Time for a Reappraisal of the “Business�? of CME

We should consider continuing medical education in the context of a free economyThe growing criticism of pharmaceutical company funding of CME has rattled both the pharmaceutical industry and many legitimate providers of CME. To recap the recent criticisms: The Special Communication by leaders of academic medicine in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jan. […]

Making Sense of the Presidential Healthcare Platforms

One plot that may make a differenceIf you’re like me, you’ve read and possibly reread summaries of the Presidential candidates healthcare platforms, and you’re still confused. Where do the candidates really stand? And how close do their positions approximate yours? A healthcare site, Healthcentral.com, puts the candidates’ positions on a grid and allows you to […]

Techmanity:

Humanizing and revolutionizing medicine through technology Can technology save health care? While it offers bright hope for tomorrow, technology’s impact on medicine in general, and the patient-physician relationship in particular, is complex, to say the least. The mood of clinicians toward technology, for most of the 20th century, has been welcoming but cautious; a complex […]

Keeping up with Technology and Health

CAST – www.agingtech.org – a great resourceOne of the great health technology resources that exists organizationally is the Center for Aging Services Technologies. Check out the web site at www.agingtech.org. Their e-publication, Tech Time, coordinated by CAST Chairman Eric Dishman, is filled with useful information, contacts and hotlinks that reinforce how quickly our world is […]

Can Leavitt Explain Medicare Physician Data Schizophrenia at HHS?

Its time to demand accountability and an alignment of words and actions at HHSRegular readers will know that, last Sunday, I posted a column that pointed to HHS’ schizophrenic behavior when it comes to the release of Medicare physician data. First they fight the consumer advocacy group Checkbook.org’s lawsuit demanding the release of data in […]

What’s HHS’ Real Position on Releasing Medicare Physician Data?

A New HHS Program Gives “Cognitive Dissonance” New Meaning Here’s a really classical example of a federal regulatory agency holding fast to two opposing ideas at the same time. I wonder what it means? Last week HHS posted an interesting notice announcing a new program that recognizes 14 (presumably) forward-thinking health care coalitions of providers, […]

Huckabee-Style Health Reform

Morally and physically fit Back in November, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee wrote a remarkably candid essay for a special election issue of the trade journal Modern Healthcare. Since then, the former Arkansas governor’s campaign has morphed from single-digit obscurity to mainstream prominence, and the candor on health care has mostly been scrubbed clean from […]

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