Current health news from today, including: the AMA supports the individual mandate, FDA approval of a generic antiobiotic, and why doctors shouldn’t fear the cloud.

March 30 is recognized as National Doctors’ Day in the U.S. Several sources have the first observance dating back to the 1930s, but it wasn’t until years later that March 30 officially became National Doctors’ Day. In 1991, President George Bush signed a resolution proclaiming March 30 as National Doctors’ Day. He began his proclamation [...]

Office-based physicians “support” $34 billion in annual economic activity in Ohio, according to a report from the American Medical Association.Ohio doctors also support 140,000 jobs and generate more than $20 billion in wages and benefits in the state, according to the report, which was produced by health insurer UnitedHealth subsidiary The Lewin Group. (The Lewin [...]

In the recent AMNews, June 7, 2010, pp 6-7, we physicians were given talking points on how to tell our patients about ObamaCare. It was so full of “happy-speak” that one must wonder if the AMA has paid lobbyists for the Administration.A typical question might be, “What’s in it for me?” We are to say [...]

Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:Return of the public option? Don’t bet on it: Nearly 130 House Democrats are pushing to restore the once-proposed “public option“–essentially a government-run health plan. Fueling the drive is a report from the Congressional Budget Office that said a public option would shave $68 [...]

Why is the National Doctors’ Tea Party necessary? The AMA would have you believe that it represents all the M.D.’s, when only 17% of practicing physicians are members. Without the AMA’s endorsement, Obamacare might not have passed. Without the lucrative monopoly of the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codebooks, the AMA would have lost $70 million revenue from sales of the books to every doctor who bills insurance. Do you smell bribery or extortion? So, doctors who believe in the practice of private medicine’the patient-doctor relationship free of third party intrusion’were left out of the discussions. Now these doctors are speaking out on behalf of their patients’ privacy and protection.

Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:Do disease management programs really work? Disease management programs, which often involve phone-based relationships between patients and providers, are a $2.4 billion industry, and many health insurers aggressively push them. But critics say there’s little evidence that any short-run benefits produced by disease management [...]

Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:American Medical Association’s influence waning? The country’s largest trade group for physicians has spent $6.2 million lobbying the federal government so far this year, and doesn’t have much to show for it. Some D.C. insiders blast the AMA for its inflexible stance on the [...]

With Twin Cities nurses now poised to strike indefinitely against local hospitals, the debate has descended into the familiar roles of hardworking, resourceful nurses versus financially besieged hospitals, with both groups claiming the role of patient advocate.But one crucial voice has been noticeably silent — the doctors.On the top issue dividing the Minnesota Nurses Association [...]

Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:45 percent of hospital employees “discontent” with work: In a survey of 235,000 hospital employees, 45 percent described themselves as “distanced from or discontent with their current work.” The numbers come from consultants Press Gainey Associates. So what’s with all that discontent? It’s those [...]