Is “Amazing Grace” Mediated Through The Placebo Neurobiologic Effect?

Source: Chronicle Augusta.com Mike Magee This week, Ted Kaptchuk and Franklin Miller published a seminal article in the New England Journal of Medicine titled, “Placebo Effects in Medicine”. I believe it will be remembered for many years, not for its scientific insights, which are considerable, but for its’ theologic, sociologic, and historical revelations, buried deep […]

The New Healthcare Workforce: Will Form Follow Function?

Mike Magee In the November 21, 2013 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the lead article asks, “Are We in a Medical Education Bubble?”(1) In the article, the authors explain that “ Bubble markets are created when an asset trades for increasingly higher prices as it is bought by people who are hopeful […]

Medicare Funded Home Health Care

Steve Landers MD New England Journal of Medicine Feature this week on Home Health Care funding. “Most older Americans want to age in place.1 The Medicare home health benefit is a prominent national policy supporting older Americans at home and provides for visiting nurse and therapist services from home health agencies (HHAs). In 2012, Medicare […]

Competitor Analysis: The Future of Primary Care

Mike Magee Most would now agree that we are approaching a fundamental disconnect in two health delivery trend lines. They are: 1) the growing need and demand for services fueled by our aging population and 2) a growing shortage of primary care health professionals. Where opinions diverge is how to address this growing problem in […]

200th Anniversary of the New England Journal of Medicine

Mike Magee The New England Journal of Medicine this year celebrates its 200th anniversary. When I first arrived in rural Massachusetts with my family in 1978 (fresh out of surgical training at the University of North Carolina), I was embraced by a physician on the Medical Staff at our 100 bed hospital, Percy Wadman MD. […]

Of Three Lessons From Mass. Experience – #3 Is Critical

In the wake of last night’s Republican debate, it is interesting to note 3 lessons provided in the last paragraph of this week’s lead opinion article in NEJM by Staiger et al (Health Care Reform and Health Care Workforce – The Massachusetts Experience): 1. “Reform may accelerate the trend toward health care’s being the dominant […]

Springtime In Vermont: Health Policy Is Blooming!

Mike Magee It’s springtime in Vermont. And when it comes to health policy, we haven’t seen this much action since Howard Dean MD was governor.Let’s begin with Governor Pete Shumlin’s signing of a bill today to establish a single-payer plan for the state’s 620,000 residents.(1) Physician leader Deb Richter believes that a little over half […]