Dispensary

Paying doctors for better care

There is an NY Times article about how Congress in the US is trying to pass legislation to pay doctors for better care, rather than just for seeing larger numbers of patients.

This is being implemented in areas, where such issues can be addressed and quantified.

Very interesting this and a long-time coming. This is something that should have been implemented by the medical associations themselves many many years ago, setting standards and outcome criteria - we never did it ourselves and now others are foisting them on us and making sure we start complying.

Discrimination of diabetics in the workplace

People getting fired for the diabetes related issues in the US - this is the subject of an NY Times feature.

As the problem of diabetes goes out of control, this is going to be a larger and larger issue and for businesses and corporations to take the easy way out, by firing people who are diabetic, does amount to discrimination.

If the diabetes is under control and all steps are being taken to make sure that the sugar levels remain low and that there are no complications, there should be no discrimination as well.

End-of-life care

A poignant point-of-view on how we as doctors don't seem to want to confront end-of-life issues with our patients. Many of us have a distinct inability to deal with the dying and try to avoid them and their problems, especially when we have treated them and "failed".

This attitude needs to change, simply because we can't obviously give-up on our patients.

deBakey at 97

A surgery for dissection on the person who invented the surgery.

Boomeritis

This post from the NY Times is interesting and again shows the opportunity that exists in servicing the needs of baby boomers with bone and joint problems.