Patients Caught In Aetna-AMA Out-Of-Network Fight By DIANE LEVICK Courant Staff Writer Aetna and the American Medical Association are fighting about payments to doctors again, and patients across the nation are getting caught in between. The dispute centers on how much Aetna pays out-of-network doctors in some instances and the right of those doctors to […]

By Elizabeth Cohen CNN http://www.cnn.com/ ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — When Christine had a hysterectomy in September, her doctor told her it would take about a week to recover from the laparoscopic procedure. Medical complications are not always the result of negligence. Nearly every procedure involves some risk. Four months — and three additional surgeries later […]

http://www.kaisernetwork.org The American Medical Association on Tuesday announced the nationwide expansion of a campaign that seeks to focus the health care debate in the presidential election on the issue of the uninsured, The Hill reports. The multimillion-dollar “Voice for the Uninsured” campaign, which includes advertisements and outreach efforts, last year targeted early presidential caucus and […]

By DAVID GULLIVER http://www.heraldtribune.com When Jean Weiller felt so sick she could not get out of bed, she called her doctor. Nothing unusual there — that is what most people do. But most people do not have 9,700 miles — and a 12-hour time difference — between them and their doctors.

Carrie Vaughan, for HealthLeaders News http://www.healthleadersmedia.com Traditionally, hospital quality and patient safety have been left in the hands of the clinical staff–board members and senior executives focused more on the strategic and financial goals of the organization. However, that dynamic is no longer the case. Hospital executives and community board members are taking an increasingly […]

By Alison Snyder Long Island Business News – New York Business News In our Internet-saturated society, where consumers routinely turn to Google for information on health conditions and the doctors who treat them, a Web site could have a bottom-line impact for physicians. Kaveh Alizadeh, a plastic surgeon in a Garden City-based group practice, said […]

Five million Canadians—approximately 15 per cent of the population—don’t have a family doctor. Here, College of Family Physicians of Canada president Dr. Ruth Wilson shares tips on how these people can get themselves a physician. Kate Lunau http://www.macleans.ca Canada’s in the grip of a severe doctor shortage, and most of us know it all too […]

By Rosemarie Nelson http://www.medpagetoday.com A typical day in a medical practice is filled with interruptions. In addition to the occasional drop-in patient who needs a prescription re-issue or a back-to-work letter or an answer for “just a quick question,” the practice has many other business visitors who stop in without an appointment. The local medical […]

By Christopher Lee washingtonpost.com www.msnbc.msn.com Hospital emergency departments across the United States, already struggling with overcrowding and growing patient loads, are increasingly unable to find specialists to help treat seriously injured and ill patients, according to medical experts. Crucial minutes, hours and even days can go by as patients suffering from trauma, strokes, broken bones […]