Should Doctors Be Exempt from the FTC’s ‘Red Flags’ Rule?


Last week the AMA and two other groups sued the FTC, arguing physicians shouldn’t be subject to the rule that aims to guard against identity theft.

Gimme My Damn Data!


By DAVE deBRONKART (e-PatientDave), VINCE KURAITIS, AND DAVID C. KIBBE So far in this series has looked at HITECH participation by hospitals (grumbling but in the game) and physicians (wary, on the sidelines), kudos for ONC’s three major policy points,…

Watch health insurance premiums soar


By DONALD JOHNSON Enactment of ObamaCare will open the floodgates for new federal mandates that insurers cover expensive wellness and alternative care services and send health insurance premiums soaring. While the New England Journal of Medicine says 50% of physicians…

A doctor is sued, and blogs his malpractice trial


An emergency physician recently concluded his malpractice trial, and is blogging about it.

Sound familiar? Well, this isn’t the first time it happened. In 2007, pediatrician Flea live-blogged his malpractice trial, which wasn’t a good idea for him, and indeed, became a media circus.

Prominent emergency physician blogger WhiteCoat is diving into the same waters, [...]

Addictive Aids Drugs: Has Sustiva Solved an HIV Mystery? – NewsGrabs Sunday, 31 May 2009


Has Sustiva Solved an HIV Mystery? The revelation that Sustiva is not reported to be an extremely addictive psychotropic drug is disturbing. After speaking with patients like Karri who interrupted their prescriptions, it now appears that abstinence from so-called “ARVs” like Sustiva results not in an increased risk of AIDS but, instead, precipitates the onset [...]

Will smartphones replace the pager?


It seems inevitable.

A recent study showed that 64 percent of doctors use smartphones, such as an iPhone or a BlackBerry. Medical schools, such as Georgetown University and Ohio State University, are beginning to give them out to students.

And I can certainly see the allure. They’re more powerful than PDAs, and there’s a wealth [...]

How doctors should deal with physician rating sites


Stuff the ballot box.

The value of these sites, previously exposed as pretty useless in this Slate piece, are mainly due to the anonymous nature of the comments.

Indeed, even if a doctor wanted to genuinely improve from this form of patient feedback, “posting anonymously on the Web (on sites a doctor does not regularly monitor) is [...]

Should primary care doctors embrace retail clinics?


Yes, they should.

Whether retail clinics will be a viable venue for the majority of minor medical conditions is in question, but in many cases, doctors seem to be taking an antagonistic front.

As this piece in the NY Times writes, “Many primary-care doctors still denigrate the retail clinics as cheap, unworthy competitors.” That’s precisely the [...]

Beyond Wikipedia


By NAOMI FREUNDLICH No surprise, these days more and more doctors are searching online for medical information. What is surprising, however, is that in a recent study, nearly 50% of physicians indicated that they use Wikipedia—the open-access encyclopedia that allows…

How is concierge medicine doing in the recession?


Surprisingly well.

Although there are plenty of reports where people are splitting their pills, and delaying elective procedures and preventive care, those who are able to afford concierge medicine aren’t cutting back.

In these cases, health is showing resiliency during these tough economic times, and, “With jobs scarce and stress at a peak, many may see a [...]