The good news is that most patients, 60 percent in fact, felt appropriately “connected” to their primary care physician.

However, that leaves a significant 40 percent who were not.

According to a recent study, patients who were not connected were less likely to received recommended preventive care and other screening tests.

Which all comes as no surprise. Not only is it increasingly difficult to find a new primary Read more »

Do most surgeons think mid-level providers can replace primary care physicians?

That much was implied during recent testimony by the American College of Surgeons’ John Preskitt, who said, “With trauma care and surgical emergencies, there are no good substitutes or physician extenders for a well-trained general surgeon or surgical specialist.”

The ACP’s Bob Doherty took that to mean that there were good substitutes for primary Read more »

About 400 more people died at Mid Staffordshire Hospital between 2005 and 2008 than would be expected, according to the Healthcare Commission.

The commission said it was impossible to blame all the extra deaths on the hospital’s care but some would have died as a result.

The report, to be published tomorrow, says: ‘The clinical management of many patients admitted as emergencies fell short of an acceptable standard Read more »

The 80m will also provide more training for staff in primary healthcare teams, helping them to recognise mental health problems that could be due in part to the economic downturn.

The announcement includes pledging an extra 13m to speed up the roll out of talking therapies around England with services beginning to be available in 2010.

Employment support workers will be linked to every talking therapy service, providing Read more »

One proposed way to control costs is to replace primary care doctors with mid-level providers, like nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Merely bringing up this idea brings out the worst in turf battles, with most discussions devolving into nurse versus doctor cat-fights.

The ACP comes up with their vision of how nurse practitioners fit within the primary care spectrum. It wisely takes a balanced approach, but, as Bob Read more »

Studies show that international medical graduates (IMGs) see a disproportionally high number of Medicaid patients when compared to their American counterparts.

Like most doctors, if they had a choice, the incentives are such that they too would choose to practice in cities rather than in rural areas.

Less-restrictive visa requirements are making it harder to recruit IMGs to rural areas, and compounded by the fact that American Read more »

A family physician chronicles his journey from an HMO to urgent care to practicing outside of the insurance system.

Steve Simmons notes that doctors out of residency rarely have any training in the business of medicine, including the all-important skill of coding.

“I needed to learn this ‘skill’ on the fly,” observes Dr. Simmons, “using a code book to translate each medical diagnosis into a five digit number, with an additional Read more »

Caroline Petrie, 45, is a bank nurse and has been told by North Somerset PCT that she will not be employed again until the outcome of its investigation is known.

The patient in her 70s reportedly refused the prayer offer and informed the nurse’s manager.

A North Somerset PCT statement said: ‘The NMC code of conduct makes it clear that nurses ‘must not use (their) professional status to promote causes that Read more »

The maligned group that advises Medicare on physician payments has been frequently targeted by generalist doctors, as well as this blog.

Hold on, says the ACP’s Bob Doherty, who provides some arguments in their defense.

Indeed, the RUC did vote to marginally increase payments to evaluation and management codes, the ones frequently used by primary care doctors. Furthermore, Mr. Doherty brings up a good point, asking if not the Read more »

That’s what the ACP is proposing in a letter sent to Senator Tom Daschle, the future Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Will that be enough to stop the generalist hemorrhage? Physician Jay Larson is skeptical, saying it “sounds like a squirt gun trying to put out an inferno.” I’m dubious myself. Ask for 10 percent, you get five, which is pretty much the status quo.

I maintain that the most straightforward solution would Read more »