A new idea is being toss around in the medical field; this idea is to allow patients to have access to their medical charts. The patient would take their own medical charts home and go over every word their physician has wrote in it. The point of this would be to better educate patients about their own health, this would allow for patients and physicians to be on the same page.
Patients currently feel as if their medical records are classified data; patients never see what the doctors scribble in file. Some believe that if patients were able to possess these records and read through them it would result in patients taking more control over their own health care.
A study was done by a research collaboration called OpenNotes to test the attitudes of both physicians and patients about shared medical files. The research collaboration
“recruited more than 100 primary care doctors who were already using electronic health records to volunteer to share their medical notes with patients. The researchers asked both participating doctors and doctors who declined to join the project about expectations and concerns, and surveyed nearly 38,000 patients.”
The doctors seemed to be worried that by sharing these files the patients would demand more time or become worried and confused. On the other hand the patients overall attitude was positive, “90 percent thought they would be more in control of their care if they saw the notes. They weren’t worried about being confused. Most said seeing the record would help them take better care of themselves: They would better remember the treatment plan, understand it and take their medication.”
The article in the NY Times also touched on is some of the negative effects of shared medical files. Experts did worry about the effect on sharing files with patients of mental illness and also substance abuse. Dr. Delbanco, A head researcher of the study, explained that, “the shared medical record is a new medicine. It’s designed to help more people than it hurts, but invariably it may hurt some patients. Medicines are never perfect.”
The overall concept of the shared medical file is to allow for the patient to be more aware of their health care. Researchers of the shared medical file study believe that this will increase patient knowledge, and in the end knowledge is power.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/health/policy/project-puts-records-in-the-patients-hands.html?ref=policy

It is hard to believe that physicians in our country are actually being forced into bankruptcy. When one thinks of the salary of a physician the number thought of is usually much higher than that of an average American. Doctors are thought to be a part of the affluent community so how is it that physicians’ are “going broke?”

Mark Lion, CEO of Lion and Company, which advises independent doctor practices about their finances, said in an interview with CNN that “A lot of independent practices are starting to see serious financial issues.” The physicians are pointing the blame at the rising business and drug costs. While business experts say that the problem is the lack of business management skills.

Older doctors are explaining that they grew up on a certain system; They would purchase treatment drugs in bulk and receive a large profit from patients who used these expensive drugs. The article stated, “That doctors are being reimbursed for less than half the cost of certain treatment drugs.” This is mostly due to the revised Medicare guidelines. The time when physicians graduated and aligned themselves with insurance companies, Big Pharma and medical device-makers is apparently over. Physicians currently look to the future in fear; the new federal budget will decrease Medicare patients pay by 27.4%. With these cuts physicians will find it harder and harder to keep their office doors open.

So what is the solution? The article explained how turning our attention to alternative medicine and away from modern medicine could save the healthcare industry. If doctors focus more of their time on treating patients with preventative medicine there would be less need for expensive pharmaceutical drugs.

Unfortunately, the opinion of alternative medicine is not popular among most Americans. We need to realize that there is more than one way to go about healthcare. “Although we call all forms of healing other than modern allopathic medicine “alternative,” the truth is that our mainstream system of medicine is younger than other health traditions.” The American Medical Association was founded in 1847, since then we have been trained to believe that modern medicine is the only effective approach. Experts say that we need to reform the profession in some way in order to save it and practicing alternative medicine is one option that some may be turning to in the near future.

http://www.naturalnews.com/034615_physicians_bankruptcy_health_care.html

Over the past 40 years, the age distribution of the U.S. population has gradually shifted upwards. According to the 2010 census, one in eight Americans is now over the age of 65, and one in three is older than 50. Most of this shift can be attributed to the aging of the Baby Boomers, who vastly outnumber current birth rates.

Women comprise the majority of this aging group because they typically outlive their male counterparts. Since many of these women were never part of the workforce and have limited financial resources, they are particularly vulnerable when it comes to the rising costs of health care. More and more elderly are forced to continue working due to financial strain. The current health care system—with its focus on curative care—is not equipped to handle the coming challenges of this aging population.

A greater emphasis on care giving will be needed to adapt to these changing demographics. As it is, the purpose of most medical care is curing illness. But what about the many elderly who suffer from incurable, chronic illnesses? What about the people who would rather live out the rest of their lives in peace rather than suffer through expensive and unpleasant medical procedures that would only prolong their life for perhaps a few more months? This area is currently neglected because caring for dying patients is not only depressing, but it also isn’t profitable. But as this population continues to age, the demand for caregivers and doctors specializing in geriatrics who can administer quality palliative or hospice care is expected to increase dramatically. Instead of trying to prevent death for the chronically-ill elderly, maybe we should instead focus on helping them come to terms with death and enjoy what life they still have left.

The elderly face the dilemma of a shortage of geriatric and palliative trained physicians. Unfortunately, the geriatrics subspecialty is the lowest paid, which has deterred physicians from pursuing training in this field. With the cost of medical school debt, physicians cannot afford a career in geriatric care. Aside from low compensation, Medicare doctor reimbursements do not cover the cost of patient treatment. With the aging Baby Boomer population and a lack of incentive for physicians to practice geriatric medicine, a lot of people will not be able to receive the care they need.

Sources:

http://www.medicareresources.org/blog/2010/12/15/shortage-of-geriatric-doctors/

Hospitals forming an accountable care organization (ACO) want the organization to be as cohesive and efficient as possible.  This means gathering physicians who can work well together.  Compatibility is crucial in ensuring that superior care is provided to their patients.  In the past, hospitals reached out to physicians who are or already have worked together.  Others have brought together physicians at random.  A new proposed approach is to evaluate physician relationships within a community by utilizing social network analysis.

The role of social media in provider care has become immensely prevalent and hospitals are beginning to use these networks to build ACOs.  Social networking offers an electronic representation of professional and personal relationships among individuals and groups.  Through these networks, participants can share information, ideas, and influences amongst one another.  Like everyone else, physicians join and create social networks based on practice affiliations, friendships, and other criteria.

Social networking has now become a tool for hospitals to track these connections and see who physicians prefer to communicate with.  A social network map will show how physicians influence other physicians and individuals in their communities.  By using social network maps, hospitals can also assess how many generalists and specialists a provider has access to.  These maps show physician clusters which represent pre-existing relationships between physicians as well as their relationships with hospitals.  Another advantage to social networks is that they facilitate the spread of information among providers and hospitals which can positively influence the practice of medicine.

Creating an ACO using social network analysis is a superior approach to the random selection hospitals used before because the social influences physicians establish in social networks exhibit their leadership, practice patterns, and affiliations.   Social networks give hospitals the opportunity to develop successful ACOs by combining the strengths of physicians who are compatible socially, and as a result, likely compatible professionally.

For more information, visit: http://www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag/HHNDaily/HHNDailyDisplay.dhtml?id=3230009892

Primary care physicians are in high demand and in short supply.  They are the doctors we see first when not feeling well.  Unfortunately, there is little motivation for physicians finishing medical school to focus on primary care.  Many physicians complete their training and are faced with a great amount of debt, and a residency in just internal medicine or family medicine will not lead to a salary that will cover those costs.  This is why so many doctors go on to fellowships, as the financial potential of specialized training exceeds that of primary care by a significant margin.  In a 2010 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, less than 2% of medical students are interested in internal medicine and less than 5% in family medicine.

The good news is that primary care physicians are seeing an increase in overall compensation since 2009.  The median salary for internal medicine physicians is now over $214,000, versus the $191,000 doctors were earning two years ago.  This increase in compensation is due to the new health care reform legislation which aims to improve primary care salaries.  The bill also adds that Medicare will pay physicians a 10% bonus if most of their time is spent caring for the elderly.  And in 2013, Medicaid payments, which reimburse for low-income patients, will be raised about 20% depending on the state.

Our family and internal medicine physicians are an essential part of our health care system and the US is facing a severe shortage.  This 12% increase in compensation and additional increases in reimbursement are a good start toward motivating doctors to practice primary care.

We live in a world where there is an app for just about everything under the sun. The medical industry is no exception! There is a wide selection of medical apps available for download that will help physicians practice medicine in a more efficient manner. Yes, your phone can now help you be a better physician! Gone are the days of searching through heavy reference books and notes, now all you need to do is pick up your iphone or ipad and select the app of your choice! Listed below are some of the most popular apps being purchased by physicians today.

Medscape: This was the #1 downloaded free medical app in 2010. It is the largest, most comprehensive free medical app available for healthcare professionals. Along with a drug reference and drug interaction checker, it also contains a disease and condition reference and treatment guide. It provides a procedures reference, as well as continuing medical education (CME/CE) activities. These are just some of the many features available in this expansive app.

Epocrates: This is the #1 mobile drug reference resource used by healthcare providers 3 to 1 as their point of care drug reference choice. With trusted and accurate information, it assists physicians in making more informed medical decisions, leading to improved patient safety. It provides several unique features, such as a pill identifier, formulary data and dosing calculator that physicians require at the point of care.

Mediquations: This app was selected as a “Staff Favorite” by Apple. It is the original, most comprehensive medical calculator on the App Store. It contains 230 formulas and scoring tools. Users are able to reference full equations, detailed information, relevant pictures and Pubmed links for each scoring tool.

Medica Spanish (with audio): This is the #1 selling Medical Spanish phrase book. It was recently updated to add new features, requested by users. This comprehensive phrase book was written by physicians for physicians! It’s like having a personal interpreter on call 24/7 in your pocket. It assists you in obtaining full SOAP notes with “yes or no” questions and helps you become more independent and confident in using your Spanish, providing high quality translations with audio.

ICDMeister: This very popular ICD-9 coding reference is now an available in the app store! Its “Most Common Diagnosis” lists let you find most of the codes you need with 3-4 taps. Search for abbreviations and acronyms, full words or part of a word. Efficiency at the palm of your hand!

Physician Advocate Specialists Are Waiting To Talk to You!

eMatchPhysicians is pleased to formally introduce our Physician Advocate Program where specialists are dedicated to assisting top candidates with specific location requirements.

At eMatchPhysicians, we understand how busy you are and we are committed to helping our physicians locate the job of their dreams.  So if we don’t offer it on the website, our Physician Advocate Specialists will personally help you find it.* They assist with the presentation of your CV and personal background for the best chance of landing multiple interviews, followed by interview preparation and contract negotiation.  Further, there is no cost to our selected physician job seekers.

Physician Advocate Specialists set you up for success by offering important information such as accurate timelines, an overview of your competition, and what you can expect financially.  They search with discretion for those who wish to remain confidential and allow you to control the process by offering feedback and direction every step of the way.

Candidate selection is based on demand AND on the following criteria:

1)    Preferred City and State (may select up to 3 cities)

2)    Blemish-free background

3)    Board Certified or Board Eligible

4)    Strong References (minimum of 3)

5)    Licensed in preferred state? (not required)

To be considered, please call or email O.T. Warren at 949.215.0501 x411 or owarren@eMatchPhysicians.com.  She is ready to answer any questions and will be requesting your CV and answers to items 1-5, above. All information is kept confidential and is never shared without your permission. We look forward to celebrating your success.

* Select Candidates Only.  At this time we are unable to accommodate all candidates for this FREE service.

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It’s all over the news. Experts have been announcing for some time now that the recession is over and the U.S. economy is showing signs of recovery. Unfortunately, the medical industry is still dealing with the lingering, adverse effects caused by the recession. Survey data reveals that patients continue to delay or forego medical care under tight family budgets. This is resulting in 70 percent of hospitals reporting fewer patient visits and elective procedures. In addition, nearly nine in ten hospitals reported an increase in care, for which no payment was received. A high percentage of hospitals have been unable to revert to prerecession operating models. There are 89 percent of hospitals continuing to work with reduced staff and 98 percent have been unable to reinstate previously cut services and programs. The reduction in income has left hospitals in a difficult position, as they strive to provide the best care possible to patients and retain highly qualified physicians and administrative staff. Further, recruitment budgets suffer in a time where physicians are desperately needed in communities across America. It is not clear when the medical industry will begin its own recovery from this trend, but in the meantime, healthcare professionals in various disciplines are doing their best to meet the needs of their communities with the resources available.

Congress has voted to pass an important piece of legislation that would effectively stop a 25% pay cut for physicians treating Medicare patients. This Congressional “doc fix” provides a one year fix to the payment formula. Included alongside the freeze are extensions for several Medicare programs, including an extension of the therapy caps exception process. The bill was supported by numerous health groups, including the American Medical Association. Experts asserted that the abrupt pay reduction would result in a lack of available healthcare providers to Medicare users, which are comprised of the elderly and military families.

The fix comes with a $15 billion cost and will be paid for by changing a provision on recovering excess subsidy payments in the healthcare legislation enacted this year. The government will recoup more excess insurance subsidy payments to individuals than what current law provides. It is estimated that the change will save $19 billion over the next 10 years.

Many physicians see the current Medicare formula as outdated and state that the steep pay cuts would dissuade physicians from treating Medicare patients. Others affirm that altering the formula would only serve to produce long-term deficits. During the one year freeze, lawmakers will work closely with health groups, such as the American Medical Association in order to work towards putting together a long term solution to the Medicare system.

eMatchPhysicians.com is proud to announce our new partnership with renowned immigration and nationality law firm, HOWARD | NASSIRI, P.C. (http://www.howardnassiri.com/), to provide immigration services to physicians of all specialties who desire to work or train in the United States. HOWARD | NASSIRI specializes in the unique immigration issues that physicians face, and skillfully counsels medical doctors in determining visa eligibility, evaluating designated healthcare shortage areas, submitting applications to the USCIS, preparing waiver applications, and designing long-term immigration strategies.

For more information about how eMatchPhysicians is helping medical doctors get work visas, click here.

Billian’s HealthDATA and Porter Research partnered to conduct a survey of hospital executives’ understanding of the HITECH Act.  In 2009, their research revealed that only 67% of the respondents described the impact of the new legislation to be moderate to significant.  However, in 2010 that number escalated to more than 80%.

Many of the hospitals who participated in the survey had adopted new technologies for their physicians and patients.  In fact, the number of respondents that had adopted these new IT solutions increased in 2010 by an average of 21%.  Some of those new programs include EHR, ePrescribing, and Computerized Physician Order Entry.  While one of the respondents’ biggest fears was that their hospitals would put important IT decisions on hold until funding was received, the survey results indicated that for every decision put on hold, two more were pushed through.

Respondents were also asked how much they agreed with certain concepts of the HITECH Act.  90% agreed with the adoption of EHR technology, but only 43% believe that the Act will insure that every American has an electronic health record by 2014.  Regardless, over 75% of respondents believe that the HITECH legislation will strengthen the health IT infrastructure, and 58% believe that it will improve overall efficiency and quality of the healthcare system.

The research shows that hospital executives are ready to meet the requirements of the new legislation.  Respondents believe that the HITECH Act will accelerate adoption of EHR and other technologies, but concerns still exist about the ultimate impact of these technologies on efficiency and quality of the healthcare system.

Read the full article at http://www.porterresearch.com/Resource_Center/Porter_White_Papers/The_Road_Traveled.html

Source:  “The Road Traveled: Providers’ Perceptions of ARRA Legislation from Inception to Meaningful Use”

In order to modernize our health system, physicians have to adopt and USE technology.  The HITECH Act, which involves the incorporation of electronic health records (EHR) is a major part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) legislation.

Billian’s HealthDATA and Porter Research conducted a 2 phased research program aimed at understanding providers’ perceptions of the HITECH Act.  The first survey was conducted in March and April 2009, with a follow up survey in January and February 2010.  IT-leaders, hospital executives, and department directors from 150 hospitals participated in this survey.

In 2009, 40% of respondents said they were knowledgeable about the details of the new legislation, and in 2010 those numbers jumped to 74%.  This statistic is also backed by the fact that in 2009, most of the respondents had relied on mainstream media, whereas in 2010 70% took it upon themselves to research the Act online.  The increase in the number of hospital executives who personally researched the new legislation reflects their concern over how the Act will affect their hospitals.  In fact, about 50% of the respondents in 2010 who felt knowledgeable about the ARRA claimed to have actually read the document itself.

The respondents who were surveyed were given a basic definition of EHR and Meaningful Use (refer to full article for definition).  30% of the respondents had her systems in place that met the requirements of the HITECH Act for electronic health records, however only 23% of those respondents have physicians or providers that are using EHR consistent with the requirements of the Early Meaningful Use Summary.

The respondents were then questioned about their concerns with the HITECH Act.  Concerns regarding funding decreased by 27% from 2009 to 2010.  There was also a slight decrease in concerns about government administration of the program, however concerns shot up drastically in 2010 about the the timetable hospitals are being given and their ability to meet the requirements of the HITECH Act.

80% of hospital executives surveyed said that they were knowledgeable of the Meaningful Use document issued by the CMC, and 45% of those respondents agreed with the requirements that were proposed.  The respondents’ biggest concerns in achieving meaningful use are the timeline that they are given as well as having the resources to accomplish meaningful use.  Almost half of the respondents felt that they would not receive enough funding, as they expect the government to cover less than a quarter of the total cost.  76% say they will have to pursue additional funding.  Smaller hospitals, however, are expected to receive more coverage estimated at half of their total costs.

Needless to say, hospitals of all sizes will be taking a hit financially in order comply with the ARRA.

Read the full article at
http://www.porterresearch.com/Resource_Center/Porter_White_Papers/The_Road_Traveled.html

Source:  “The Road Traveled: Providers’ Perceptions of ARRA Legislation from Inception to Meaningful Use”

There is a trend among physicians and hosptials that has become more and more prevalent since the 1990′s.  Physician groups are selling their practices to hospital systems more now than ever before.  According to the MGMA’s annual Physician Compensation and Production Survey, hospital-owned group practices grew from 25.6% in 2005 to 49.5% in 2008. In 2008, the number of hospital-owned practices exceeded physician-owned group practices for the first time ever.  This integration brings financial and management benefits to the physicians looking to join a larger system.  Hospitals and large health systems also benefit in an increase in capital along with the ability to offer more services to their communities.  Neither physicians nor hospitals can achieve optimization of patient care, capital, and consistency without one another.