CHRIS TALBOTT The Associated Press A national shortage of doctors is hitting poor places the hardest, and efforts to bring in foreign physicians to fill the gap are running into a knot of restrictions from the war on terror and the immigration debate. Doctors recruited from places such as India, the Philippines and sub-Saharan Africa […]

http://www.earthtimes.org A growing number of hospitals are employing physicians, according to a new report tracking physician recruiting trends. The 2007 Review of Physician Recruiting Incentives, prepared by Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, a national physician search and consulting firm, examines over 3,000 recruiting assignments the firm conducted from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007. Hospitals […]

Congress is accused of delaying action on reimbursement cuts. By JOSIE HUANG Staff Writer http://pressherald.mainetoday.com Congress’ habit of waiting until the last minute before stopping Medicare from cutting payments to doctors has become so familiar that the president-elect of the American Medical Association jokes it is the “annual dance of death.” With another round of […]

http://www.nursinginpractice.com Plans to bring in new GP assistants will tread on nurse practitioner toes, say Nursing in Practice readers. Physician assistants are to “supplement the existing NHS workforce” in taking medical histories, performing examinations, diagnosing illnesses and analysing test results. But Nursing in Practice readers agree that the new profession is unnecessary, as nurse practitioners […]

By: Joseph Conn / HITS staff writer http://www.modernhealthcare.com Only about 14% of physician practices have adopted electronic health-record systems, according to a 2005 survey by the Medical Group Management Association, but upward of 90% have electronic practice management systems. The advent of EHRs in physician offices has caused practice leaders to take a second look […]

David Kinsman American College of Physicians http://www.eurekalert.org/ Today, the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), along with the Chief Executive Officers of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), met with House and Senate Democratic and Republican Leadership. During the meetings the groups discussed legislative strategies aimed […]

By Kathleen Kerr, Newsday LA TIMES In a 150-square-foot tin-ceilinged office in a building that once housed a speakeasy, Dr. Moitri Savard checks her laptop to see whether any patients have scheduled themselves to see her. Wait, scheduled themselves? Yes. Savard’s patients decide when they want to see her and then let her know by […]

By Kathleen Kerr, Newsday LA TIMES In a 150-square-foot tin-ceilinged office in a building that once housed a speakeasy, Dr. Moitri Savard checks her laptop to see whether any patients have scheduled themselves to see her. Wait, scheduled themselves? Yes. Savard’s patients decide when they want to see her and then let her know by […]

By REED ABELSON NY TIMES By coordinating care and keeping their patients out of the hospital, doctors can help reduce overall health care spending, Medicare officials said yesterday in announcing the results of an experiment that allowed doctors to share in the cost savings. The experiment, which started in April 2005 and is to continue […]