Media Share 9/MEDIASHARE_09.ISO/mag&info/amn9303.zip/AMN30308.MN

Text File | 1993-03-08 | 15KB | 285 lines

ABLEnews MedNotes

                        AMERICAN MEDICAL NEWS (3/8/93)

Medicare Savings Will Bring Smaller Doctor Raises (1)
  President Clinton wants to wring more than $82 billion in savings from
  Medicare over the next 5 years. 31% would come from hospital inpatient
  care, 16% from beneficiaries, and 13% from physicians. Despite earlier
  assurances that Medicare savings would be reserved for health reform,
  Clinton included the program in his deficit reduction package and ordered
  advisors to boost the Medicare contribution. CURE Comment: I've often
  spoken of Democratic and Republican euthanasia. The Democrats will kill
  you in the name of compassion, while the Republicans will kill you to
  balance the budget, said I. Of course, you're just as dead in either
  case, I'd conclude. I now see that balancing the budget on the backs of
  the sick is a bipartisan affair.

Tear Opening Up in Surgery (1)
  In mid-February, 13 of the 20,000 board-certified US general surgeons
  began mailing out $100 membership applications for the newly formed
  American Society of General Surgeons. Others propose a confederation of
  state and regional general surgery societies, working closely with the
  American College of Surgeons, which is stepping up its efforts to better
  represent the 42% of its members who are general surgeons.

Breast Study Woes Preview Reform Barriers (1)
  Is high-dose chemotherapy combined with an autologous bone marrow
  transplant a better breast cancer treatment than conventional
  chemotherapy? Health insurers resist covering what they call an
  "experimental" therapy for the disease that strikes 180,000 American
  women and kills 46,000 each year. But troubles plaguing pioneering
  research collabo- ration on the litigation-plagued question bodes ill for
  health system reform, since all reform plans rely heavily on outcomes
  research efforts to control medical costs.

Supporting Roe or Going too Far? (2)
  Opponents of the Freedom of Choice Act call it the Freedom to Kill bill.
  "This legislation would virtually guarantee abortion on demand," Michigan
  Rep. David Bonior, the House Democratic whip, charges. The bill's prime
  sponsor, Rep. Don Edwards (D-CA) disagrees, claiming the "Act has been
  carefully drawn to codify Roe v. Wade." But even with a "pro-abortion-
  rights" majority in both branches of Congress, FOCA's passage is not
  ensured since even many "pro-choice" members of Congress support abortion
  only in a limited number of circumstances and support restrictions the
  bill would not allow. The National Organization of Women actively opposes
  the Act as too lenient.

Dr. Kevorkian's License Targeted (2)
  California moves to suspend Jack Kevorkian's medical license after he
  abets two state residents in killing themselves. A state Medical Board
  official says the retired Michigan pathologist, whose home-state license
  was suspended in 1991, "is unfit to hold a license to practice medicine
  in this state."

Avoidable Ills Cost Plenty (2)
  Avoidable ills such as smoking, substance abuse, and violence boost
  America's health care tab by more then $42.9 billion a year, according to
  the American Medical Association.

High Court Rejects Claim (2)
  of "wrongful birth" by Georgia parents claiming a physician's malpractice
  deprived them of a right to an abortion to prevent the birth of their
  daughter, who is retarded and physically impaired. CURE Comment: Unlike
  some "pro-life" groups, CURE opposes such prenatal euthanasia.

APHA (American Public Health Association) Pulls Convention (2)
  estimated to generate $6-7 million in tourism from Colorado to protest
  Amendment 2, an "anti-gay-rights" law, passed by citizen referendum.

Abortion Restriction Withheld (2)
  Federal Judge Rodney Webb finds a North Dakota law requiring a 24-hour
  waiting period prior to an abortion constitutional. Lawyers for the
  state's only abortion clinic will appeal.

Challenging Hospitals' Exclusive Contracts (3)
  The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department are increasingly
  active in challenging anti-competitive practices in health care--
  boycotts, price-fixing, market allocation schemes, sham IPAs and PPOs,
  etc. Mark Horoshak, who directs FTC healthcare investigations, says they
  are looking into whether exclusive contracts between hospitals and
  hospital-based physicians are anti-competitive.

Is Cutting 'Uncertain' Care Key to Savings? (3)
  Studies suggest those who tout paring so-called "inappropriate" care as a
  painless way to cut healthcare costs are overstating their case. "Our
  data shows the ability to save the health care system by eliminating
  inappropriate care is very limited." --Robert Panzer, MD, American
  Medical Center Consortium. The Center's review of a variety of treat-
  ments and a New York state study of common coronary procedures found
  rates of care deemed "inappropriate" by expert reviewers were con-
  siderably lower than RAND think-tank estimates of a third of all
  services. For example, only 2.4% of coronary artery bypass grafts were
  deemed "inappropriate."

Funds Offered in First Step in Rebuilding Vaccine Plans (3)
  President Clinton's economic plan includes $300 million to nearly double
  the $342 million in federal funds now spent on immunizations.

Clinton Expected to Intensify Antitrust Enforcement (4)
  "When compared to the Reagan record of antitrust enforcement, I think you
  can expect President Clinton will be radically more vigorous. The change
  will be less radical when compared to the Bush years. " --Robert
  Pitofsky, former dean, Georgetown University Law School, a widely
  mentioned candidate to head the Justice Department's anti-trust division.

GAO Study Confirms It: Drug Prices Are Higher in U.S. (6)
  "The vast majority of the 121 drugs we studied were more expensive in the
  United States, and almost half cost over 50% more." --General Accounting
  Office (GAO) analyst, testifying before a House health subcommittee. One
  witness told how he traveled to Mexico to buy drugs to treat his wife's
  asthma. He bought a year's supply of drugs that cost him $300 a month at
  home for $700.

PPRC Chairman Leaves for Administration Health Post (6)
  Philip Lee, MD, takes leave of absence from Physician Payment Review
  Commission (PPRC) to join Hilary Clinton's health reform task force. Dr.
  Lee is expected to resign from the PPRC, however, to become assistant
  secretary for health at the Health and Human Services Department.

Hospital Converts Defense Technology to Save Lives (9)
  If Loma Linda University Medical Center has its way, defense contractors
  will soon be beating their swords into scalpels. "There's a wealth of
  technological expertise stored away in the defense industry.... Fighting
  disease in a patient is like a battlefield. How the whole system
  functions is similar to a military operation." --A. Douglas Will MD,
  co-director, the National Medical Technology Testbed.

Doctors Launch Sticker Campaign Against Smoking Ads (11)
  "WARNING: This magazine contains cigarette advertisements. Your physician
  does not support the use of any tobacco products or the advertising of
  such products," read the stickers on waiting-room magazines. Other
  physicians encourage guerilla tactics such as defacing cigarette ads with
  creative graffiti countering the ads' carefree images with references to
  emphysema, cancer, and heart disease.

Conquering the Contract Dragon (13)
  "Those who are successful make their own success. Greater efficiency in
  the health care system does not mean you'll make less money." --Judith
  McGee, financial planners. Seemingly innocuous terms in managed care
  contracts may pack a powerful punch for physicians. CURE Comment: And
  for patients!

Electronic Filing May Make Sense for Large Tax Refunds (15)
  Doctor's Business Calendar.

Bone Marrow Transplant Insurance Coverage Ordered (15)
  County Judge John Lindstrom orders Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
  Minnesota to pay $150,000 to $200,000 for a bone marrow transplant for
  breast cancer patient Laura Welle, a 43-year-old art teacher. CURE
  Comment: Did we mention the teacher also happens to be the wife of
  Minnesota House Majority Leader Alan Welle?

How Can I Bill for a Visit on the Same Day as a Procedure? (17)
  RBRVS Answers.

Doctors Fight Michigan Insurance Bill (17)
  A bill limiting payments for treatments for auto crash injuries is
  denounced by physicians and patient advocates. "That's a horribly
  regressive limit for medical care," testifies Don Anderson, who is
  quadriplegic. Anderson adds many crash survivors wouldn't have enough
  insurance to pay for rehabilitation or to afford to live independently.
  CURE Comment: As a patient advocate and crash survivor, thanks be to
  God, I agree with Don. Thanks for speaking out!

Doctor's Report Differs From Surgical Record (20)
  in case of Kentucky patient who went blind after the physician damaged
  a packed sigmoid sinus he had injured during surgery to remove diseased
  tissue from an inner ear. (Perkins v. Hausladen)

Heart Attack After Treadmill Test (20)
  $35,000 awarded to a patient who had a heart attack after a treadmill
  test and subsequently suffered a massive stroke is adequate a New York
  appellate court rules. (Melito v. Genesee Hospital)

Response and Relief on Resident Hours (editorial) (21)
  "Later this month, senior medical students will be given the names of the
  residency programs to which they have been matched. The programs they
  enter won't be easy, nor are they meant to be. But in at least one
  area--working hours--these residents will fare better than those who have
  gone before them."

Information Sheets Help with Language Problems (letter-editor) (21)
  "In the Pediatric Cardiac Clinic at San Francisco General, we see a
  stream of patients from such places as Vietnam, the Soviet Union, China,
  the Philippines and Central America." --Marvin Auerback, MD. San
  Francisco, CA.

UR Firm Favors Sharing Criteria (letter-editor) (21)
  "We frequently read of the refusal of utilization review companies to
  share their criteria with practicing physicians...Unspoken reasons...
  (include): Some review companies are embarrassed that their criteria are
  so primitive....Other review companies may be copying or adapting
  proprietary sets without permission...Third, even the best review
  criteria are problematic when applied by untrained reviewers." -- Charles
  Jacobs, CEO, InterQual, Inc., Marlborough, MA.

Against Stark Bill on Self-Referral (letter-editor) (22)
  "I am again 'thrilled' with the prospect of Rep. Stark's wonderful way of
  increasing the costs of medicine to the American public (AMN, Jan. 25). I
  wonder what he proposes doing in small communities where if physicians do
  not organize and equip laboratory and x-ray services, patients would have
  to travel 50 to 100 miles." --Morris Powell, MD, Bullhead City, AZ.

Professional Courtesy: An Act of Gratitude (op ed) (22)
  Since the earliest of times, those in our profession would care for their
  fellow physicians and families for no charge or, more recently, for what
  their insurance would pay. It has been called professional courtesy;
  taking care of our own, so to speak.--Robert M. Tenery, Jr., MD,
  president-elect, Texas Medical Association.

Building Better Doctors (23)
  "There is today a great deal of resistance in medical schools to freely
  admitting students with disabilities." --Theodore Cole, MD, president,
  American College of Rehabilitative Medicine. During the 1987-88 school
  year only 167 medical students or a quarter of one per cent (0.25%) of
  the total were reported to have a disability.

Kids Invent Game about Cancer (25)
  "When you're in the hospital you hear all this technical stuff all the
  time. You're sometimes scared and don't know what is going on." --Tim
  Snyder, 16, one of seven cancer patients who invented "Road to Remis-
  sion," using construction paper, glitter, felt markers, and pill bottles
  as markers. For information, call Children's Hospital (261-379- 8760).

Internist Explains Why He Turned His Back on 'Success' (26)
  "At the end of the day, I'm beat, emotionally drained. But I've enjoyed
  myself and I know I've affected the lives of my patients. I'm the
  happiest I've been since medical school." --Drew Hause, MD, 40, medical
  director, Richard Cabot Clinic, which has served the medically needy of
  Kansas City's west side since 1906.

Dancing Boy's Troubles Remind Doctor of Her Advantages (26)
  "Rudy had played, worked and fought hard in the streets, and he wasn't
  about to give up a day's earning because of a knife's reflection in his
  eyes." --Adria Burrows, MD.

Order a Hamburger and Fries, But Hold the Cigarettes (27)
  "I have a problem dealing with Happy Meals on one hand, and yet knowing
  the children are coming in a place that go endanger their health."
  --Mark Levine, owner of two McDonald's in Hagerstown, MD, that are among
  40 nationwide that have banned smoking. And other Tobacco Updates.

Diet Therapy Is No Cure for Chronic Fatigue (29)
  "A variety of supplements and avoidance and elimination diets have been
  promoted for the relief of CFS symptoms. Claims that these therapies are
  effective are anecdotal and have not been substantiated by sound
  research." --Diane Morris, PhD, and Frederick Stare, MD, PhD, Harvard
  School of Public Health.

Women with Kids Less Likely to Kill Themselves (33)
  A study in the Archives of General Psychiatry reports that single,
  childless women have a higher suicide risk than married women and that
  the risk among married women declines with the number of children.

Critics Call Federal Probe $25 Million Waste of Time (34)
  The subjects of a three-year criminal antitrust probe of doctors and
  hospitals in Utah claim the inquiry has done little more than line the
  pockets of lawyers.

Big Gaps Seen in Treatment of Cholesterol (34)
  A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that more
  than two out of three persons who need treatment for high blood
  cholesterol are not receiving it.

[The above listing, prepared for ABLEnews by CURE, includes all major
articles in the cited issue and a representative selection of the rest.]

...For further information, contact CURE, 812 Stephen Street, Berkeley
Springs, West Virginia 25411 (304-258-LIFE/258-5433).