I feel like Mrs Wiggins in my favorite comedy show, Blackadder. It’s the scene when Blackadder says “The hustings are down, the candidates have spoken and after the madness of a general election, we can return to normal” and Mrs Wiggins says “Has there been an election? I’ve never heard about it?” (Yes that is a much younger version of Dr House playing the Prince Regent).
Slate has an article today by two doctors discussing VIP syndrome in health care and how it can lead to worse care for the rich and powerful, such as Sen. Ted Kennedy, who following a diagnosis of cancer convened his own tumor board.
The authors lay out the pitfalls of VIP syndrome here:
VIP syndrome affects not only treatment but also testing decisions. If Joe the Plumber requests a CT scan he doesn't need, doctors simply say, "No, Mr. Plumber." But Joe Biden can get any CT he wants. Some health care programs for corporate executives even involve routine full-body CT scans as screening tests as part of the "chairman's physical." The problem is that these expensive and detailed tests may actually increase the risk of cancer from radiation exposure and have never really been shown to improve anyone's health. And if there is an incidental finding, as there often is, more tests might be ordered, which may lead to unnecessary biopsies. And doctors perform heroic procedures on VIPs not just when there is clear benefit but when there is any question of benefit.
The Pennsylvania State Milton S. Hershey College of Medicine’s Department of Humanities invites applications and nominations for a tenure-track position in humanities and / or social sciences. Established in 1967, PSU’s Department of Humanities was the first in any American medical school and currently houses seven full-time faculty and over a dozen affiliated faculty*both M.D.s and Ph.D.s*from diverse backgrounds throughout the College of Medicine, the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Pennsylvania State University, which is located ninety miles away in University Park.
John McCain would reform the American health care system by providing big tax incentives for it to transition from being employer-based to one built on a system of individual responsibility. He would do this by eliminating the longtime personal tax exemption on employer-provided health insurance and replacing it with a $2,500 individual, and $5,000 family, tax credit for those who have health insurance.
It's too bad this idea will likely recede from the national health policy debate whether John McCain wins or loses the presidency. Even if he wins, the Democratic majorities in Congress will be so large there is little chance we will be able to move away from the traditional employer health insurance base in the next few years. All you have to do is look at the way Obama and all of the Democratic candidates for the Senate and House have railed against McCain's plans to "tax your health benefits" to see how Democrats have willingly painted themselves into a political corner that makes this idea a non-starter in the new Congress.
In this interview on “The Business Case for Health 2.0," Ken Shachmut, Senior VP Strategic Initiatives, Health Initiatives, and Health Re-engineering at Safeway, shares is thoughts on some of the highly impressive results that the company has obtained by introducing market-based health plans.
SS: Ken, thanks for making time today. Tell me a little about your background?
KS: I have been active as an executive and management consultant for over 30 years. I graduated from Princeton in Engineering and later obtained my MBA from Stanford. In consulting, I worked first with McKinsey & Company, later at Booz Allen Hamilton, and for awhile independently. I had done some consulting for Safeway. I later joined Safeway and have been there the last 15 years in various capacities.
The Los Angeles Times ran a great series last week called "Shedding Risk" in which it detailed through compelling human stories the erosion of the health insurance market. It's definitely worth finding the time to read.
Matthew has talked about this eroding model for a while, including in a speech about three inconvenient truths that he gave to health plan executives in March.
Here are four key paragraphs from the first article in TheTimes' series to give you a sense of the articles:
Thanks to Daniel Goldberg for this excellent forum and for the introduction!
I'm a musicologist who has taught medical humanities for about 12 years. In that work, I examine philosophical, aesthetic, historical, and modern writings and media for evidence of music's power to influence the human condition. I combine those sources with supporting medical research in offerings such as "The Palliative Benefits of Grieving with Music," "The Power of the Voice, From Mother to Martin Luther King," and "The Blues is the Truth." An article of mine ("How Music-Inspired Weeping Can Heal") is under review with Medical Humanities journal (BMJ).
I sat in on another session at Connected Health about A Progress Report on Medicare’s CMHCB (Care Management for High Cost Beneficiaries) Pilot. This is the medical group alternative to Medicare Health Support operated via providers not health plans. Some quick notes…
Suneel Rataan from Health Hero: We know that we can make DM work using the Health Buddy and supporting nurses in the VA. But could they make it work in a community setting under Medicare Fee for Service. We know how badly Medicare Health Support has gone, what about this one (CMHCB)? “We can’t talk about the results but our program has not been terminated!” (Actually they have applied for an extension & expansion of the project).
It's been far too long since I've been able to welcome a guest blogger (hint, hint), and I am particularly pleased to welcome Kay Norton, Ph.D, to Medical Humanities Blog. Here is a bit about Kay's background and scholarship:
Kay Norton, Associate Professor of Music History in the School of Music and Affiliate Faculty of the Arizona State University Women's Studies department, completed her Ph.D. degree at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Among her musical publications are studies on U. S.-American hymnody (a 2002 monograph from Harmonie Park Press, articles in American Music, The Hymn, New Grove, and several festschriften), and a life and works monograph of composer Normand Lockwood. Her work on music and the medical humanities began with a 1996 team-taught course sponsored by the Medical School of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, while she was a faculty member at that University’s Conservatory of Music. Her graduate-level course for music majors, Music and Healing, is in its third year at ASU. She gave the keynote address at the Music and Health in America Symposium in Boulder, Colorado, in June of 2007, and has presented poster sessions and lectures at Symposia jointly sponsored by the Mayo Clinic-Scottsdale and ASU, by The University of Arizona College of Medicine, and by the Central Group on Educational Affairs, Association of American Medical Colleges, Kansas City, MO. Her article, “How Music-Inspired Weeping Can Heal,†is currently under review by the BMI journal, Medical Humanities. During her fall 2008 research leave, she is converting her Music and Healing class to an online product suitable for open courseware.
I sat in on another session at Connected Health about A Progress Report on Medicare’s CMHCB (Care Management for High Cost Beneficiaries) Pilot. This is the medical group alternative to Medicare Health Support operated via providers not health plans. Some quick notes…
Suneel Rataan from Health Hero: We know that we can make DM work using the Health Buddy and supporting nurses in the VA. But could they make it work in a community setting under Medicare Fee for Service. We know how badly Medicare Health Support has gone, what about this one (CMHCB)? “We can’t talk about the results but our program has not been terminated!” (Actually they have applied for an extension & expansion of the project).