What do doctors in other countries make? Take a look
Source: Congressional Research Service analysis; see notes in table below
In response to Uwe Reinhardt’s recent post on “rationing” doctors’ salaries, a number of readers wrote in asking about physician compensation in other countries.
As part of the recently enacted stimulus bill the federal government is spending $19 billion to promote the adoption of electronic medical records by physicians. Yet, with all the focus on doctors, lawmakers have forgotten the most critical piece of the puzzle -- patients.
Take the case of Joe (not his real name), a patient who came to see one of us recently. Joe is a thirty-something year-old with type 1 diabetes. After a rebellious few decades that included dozens of hospitalizations, he was finally re-engaged in his care. His most recent request -- to access his electronic medical record. Joe wanted to track his hemoglobin A1c, an important marker of his diabetes, follow his blood pressure and take a closer look at his cholesterol. After all, it is his information in the clinic's commercially available electronic medical record. Sadly, his request couldn't be honored. Patient-access features simply hadn't been built in.
Medical marijuana has been through a long road of controversy, and the field and study still have a long way to go. Currently about a fourth of US states allow patients to take medical marijuana legally for various medical conditions. The scientific evidence keeps piling up in favor of medicinal cannabis, and many patients are seeing vast improvement in their symptoms with this treatment.
Studies have shown that medical marijuana can aid in reducing symptoms of terminal illnesses such as AIDS and cancer, by helping pain and nausea from treatment and also increasing appetite. Some doctors and researchers also believe that cannabidol can help anxiety, glaucoma, depression, arthritis, convulsion and inflammation. Each new study that comes out finds new possible ways medicinal cannabis can help those who need it.
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Massachusetts members of the Physicians for a National Health Program released a report today faulting the state's experiment with health reform for failing to achieve universal coverage, being too expensive and draining funds away from safety-net providers.
The doctors' punch line is that the reform has given private insurance companies more business and power without eliminating vast administrative waste. In fact, it says, the "Connector" in charge of administering the reform adds about 5 percent more in administrative expenses.
To this day
To this eve
To the fulfillment of your dream
To the content of your character
To hope
To change
To vision
To audacity
To equality
To selflessness
To unity
To fairness
To respect
To idealism
To realism
To coverage for all
To access for all
To more doctors for more access
To the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative
To the Physicians’ Foundation
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Advances in medical technology, electronic medical education and the advent of digital tools in medical practices have led to a proliferation of digital multimedia content with educational merit.
Over the past decade, physicians have adopted cutting-edge imaging technologies to make diagnoses, capture clinical exam findings and monitor disease progression. On a daily basis, hundreds of research presentations, grand rounds and didactic lectures are created all over the country. Similarly, the medical and life sciences industries generate enormous amounts of peer-reviewed content to educate physicians and clinician scientists that go way beyond CME.
By now you know that Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) has offered a “Call to Arms†for health care reform by way of a 98-page policy document. There is much to think about in Baucus’ proposal, so you might have missed the section where he talks about increasing payments to primary care providers at the expense of compensation for specialists. But in the future, keep your eyes peeled for developments around this proposition—because supporting primary care is going to be a complex and controversial undertaking.
After monitoring e-patients.net and The Health Care Blog, I have to ask: Do doctors read? And if so, what?
I know four things from my own experience (and watching "Grey’s Anatomyâ€).
First, physicians are busy often exhausted individuals who deal with life-and-death matters. For some, a robust sense of importance, if not their institutional setting, makes them deaf to patient input. The work-to-the-max ethic and lifestyle is inculcated since before medical school.
A frequent contributor to THCB, Maggie Mahar's work has appeared in the New York Times, Barron's and Institutional Investor. A fellow at the Century Foundation, Maggie is also the author the increasingly influential HealthBeat blog, one of our favorite health care reads, where this piece first appeared.
When Medicare first created a fee schedule, critics suggested that it was a Marxist invention. Nevertheless, the schedule, which lists what Medicare is willing to pay for some 7,000 procedures, has become the master list for physician reimbursement in our health care system: Most private insurers peg their payments to the Medicare schedule.
