The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants

Essay of Atul Gawande MD in the New Yorker

6 Responses

1. Ambry, on August 27, 2009 at 6:51 PM said:

   ME-P Editors,

   The larger question however remains: Is health care a public good?

   Read this article by Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH who opines that the public policy and current political action around changing the system overlooks two important technical fallacies:

   (1) That health care is most efficiently distributed by a free market mechanism; and,
   (2) That medical services are an ordinary commodity.

   http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2009/08/is-health-care-a-public-good.html

   Ambry

   LikeLike
2. Editors, on August 27, 2009 at 6:57 PM said:

   Ambry,

   Thanks for reading and opining on this ME-P.

   While we agree that healthcare is being increasingly commoditized, especially by technology, the free flow of data and better transparency – and we are champions of same – it indeed is far from ordinary.

   Moreover, the free-market competitiveness of healthcare is not ordinary, given all the externalities encountered. It fact, it is hyper-competitive.

   Keep up the reportage.

   David Edward Marcinko
   Hope Rachel Hetico

   LikeLike
3. Bernard, on October 22, 2009 at 2:57 PM said:

   More on Atul,

   The Gawande article was a brilliant expose on the failings of our profession. Physicians need to address 3 questions when advising patients.

   (1) Is the test absolutely necessary?
   (2) Is there a cheaper or less invasive alternative?
   (3) Will the test results have a meaningful impact on the patient’s medical situation?

   Source: http://www.MDWhistleblower.blogspot.com

   LikeLike
4. Ann Miller RN MHA, on December 1, 2010 at 12:16 PM said:

   Diabetes and leg amputations in McAllen, Texas

   The Dartmouth Atlas of Health is once again throwing a harsh spotlight on McAllen, Texas.

   This time the Mexican border town has the highest rate of leg amputations in the nation. McAllen’s rate was ten times the rate of Provo, Utah, which had the lowest rate of leg amputations among the Medicare eligible population. The national average was one-third of McAllen’s rate.

   http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2010/11/diabetes-leg-amputations-mcallen-texas.html#more-49062

   Now, after reading this article, I wonder if the researchers adjusted for the number of podiatrists in town or the amount of podiatric medical care rendered; if any?

   Ann Miller RN MHA
   [Executive-Director]

   LikeLike
5. Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA, on August 21, 2011 at 12:27 PM said:

   Back to McAllen, Texas
   [This Time to Look at Private Insurance Spending]

   We already know that health-care spending and use can vary wildly depending on where a person lives.

   But. most of that evidence comes from Medicare data, notably reports by the Dartmouth Atlas Project. Moreover, those analyses don’t say anything about spending patterns for people covered by commercial insurance.

   A report out recently from Thomson Reuters tackles that issue. It looks at spending for children, adults and seniors covered by employer-based insurance.

   Much like the Medicare analyses, it finds geographic variation. However, the patterns for private and public insurance spending are different.

   http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/08/10/back-to-mcallen-texas-this-time-to-look-at-private-insurance-spending/

   Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

   LikeLike
6. Ann Miller RN MHA, on April 25, 2012 at 3:15 PM said:

   Docs overpaid millions in Medicare bonuses

   According to Ron Shinkman, physicians in Texas have been overpaid tens of millions of dollars in bonuses by the Medicare program, even though both parties knew they weren’t entitled to the money, reported The Houston Chronicle.

   Physicians in Hidalgo County–which includes the border city of McAllen–received $64 million in bonuses between 2003 and last year to which they were not entitled, according to the article.

   http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Taxpayers-footed-the-bill-for-Medicare-bonuses-to-3501576.php

   Ann Miller RN MHA

   LikeLike