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Safe to Say you're Sorry (Apology Law)
Sep. 9th, 2013 02:26 pmApparently 39/50 states have laws protecting the licensed apologizer. To find out if you are safe to say you're sorry, google your state name and "apology law". Here in Oregon, licensed medical practitioners may express regret and make direct apologies when it feels right. I am glad. I want to be able to communicate openly with my patients, and not to feel that I am constrained by risk of liability. If I make a mistake I'd rather talk it through than clam up in fear.
There is a neverending discussion in the medical world about malpractice suits. Doctors who take the time to talk to their patients, and actually care and connect, are not the ones who get sued. Hurried docs who treat the patients as unimportant are the ones who earn malpractice suits from regular people. Of course there are exceptions. There are a few patients who simply wander through life looking for someone to sue; you can't do anything about them except pass them on, and not to a good friend...
MORE INFO
http://mississippimedicalnews.com/legal-perspective-the-ongoing-debate-over-apology-laws-cms-959
( The Oregon law )
There is a neverending discussion in the medical world about malpractice suits. Doctors who take the time to talk to their patients, and actually care and connect, are not the ones who get sued. Hurried docs who treat the patients as unimportant are the ones who earn malpractice suits from regular people. Of course there are exceptions. There are a few patients who simply wander through life looking for someone to sue; you can't do anything about them except pass them on, and not to a good friend...
MORE INFO
http://mississippimedicalnews.com/legal-perspective-the-ongoing-debate-over-apology-laws-cms-959
( The Oregon law )
I knew he'd be hard at work. I had no idea he had such an elegant solution worked out! My favorite clear thinker Congressman Ron Paul has introduced several pieces of legislation in Congress to bring true change to health care. Imagine the impact if congress were to stop legislating as if they worked for big business, and begin legislating as if they actually had the health and best interests of private citizens at heart. The result would be something like what Ron Paul proposes.
H.R. 2629, the Coercion is Not Health Care Act
The intent of this bill is to stop government from railroading us into a scheme that requires us to buy health insurance, or makes the purchase of insurance a precondition for any government benefit or program.
H.R. 1495, the Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act of 2009
Allows us to pay health care bills as we choose. Provides a tax credit for all Americans for 100% of healthcare expenses (refundable against both income and payroll taxes). This bill also lets us roll over unused money in cafeteria plans and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA), gives tax credits for premiums on high deductible insurance policies connected with Health Savings Accounts (HSA), lets seniors use their HSA moneys to cover the donuthole in medicare coverage, and repeals the 7.5% threshhold for the deduction of medical expenses, making ALL medical expenses tax deductible. This would lighten the burden on regular people, allowing us to seek care when we really need care.
( Several more bills worth supporting )
H.R. 2629, the Coercion is Not Health Care Act
The intent of this bill is to stop government from railroading us into a scheme that requires us to buy health insurance, or makes the purchase of insurance a precondition for any government benefit or program.
H.R. 1495, the Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act of 2009
Allows us to pay health care bills as we choose. Provides a tax credit for all Americans for 100% of healthcare expenses (refundable against both income and payroll taxes). This bill also lets us roll over unused money in cafeteria plans and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA), gives tax credits for premiums on high deductible insurance policies connected with Health Savings Accounts (HSA), lets seniors use their HSA moneys to cover the donuthole in medicare coverage, and repeals the 7.5% threshhold for the deduction of medical expenses, making ALL medical expenses tax deductible. This would lighten the burden on regular people, allowing us to seek care when we really need care.
( Several more bills worth supporting )
Mercola Explains Himself
Jul. 14th, 2009 10:03 amHere he speaks to the fact that he sells products on his natural medicine website, and explains his motivations. I have followed his email newsletter since 2000. He started it in 1997. I have found that he often breaks news that nobody else will cover. He brings new science to my attention, and elaborates on the possible ramifications of it. He explains the conflicts of interest inherent in our system of corporate medicine. I find that he has no conflict of interest, his mission is clear and he is accomplishing it.
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Here's a retrospective study supporting my theory that zinc doesn't damage your sense of smell unless you snort the gel back into the olfactory-receptor-laden part of your nasal mucosa. I plan to keep using it, if needed, to head off a cold. I have several tubes. The NY Times reported that you can return it to the manufacturer for a refund. I'll be interested to see if any of the anosmic people will attempt to sue the company. If they had followed the instructions they would not have had trouble, but can you hold the customer accountable for reading the instructions? There was no warning on the package about this particular hazard.
All patients diagnosed with zinc-induced anosmia or hyposmia reported sniffing deeply when applying the gel. This was followed by an immediate sensation of burning lasting minutes to hours. Loss of sense of smell was then perceived within 48 hours.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16467707
( study abstract behind cut )
All patients diagnosed with zinc-induced anosmia or hyposmia reported sniffing deeply when applying the gel. This was followed by an immediate sensation of burning lasting minutes to hours. Loss of sense of smell was then perceived within 48 hours.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16467707
( study abstract behind cut )
Electronic Medical Records
Apr. 14th, 2009 08:39 pmI've been contemplating the acquisition of a starter EMR program lately, so that I can get proficient with it prior to starting my practice. Painfully, it seems that Walmart has the deals on what I want. Hmmmm. And there are a lot of other downsides. Naturopaths don't get medicare reimbursement anyway. But I still think I will have to try it. I can revert to the old fashioned pen and paper method if needed. I confess, I have also been contemplating what to do about malpractice insurance. I am greatly inspired by docs who practice without it. It definitely changes your practice. What do you guys think of all that?
No doctor can ignore the growing pressures to start using an EMR. With the Obama administration avidly promoting healthcare information technology, and tens of thousands of dollars at stake in incentives and future penalties for doctors, more physicians will be implementing EMRs in the coming years. Under the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, physicians who demonstrate meaningful use of EMR by 2011 will be eligible for full federal subsidies of up to $44,000. Failure to implement EMR by 2014 may also result in increased malpractice premiums and increased exposure to malpractice claims, as well as a reduction in Medicare reimbursement, beginning in 2015.
SOURCE
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589724?src=mp&spon=17&uac=89474MT
No doctor can ignore the growing pressures to start using an EMR. With the Obama administration avidly promoting healthcare information technology, and tens of thousands of dollars at stake in incentives and future penalties for doctors, more physicians will be implementing EMRs in the coming years. Under the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, physicians who demonstrate meaningful use of EMR by 2011 will be eligible for full federal subsidies of up to $44,000. Failure to implement EMR by 2014 may also result in increased malpractice premiums and increased exposure to malpractice claims, as well as a reduction in Medicare reimbursement, beginning in 2015.
SOURCE
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589724?src=mp&spon=17&uac=89474MT
Random Interactions
Nov. 29th, 2008 09:38 pmIn 2005 a 23 year old gay man was murdered in Arizona, and found in the Colorado River near Yuma. I lived in Arizona then, but I did not hear about it. I heard a lot about the Japanese woman who was murdered and found in Havasu Creek. But the boy who played girl was not in the news, not in the river grapevine. I just found out about him today, though an org called Equality Arizona. How they found me and my Oregon address I do not know. I guess I must have made my position known enough about my belief that people have every right to love who they love, and no right to say who someone else may love. It just strikes me as ironic and sad that I hear about this death now, near the end of 2008, from another state. I suppose I'm more tapped into the gay rights movement than I have been in the past. I'm certainly getting more willing to express my views.
( olds and news tidbits )
( olds and news tidbits )
What I did for the Weekend
Oct. 27th, 2008 07:58 amI had a pleasant weekend in good weather. Worked my hydro shift Saturday morning, then in the afternoon went up to Austin Hotsprings on the Clackamas River with M. The area of the springs has been recently rearranged by the owners using a bulldozer. The pools have all been filled with gravel and there are new concrete barriers blocking entry to the place. Rumor has it that a woman and two children were badly burned there about a month ago. Apparently the owner was trying to minimize his liability by destroying the pools, but somebody had already built a new pool and while we were there we were working on a second one. You can't stop a hot springs from coming up out of the ground, and you can't stop people from trying to get in it. People stay clothed at this hotsprings because it is so close to the road, and because a lot of Russians use it, and they are conservative.
( the rest )
( the rest )
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4893948&page=1
Interesting news item. The title definitely slants the story. At the end of the article they say that this man's marijuana use was not the only "factor" in the decision, that they don't give transplants to people who smoke anything, and that they also consider any history of substance abuse or addiction. They don't say that he has such a history, they just say that they consider it. If that's not slander, it is certainly suggestive. I would not be surprised if he is a pothead who is working the system. Check out the picture.
Interesting news item. The title definitely slants the story. At the end of the article they say that this man's marijuana use was not the only "factor" in the decision, that they don't give transplants to people who smoke anything, and that they also consider any history of substance abuse or addiction. They don't say that he has such a history, they just say that they consider it. If that's not slander, it is certainly suggestive. I would not be surprised if he is a pothead who is working the system. Check out the picture.
