Yesterday, I went into an exam room to print out some orders for a patient who needed to get his labs done at an outside facility. Due to his insurance, he cannot get his labs drawn in our office during a scheduled appointment, but must do it at one of…
The incidence of brain trauma has been rising in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emergency department visits related to traumatic brain injury (TBI) increased by 53 percent in the U.S. from 2006 to 2014….
We’re all gonna die. It’s a simple truth that an astounding number of people neglect to acknowledge or accept. Some people die sudden, unexpected deaths, but most eventually fall victim to chronic or terminal conditions like COPD, heart fai…
I recently had the pleasure of participating in an administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing. Novitas, the Medicare administrative contractor had denied the E/M code 99291, critical care. The case was appealed to the qualified independent contractor, who …
I recently had the pleasure of participating in an administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing. Novitas, the Medicare administrative contractor had denied the E/M code 99291, critical care. The case was appealed to the qualified independent contractor, who …
It is probable that primitive man’s curiosity markedly increased soon after he stood up and started walking on just his feet. He could both peek into caves and drop back onto all fours to peer down badger holes. Looking into his family’s mouths a…
The first time I spoke to her was in the hospital when I was a relatively new intern caring for her. She was ailing for a while with complications of liver cirrhosis. She was new to the area. She had relocated from a different city to live close to her…
Our 20-bed ICU finally captured 10 intensivists — all board-certified in critical care medicine. We were fortunate enough to have one of these doctors in our ICU 24-7. Of course, they all practiced professionally with expertise. But I remembered this o…
For many years after I became chronically ill, I blamed myself for failing to recover my health. I told myself: “You get sick; you get better. It’s as simple as that.” As a result of this stubborn attitude, I refused to set limits, even though it would…
Today’s fee-for-service oncology business model misaligns incentives by rewarding practices for keeping margins and service volumes high — even when it’s wasteful — rather than for optimizing patient outcomes. While discussions of drug pric…
