healthmedicinet

Los Angeles Times: For A Dying Patient, A Prescription Of Silence
In medical school, we were taught not to withhold information from our patients or to be “paternal” in making decisions for them. We internalized the idea that fully informed patients are better equipped to make treatment decisions. And with patients likely to die of their diseases, discussing the prognosis frankly would allow them to say goodbyes, get things in order and prepare advanced directives for what kind of interventions they did and didn’t want. But Pedro’s wife was adamant. “He will lose his will to live if he knows he has cancer. And he will then die even sooner” (Susan Partovi, 5/16).

USA Today: Hospital Pricing Gouges Patients: Our View
Shouldn’t you be able to see the price of something before you buy it, so you can shop for value or simply figure out whether you can afford it? Before you roll your eyes and say, “Of course,” think about the last time you bought medical care, especially in a hospital. See any price lists on the wall? Probably not. And, if you had, you might have fainted on the spot (5/15).

USA Today: Hospital Billing Too Complex: Another View
Many parts of America’s health care delivery and financing systems urgently need updating, and the matter of “charges” ranks high on the list. Today’s hospital bill is a symptom of a broken payment system. Hospitals deal with more than 1,300 insurers, each having different plans with multiple requirements for hospital bills. Decades of federal regulations have made a complex billing system even more complex and frustrating for everyone involved (Rich Umbdenstock, 5/15).

USA Today: Beware Of Stem Cell Therapy Claims
A stem cell transplant can help cure patients with acute myeloid leukemia, and research has shown incredible potential, from growing teeth to mending “unhealable” bone fractures. Still, stem cells are poorly understood. Despite this, as (Ferris) Jabr writes, many cosmeticians continue to claim that stem cells are a cure-all for “everything from wrinkles to joint pain to autism.” Until we understand them better, stem cells are the new snake oil peddled by 21st century charlatans. Thankfully, the Food and Drug Administration is cracking down (Alex Berezow, 5/15).

JAMA: Accountable Care Organizations: Accountable For What?
Dr Robert Potenza and Dominica Potenza, partners in life and in work, are, respectively, a cardiologist and a registered nurse who have a cardiology/internal medicine practice in the Bronx. … In theory, continuity of care should be improving at Montefiore, one of 32 Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) that aim to become models for improving population health while lowering costs. Montefiore has been acquiring physicians’ practices to expand its primary care capacity, but the Potenzas are reluctant to join, fearing they’ll lose what control they have over the personalized care they give their patients (Diana Mason, 5/15). 

Columbus Dispatch: Expanding Medicaid Would Help In Fight Against Breast Cancer
As a seven-year breast-cancer survivor, I know how important annual screening can be. I was diagnosed with Stage IIa breast cancer on a routine mammogram. … I was lucky and had very adequate health insurance, yet my personal cost remained over $6,000. While expanding Medicaid in Ohio would seem counterintuitive as a cost-saving measure, we must sometimes view Medicaid dollars spent as a long-term investment in Ohio and enable Ohioans to realize the savings. Screening to capture cancer at the earliest possible stage reduces the costs of treatment and improves mortality (Tammy Weis, 5/16).