Homepage Private sector providers pose a serious threat to the quality of general practice and to patient care, say 68% of the UK’s practice managers in a major survey of the profession. Many suggested that the private sector could “cherry pick” the most lucrative services, to leave the NHS funding costly, unprofitable treatments. Practice managers […]

http://www.prnewswire.com PHILADELPHIA, March 26 /PRNewswire/ — The Council on Physician and Nurse Supply, an independent group of healthcare leaders based at the University of Pennsylvania, has called on the White House to convene a special conference to address the national shortage of physicians and nurses. “Access to healthcare services cannot be maintained, let alone expanded, […]

By Lois M. Collins http://deseretnews.com They figured they had better offer a few carrots when they first decided to start a book club for physicians in 1989. So the founders in the Division of Medical Ethics, jointly sponsored by the University of Utah School of Medicine and LDS Hospital, told would-be participants, “You can bring […]

By Mark Crane http://www.medpagetoday.com WASHINGTON, March 24 — Physicians deserve higher Medicare fees, but they may have to keep enduring annual statutory pay cuts restored at the last second by congressional action, said the chief policy director for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The cuts are mandated by Medicare’s sustainable growth rate pay formula that […]

By E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com A coalition of groups aligned with trial lawyers is denouncing a possible remedy to New York‘s medical malpractice insurance crisis: a state-sponsored indemnity fund that would pay the future medical bills of injured patients. In a letter sent to Governor Paterson yesterday, the groups — including the Center for Justice & […]

http://www.prweb.com San Francisco, CA (Vocus/PRWEB ) March 25, 2008 – A new network to deliver drug safety alerts online to U.S. physicians was launched today, replacing a widely criticized and decades-old system based upon paper and U.S. mail. The Health Care Notification Network (HCNN) is the result of a three-year effort and an unprecedented collaboration […]

Boston Business Journal – by Lisa van der Pool http://www.bizjournals.com A patient is unhappy with her cosmetic surgery results and begins to bombard her physician with voice mails and e-mails demanding a refund; her doctor ponders a restraining order. A physician has proof that his patient is “doctor shopping” to procure extra pain pills to […]

By Alex Roarty http://www.cumberlink.com Cumberland County doctors are balking at a state House bill they say could force them to accept an ill-conceived insurance plan. The bill, approved by the House on Monday, would try to provide health insurance to 273,000 low-income Pennsylvanians not currently covered. Individuals who make $20,800 or less and families of […]

Dr. Alexander Strasser – Guest essayist http://www.democratandchronicle.com Trial lawyers have had a major impact on medical care. The implied threat of a malpractice suit whenever an outcome is not entirely satisfactory to the patient and family has forced physicians to practice defensive medicine. This is especially true in radiology. It is well known that a […]