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"Hop up on the table, Honey." mThat's how an x-ray technician addressed my 89-year-old mother-in-law in 2001, when we took her for knee x-rays. Mom, who had advanced osteoporosis and arthritis as well as confusion and heart problems, had long since given up hopping. When it became obvious that she needed assistance, the technician grabbed her arm -- as if pulling on another sore appendage would magically raise the rest of her onto the table. It didn't. This incident has become our personal mantra for expressing what is wrong with America's health care system. Having helped our four parents during their final years and having both had cancer ourselves as well as other medical problems, we have had experiences with five nursing homes, two personal care facilities and a half dozen hospitals. We've lost count of the doctors, drugstores and health insurance plans. All of us have had health insurance, though some policies were better than others. Nonetheless, we have experienced incident after incident demonstrating the waste, ignorance and apathy which is rampant in the system. Unable to list them all, I have been heretofore reluctant to write about a handful of them lest the reader be persuaded that the problem is with only that hospital, only that nursing home or only that doctor. There is, however, an increasing crisis of confusion, mismanagement and ill-preparedness which is at the core of our healthcare system. We are all familiar at least with the trend line if not the specifics for healthcare costs. According to WhiteHouse.gov, "The United States spends over $2.2 trillion on health care each year-almost $8,000 per person." That's sixteen percent of the economy. Healthcare costs are projected to increase to almost twenty percent ($4 trillion a year) by 2017. Meanwhile forty-six million Americans are without health insurance (14,000 more each day), premiums and co-pays are rising and more reasons are used to refuse coverage both to those willing to pay and thos

"Hop up on the table, Honey." mThat's how an x-ray technician addressed my 89-year-old mother-in-law in 2001, when we took her for knee x-rays. Mom, who had advanced osteoporosis and arthritis as well as confusion and heart problems, had long since given up hopping. When it became obvious that she needed assistance, the technician grabbed her arm -- as if pulling on another sore appendage would magically raise the rest of her onto the table. It didn't. This incident has become our personal mantra for expressing what is wrong with America's health care system. Having helped our four parents during their final years and having both had cancer ourselves as well as other medical problems, we have had experiences with five nursing homes, two personal care facilities and a half dozen hospitals. We've lost count of the doctors, drugstores and health insurance plans. All of us have had health insurance, though some policies were better than others. Nonetheless, we have experienced incident after incident demonstrating the waste, ignorance and apathy which is rampant in the system. Unable to list them all, I have been heretofore reluctant to write about a handful of them lest the reader be persuaded that the problem is with only that hospital, only that nursing home or only that doctor. There is, however, an increasing crisis of confusion, mismanagement and ill-preparedness which is at the core of our healthcare system. We are all familiar at least with the trend line if not the specifics for healthcare costs. According to WhiteHouse.gov, "The United States spends over $2.2 trillion on health care each year-almost $8,000 per person." That's sixteen percent of the economy. Healthcare costs are projected to increase to almost twenty percent ($4 trillion a year) by 2017. Meanwhile forty-six million Americans are without health insurance (14,000 more each day), premiums and co-pays are rising and more reasons are used to refuse coverage both to those willing to pay and thos

I've contributed a lot to this discussion.  Perhaps I've been obssessive.  I'm concerned about the state of healthcare in this country, though.  I'm upset about the rampant myths and lies being tossed around about healthcare reform.  I'm concerned about all the lazy thinking we citizens are exhibiting. Misinformation, misunderstandings, bias, prejudice, narrowly self-interested polemics, anger, manipulations, and nastiness are badly hurting the process (and probable outcome) of healthcare reform debates and efforts. I can't NOT write long, detailed comments when I read stuff that's...well...WHACK!

A Senate panel has until Sept. 15 to deliver a bipartisan healthcare overhaul package before Democratic leaders take steps to push a bill without broad Republican support, a senior member of the Finance Committee said. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), vice chairman of the Democratic Conference, said that the party has "contingencies in place" that would make it highly likely a bill could pass the Senate without GOP votes, but warned such mechanisms would be used as a "last resort." "Healthcare reform is just too important," he said, adding that it can't be left to "wither on the vine."

Obama's Impact on Healthcare and Pharma Industry Here's where pharma industry people can discuss the pros and cons of Obama's plans for healthcare in the US and the pharma industry.

Patient Centered Learning: The solution is to permit alternatives to rigid institutions, utilize free internet programs, and have medical students assist practicing physicians by assisting practicing physicians in taking patient histories. These students would offer valuable, free services to doctors. At the same time, they would have a vivid learning experience by spending several hours each day interacting with actual patients. The Cost Of Medical Education Would Be Negligible. The expense of healthcare is directly proportional to the cost of the doctor's education. With the institutional bottleneck gone, there would be a greater number of doctors, and the cost of healthcare would plummet.

medical professionals healthcare hospitals schools labs database search dB doctors healthcare opinion-leaders key opinion leaders social-network-analysis SNA people pharma pharmaceutical marketing decision-makers decisionmakers influence

"I think this is the civil rights issue of our generation: access to appropriate healthcare is a human right." ~Mad as Hell Doctors

The AARP just met with the leadership of the Mayo Clinic, one of the most outstanding medical institutions in the country. They provide excellent care at a cost that is less than most other parts of the healthcare system - and with improved outcomes. We asked them about their secret to success.\n\nMayo has an electronic medical record and all their patients have their information online. The physicians are on salary, so there's no incentive to order unnecessary tests or procedures, and Mayo has an ethic of patient-centered care, with a long history of attracting the best people and rewarding them.\n\nIf Mayo can do it, why can't everyone else? The AARP believes that the potential is there for most communities to have excellent care - we must emulate the care delivery of institutions like the Mayo Clinic, and put in place payment and information systems that will coordinate care management better. It's a big job and will take some investment, but we have many opportunities to do a better job than we're doing today.

"More than three-quarters of healthcare executives believe their industry's most valuable asset is going to be information contained in electronic medical records...hundreds of billions of gigabytes of health and medical information will be industry's most valuable asset in 5 years. The value, however, must be unlocked by finding ways to overcome a lack of standards, privacy concerns, and technology limitations that could hinder use of the data." || NOTE: This data has already been used by private medical insurance companies to dig up "preexisting conditions" that allow them to drop coverage (rescission) on potentially unprofitable subscribers. ||

Natural Standard Herbal Pharmacotherapy: An Evidence-Based Approach is now available for purchase. The book provides practical guidance on the use of herbal therapies for medical conditions. This reference tool will be an essential part of herbal pharmacy core curricula for all healthcare disciplines. Chapters are organized by medical condition and present supportive evidence, including potential mechanisms of action and dosing, for selected herbal therapies. The chapters also include integrative therapy plans to help clinicians quickly assess patient needs and create cohesive treatment plans. In addition, adjunct therapies, including herbs, supplements and modalities, that are commonly used in combination with primary treatments are discussed. Case studies, which summarize efficacy, safety, dosing and interactions for high-utilization products, help prepare healthcare providers for patient counseling in clinical practice. Review questions, similar to those on national board exams, allow readers to evaluate their learning and identify areas for further study. The book also includes several appendices, which provide information about lab values as well as the safety, interactions and pharmacokinetics of select herbs.

Americans conduct their own online medical information research--many as a short-term replacement for visits to providers. Is this a sign of the new peer-to-peer, participatory healthcare?

While 45,000 die every year for lack of health insurance, "The GOP health insurance reform plan is this: Just don't get sick! And if you do--die quickly!" Or...first, go bankrupt. Then get on your knees and beg for charity. If this doesn't work, then resort to the final solution: "Die quickly!"

As of mid-August 2009, there were six (6) lobbyists per single (1) member of House and Senate (Bloomberg News). That's 6:1, folks. Just for healthcare reform. For financial industry reform, there are 2,400 lobbyists in play. The Chamber of Commerce spent $26.2 million--in the first 2 quarters (6 months) of 2009. Clearly, private industries and their foot soldiers on K Street/Capitol Hill influence/dictate American policymaking. No matter who's 'voted in,' it's the influence machine that rules Washington. Worse, there's a good chance that the Supreme Court will grant corporations (as 'fictive persons') to spend unlimited dollars in funding electoral campaigns. Is there hope that this country will be a democracy one day? Or is it doomed to become increasingly, irrevocably plutocratic?

As of mid-August 2009, there were six (6) lobbyists per single (1) member of House and Senate (Bloomberg News). That's 6:1, folks. Just for healthcare reform. For financial industry reform, there are 2,400 lobbyists in play. The Chamber of Commerce spent $26.2 million--in the first 2 quarters (6 months) of 2009.

The HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has announced plans for spending its $300 million share of the $1.1 billion Congress appropriated for comparative effectiveness research (CER) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA or Recovery Act for short). AHRQ plans to solicit grant applications this fall and award grants and contracts by spring 2010. The $300 million must be encumbered by end of FFY 2010.

While More Americans Need Access to Essential Healthcare, Fewer Primary Care Clinicians Are Available to Treat Them. UVA Professor Says Increased Funding for Title VII Programs May Help\nAlleviate National Shortage of Primary Care Doctors and Dentists