By Jeffrey C. Bauer, Ph.D.

The title of this article is intentional, as odd as it may seem.  Futures is plural on purpose, and the question about reform is not rhetorical.  The political events of the past year created a widespread and misleading impression that a (singular) new future for health care was being created in Washington.  In reality, health care in the United States is multidimensional, and it is heading in many different directions simultaneously.  Efforts to legislate a “one size fits all” solution are doomed to failure.  Consequently, physicians …

From the AMA:
UPDATE:  Last night, the U.S. Senate voted yet again to delay the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut for one month, postponing it until April 1. The Senate should use this time to permanently repeal the flawed Medicare physician payment formula that puts access to care for seniors and military families at risk.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate’s failure to act before today’s 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut has put seniors at grave risk of reduced access to health care and choice of physician.
“The Senate had over a year …

By Helen Oscislawski, Esq.
It has been a year since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (also known as “the stimulus bill” or “ARRA”) was enacted on February 17, 2009.  ARRA contains many measures to “modernize” the nation’s infrastructure, including the health care delivery system.  Between August and December 2009, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) within the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announced several new programs and allocated more than a billion dollars of federal funds specifically toward laying the …

Changes to Medicare will give the Feds control of surgical decisions
By SCOTT GOTTLIEB
Senate Democrats are touting the American Medical Association’s endorsement of their health bill as evidence that doctors support the reforms, but there are important reasons why the American College of Surgeons and 18 other specialty groups remain opposed.
The plan’s most tangible efforts to restrain medical costs are through its controls on specialist physicians. Based on the government’s premise that specialists often make wasteful treatment decisions, the health-care legislation in Congress will subject doctors to …

1/5/10 UPDATE:  
In recognition that the transition to EMRs might take a while, CMS is proposing a phase-in of three stages.  The first stage of meaningful use criteria focuses on electronically capturing health information in a coded format, using that information to track key clinical conditions and communicating that information for care coordination purposes. It also calls for implementing clinical decision support tools to facilitate disease and medication management and reporting clinical quality measures and public health information.  In order for professionals and hospitals to be eligible to receive …

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Wednesday appeared before Congress to acknowledge that their mammogram recommendations were poorly communicated.
“The task force communication was poor,” said Dr. Diana B. Petitti, the vice chairwoman of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing.  ”The task force is saying that screenings starting at 40 should not be automatic, nor should they be denied. Many doctors and many women, perhaps even most women, will decide to have mammography screenings starting at age 40,” she said.
The task force …

Modality, Inc. and Elsevier, Inc. developed two Procedures Consult Internal Medicine applications that are now available on the App Store. These iPhone and iPod touch apps help physicians, medical residents and students prepare for, perform and test their knowledge of the most common medical procedures encountered in a clinical setting.
Both apps feature a dynamic blend of high-quality expert video, illustrations, animations and text to provide easy access to procedures information, without need for a network connection. Procedures Consult Internal Medicine – General highlights 25 procedures, from abdominal paracentesis to transvenous pacing.  Procedures Consult Internal …

By Sharon Segel
Healthcare is once again a headline issue in the United States.  President Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms have met with huge opposition from Republican opponents, insurance companies and many American citizens who do not have the means for enforced medical insurance and recent state intervention.  Others believe the proposals, while necessary, do not go far enough to protect those Americans most in need.  The majority of opinion leaders and parliamentarians believe that the system does not work, but differ radically on a solution.
Solutions have eluded many presidents and …

By Nena Mirkovic, M.D.
Jim Beck*, a 66-year-old farmer, was found to have a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) of 7.4 ng/ml on routine screening and resulting biopsies showed prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 3+3. The prostate was mildly diffusely enlarged, but without discrete nodules. Mr. Beck, whose cancer falls into the low-risk category, was presented with several treatment choices, but found most of them unappealing. Radical prostatectomy has a fair chance of causing impotence and at least temporary incontinence. Insertion of permanent or temporary radioactive pellets (also known as low-dose …

By Alan Lyndon

President Obama’s efforts for massive healthcare reform endured a predictable setback in July.  With so many moving parts, Obama’s chances of fast-tracking reform before the August recess were small.   For physicians, the meat of the bill is being buried in the press coverage and appeals to voters.
In late July, the president went live on primetime for the fourth time in his six months in office – this time in an attempt for one last push to the public and to Congress to pass healthcare legislation prior to a …