For health care to be better, doctors must lead the change

Here is an interesting blog post from family physician Dr. Davis Liu (via KevinMD.com) commenting on a panel discussion that best-selling authors Malcolm Gladwell and Atul Gawande had at a conference for America’s Health Insurance Plans. Wish I would have been there.  Each has a different perspective, but important insight into the problems with our health care system, which Dr. Liu synthesizes nicely.

The Privilege of Being a Third Year Medical Student

Great blog posting from a 3rd year student (even if he is from Georgetown ;) ). This gets at the value of "really knowing your patients."  However, if you do choose to blog or post on Facebook about meaningful patient encounters, please make sure to get their permission.  There are a few too many details here that make me nervous about confidentiality.

Hope you enjoyed today's session. The POM 3 Post-Session Survey is now up and available. It's due in one week. CLICK HERE to take the (required) survey. 

4 things every medical student should know about health policy

KevinMD (a great medical blog, and one I recommend every student follow) posted this article by med student Elisabeth Askin.  It is brief, but contains great insight into our healthcare system ( or lack thereof).
Elisabeth is a medical student and co-author of The Health Care Handbook: A Clear and Concise Guide to the U.S. Health Care System, which is now available as an ebook and will soon be available in paperback.

Top 10 keys to success in 3rd year medical school and beyond

From Dr. Terry Kind, posted on her blog

1.Recognize every learning opportunity... and that every experience is a learning opportunity


2.Identify your learning gaps... and fill them

3.Care about and for your patients.

4.Ask some questions; answer some questions. Read; study; participate.

5.Be enthusiastic, be teachable. Learn from residents, nurses, fellows, attendings, patients, parents, peers.

6.Go beyond reporting information. Interpret, manage, educate...

7.Be on the team.

8.Reflect and improve.

9.Let your own family know if/that you are okay. Seek help when necessary.

10.Be professional at all times.

Health task force challenges conventions, faces condemnation

Here is an interesting perspective piece on the USPSTF from USA Today. It discusses why so many patients, doctors and disease advocates are upset with this group.

First Pill to Prevent HIV

As reported by ABC News and others, the FDA approved Truvada to prevent HIV infection.  Truvada is not a new drug.  What is new is that there is now a primary prevention (healthy people take this) for HIV infection. One controversy is the potential of creating resistance, but the FDA felt that risk was outweighed by the benefit of preventing HIV in serodiscordant partners.

The Health Care Handbook

Have you been confused about our health care system? It's large and complex, and even though you may in it, you may still not understand how it works.  This is a common experience for medical students.  Fortunately, two medical students have written an book called "The Health Care Handbook."  They were featured in Pauline Chen's NY Times Article. The book will be in paper back soon, but is currently available on Amazon as an e-book.  I would highly recommend this to medical students.

Did the 2011 Match Really Show an Increase in Primary Care?

According to many reports, the 2011 match saw increases in students matching to primary care fields.  Though technically true, the fact is that there were more students (do to a few new medical schools) in this years match than last years.  If you look at the percent of students choosing primary care, it's really about the same.  I discuss further on my blog. 2011 Residency Match NOT Good News for Primary Care

The Blockbuster Drug Comes to an End

On the Forbes Health and Medicine Blog, Matther Herper discusses how The Blockbuster Drug Comes to an End.

Most ACOs may lose money initially

Here's a piece from the AMA News about how Acountable Care Organizations or ACO's loose money in the first 3 years.

First POM3 Session Comming Soon!

Looking forward to seeing you on July 29th, 8:30 in Ross 101

Great Primer on the US Health Care System ... from the Brits!

If you have not been following the health care debate, or are too bogged down in details to understand it, the BBC News just came out with an excellent explanation of our health care system and the proposed legislation to fix it. This is an extremely easy read, and pretty much boils down everything as it stands today. It does not explain extremely important issues like why health care costs continue to rise or the primary care crisis. However, the current proposed legislation does little to address this either.

Health Care Reform on a Napkin

The slide show (below) does an excellent job of trying to summarize the complex issues of health care refom.

Healthcare Napkins All

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Why talk about professionalism? Docs Busted!

This Wall Street Journal article details the indictment of 61 people, 32 physicians involved in $16 Million worth of Medicare fraud. Wonder why patients are trusting physicians less and less?