has been a huge rise in medico-legal and malpractice claims in the past decade or so. All over India there is a lot... The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3724490 Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:10:00 +0100 3724490 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3625500&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fprimary-care-doctors-and-the-medicare-boycott%2F2010.06.02 I saw this interesting article linked to from a blog about angry doctors dropping out of Medicare in Texas. As one who shares the universal annoyance at congress’ failure to fix the SGR for more than 30 days at a time, I was kind of cheered by this. That’s what it will take to get the system fixed – a grassroots, full-scale rejection of the system! Good for them. And the opening lines of the article were encouraging: Texas doctors are opting out of Medicare at alarming rates, frustrated by reimbursement cuts they say make participation in government-funded care of seniors unaffordable. An “alarming” rate. Wow. Cool. So how many is that, anyway? More than 300 doctors have dropped the program in the last two years, including 50 in the first three months of... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3625500 Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:00:00 +0100 3625500 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3526743&cid=t_350589_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmost-people-arent-angry-about-healthcare-reform%2F2010.05.03 I just got back from a wonderful week in Toronto, Canada. No, I wasn’t up there to take tips on how to impose socialized medicine on an unsuspecting public, notwithstanding what some of you may incorrectly-surmise about my political leanings. Rather, I was there to attend ACP’s annual scientific meeting, during which I had the opportunity to serve as faculty for three separate scientific sessions that discussed the impact of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACPA) of 2010 on internists and their patients. Several hundred ACP members attended these sessions. And guess what? Rather than encountering doctors who were angry at the new law and ACP’s support for it, I instead found an engaged and curious group of internists who are looking at health reform i... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3526743 Mon, 03 May 2010 12:00:00 +0100 3526743 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3482848&cid=t_350589_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fcruzan-director-missouri-department-health%2F This 1990 ruling by the United States Supreme Court gave the states authority to regulate the “right to die.” (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3482848 Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:51:19 +0100 3482848