A California doctor accuses Sutter Health of ...engaging in unlawful and unfair business practices, including wrongfully terminating and punishing doctors who disagree with, and refuse to follow, various policies and practices of the giant health care system. Those policies and practices, as detailed in the lawsuit, include reducing "Leakage" (the referral of ... Continue Reading about Sutter Health and the Changing Face of the Working Doctor
Tell Me What You Understand: My First Question for Hospitalized Patients
This is my first question for hospitalized patients: Tell me what you understand. Let me explain. I’m a pediatric specialist. I help hospitalists and pediatricians care for children. Actually, I’m typically one of several providers helping families care for a medically complex children in the hospital. And for better or worse communication can sometimes be ... Continue Reading about Tell Me What You Understand: My First Question for Hospitalized Patients
String as the Technology That Connects
This tweet from a pediatric play therapist found its way into my feed. And it stopped me in my tracks. Children isolated during XRT therapy remain connected to their parents by a spool of string. Child holds one end and the parent holds the other. Magic string. Beyond appealing to the concrete developmental place where kids are at it serves to remind us that the ... Continue Reading about String as the Technology That Connects
The Waiting Room
In clinic I do my best to run on time. I bend every which way to see on time patients on time. It drives my staff crazy. Consequently, I prefer that my patients arrive in a reception area rather than a waiting room. The space is the same but the intent is different. Language is powerful in healthcare. If you like this post you might like the 33 charts ... Continue Reading about The Waiting Room
Who Owns a Physician’s Smartphone?
In 1994 when I was a first year gastroenterology fellow cell phones were expensive and scarce. When I was on call I stayed close to the house and my personal land line phone. If I was paged out at dinner I used a pay phone or begged the hostess to borrow the house phone. So we petitioned our division chief to buy a cell phone for fellow use during weekend call. It ... Continue Reading about Who Owns a Physician’s Smartphone?
Provider is as Provider Does
Some doctors don't like being referred to as a provider. I’m not crazy about it myself but I can’t help but think that the doctors spawned the term. Take anesthesiologists, for example. Some got in the game of outnumbering themselves with nurse anesthetists. Neonatologists learned that nurse practitioners could do their bread and butter. And it’s all fun and ... Continue Reading about Provider is as Provider Does