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Issue Date: August 2009
Is a Patient- and Physician-Friendly Health Care System Possible?
One of the biggest concerns about health care reform is that it will be unfriendly to patients and physicians. Given this concern, here is my idea for a health care system that would be friendly to both parties.
Cell Phones Facilitate Diabetes Control
Monitoring and managing diabetes is challenging in part because many patients cannot manage their conditions on their own without ongoing support from providers. Now, a growing number of physicians are finding that the practical use of an everyday technology—cell phones—can yield improved outcomes for patients with diabetes. A growing number of interactive applications are allowing patients to use their cell phones to submit glucose values and communicate with and receive real-time feedback from providers daily.
Tests Help Identify Diabetes Patients at Risk
Nephrologists express nagging frustration at the number of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) cases they manage in patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions in which disease progression might have been delayed or contained at less dire stages. Ideally, primary care physicians would routinely screen all patients who have diabetes or other risk factors for CKD with two simple lab tests: the microalbuminuria screen and the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Once these patients had been screened, the clinicians would aggressively treat the chronic conditions that exacerbate CKD, potentially eliminating the need for dialysis or transplantation, Vassalotti says. When patients’ CKD reaches Stage 4, primary care clinicians would transition care to nephrologists.
Can Telehealth Improve Care for Patients with Chronic Illness?
Randy Moore, MD, MBA, the chairman and CEO of American TeleCare, Inc. (ATI), has a surprising opinion about reimbursement for telehealth. He believes that to achieve the outcome-improving and cost-controlling benefits of telehealth, we should not pay for it as a stand-alone technology.
EHR Helps Physician Practice Cut Errors and Delays
Palm Beach Obstetrics & Gynecology, PA, offers an excellent example of a medical group that achieved outstanding success by implementing an electronic health record (EHR) system. As a result of installing an EHR in 2006, the group streamlined workflow, increased revenue, reduced its staffing needs, improved billing and coding, and eliminated a significant amount of overtime.
Report Outlines Need for Disability Insurance
A recently released report, Physician’s Guide to Purchasing Disability Insurance, by Michael Reiman, a financial planner and founder of Reiman Financial in Dallas, contains important advice for physicians.
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