I read a superb commentary in STAT, “Value-based payment has produced little value. It needs a time-out,” that reviews the failures of “value-based care” and the failure of its promoters to acknowledge those failures. Ideas conc…
Category: Public Health & Policy
A medical student’s advocacy journey [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “As I looked across the boxes on my screen, I saw the gleaming faces of my peers. Just as it did then, and as it has for countless of my peers since, involvement in the Student Osteop…
Melting the iron triangle: prioritizing health equity in dynamic, innovative health care landscapes
As a master of health administration (MHA) student completing my administrative residency in the health technology industry, I chose to dedicate my capstone project to a topic positioned at the intersection of what I had learned in graduate school and …
CMS Medicare fee cuts: The altruism of physicians is used against them
It’s hard to concisely put into words how frustrated physicians are right now. How many other professional groups out there have to fight to not have their compensation cut multiple times a year? Recently, CMS released its proposed physician fee …
Make your health insurance broker a translator, not a shopper
In the unending ocean of choice and complexity of medical insurance, sailing your own ship is harder than it looks. Especially when you get a new job, age into Medicare, or turn 26 and thus can’t stay on your parent’s coverage. Every ship c…
Gun violence is our society’s disease
About a month ago, I had just finished hospital rounds when I heard “code active threat” on the overhead intercom. Thinking it was a drill, I continued typing patient notes until I heard a more urgent: “Please barricade in place or, i…
Guns and public health advocacy [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. “Nineteen children were killed in a mass shooting in Texas. I have barely escaped the pandemonium of the pediatric emergency department to scarf down a bowl of pasta when I hear the announcement on the breakro…
How doctors should organize
Eric Topol wrote an excellent op-ed in the New Yorker titled “Why Doctors Should Organize.” I’m going to spell out exactly how they should organize. Doctors should form a nationwide class-action lawsuit against the major EHR companies…
How our sickest patients mirror the political divisions of our country
I was on service as the attending physician recently, and it struck me how closely our sickest patients in the intensive care setting mirror the political mires of our country. Usually, when I’m on service, it’s an all-consuming matter, wit…
The claims data dilemma: 4 things to consider
I recently met with leaders of provider organizations representing a range of specialties and geographies. One of the themes that came through loud and clear was their ongoing struggle to obtain claims data from their payers. As providers continue thei…
