Author: Gene

(Snippets from the frontline) An effective doctor office visit for physicians Healthcare has changed in the past decade, making the doctor office visit integral in sustaining patient medical care. Here … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Aging and losing one’s drivers license The restaurant was crowded, so we sat next to a couple while waiting. He noticed I was watching him tinker … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Medicare-for-all Medicare Part D is a government prescription plan enacted to help seniors pay for medication, but was written by pharmaceutical lobbyists.  It is intentionally confusing … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Game plan:  Business takeover of healthcare Time:  30 years ago. Strategy:  Streamline care into business algorithms controlling medical decision-making; eliminate physician time to listen and ask … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) The 4-day rule If you are a Medicare patient and reach the 4th day of hospitalization, a plan is launched to jettison you out of the … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Doctors are detectives A patient was referred to the emergency room for a clot in his swollen left leg.  The ER doctor and I agreed the … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Jumping through hoops Healthcare costs continue to escalate, and hand-in-hand is the rising price of drugs. Pharmaceutical companies justify expense at Congressional hearings, while behind the … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Choosing a hospice agency You can’t kick the tires, look under the hood, nor take a hospice agency for a test drive. Online, you can crowd-source, … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) How is hospice care paid? Hospice under Medicare costs about $20 billion per year. The criteria to admit a patient is blurred, leading to financial abuse.  … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Aging and the palliative care white knight  Aging:  Moving slower, sleeping more, vision and hearing woes, weakened strength, imbalance, memory problems.   Consequences:   Less vacuuming, … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) The morality of targeting ICU Medicare patients Some hospitals target every Medicare patient admitted to the ICU pushing palliative and hospice care.  The diagnosis doesn’t matter … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) They prey on medical ignorance She arrived in the emergency room with nausea and vomiting. Labs were drawn, and a CT scan of the abdomen was … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Lured into palliative and hospice care The difference between palliative and hospice care is confusing.  (See graph below.) Palliative care patients selectively choose treatment to avoid … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Actively dying A few years ago, four of my patients died within 6 months.  All were in their 90s, widowed, lived in their home, and chose … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Hospice care?  Really?  I was asked to evaluate a patient for hospice care by an agency. Arriving at her home, she was sweeping the porch as … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Dying from hospice Compassionate care must be provided at end-of-life minimizing pain and suffering.  Inexperience, poor training, and greed by some hospice agencies though reveals an … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Hospice is a business Two decades ago was a scary time to fly as airplanes were crashing because some manufacturers and suppliers were using faulty nuts … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) “Your loved one is on life support” 40 years ago when I started in medicine, the term “life support” meant a patient was tenuously alive on … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Your doctor advocate is under attack When you are ill in the hospital, you must have someone who will be your advocate.  Until recently, your doctor … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Elmer and Edie He was born and raised in Tennessee, married his high school sweetheart, fought in WWII on a battleship, and returned with a Purple … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Lodging a hospital complaint If you don’t like food at a restaurant, you don’t go back.  If your car is still spewing smoke, you find another … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Under the influence Alcohol consumption has side effects as it permeates society at all levels.  Where does it start? Parents who drink alcohol might imprint similar … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Palliative and hospice care jargonese Hospice care is essential to assure minimal pain and suffering at end-of-life.  This awareness has evolved over the past two decades, … Continue Reading →

(Snippets from the frontline) Hospice care not reflected in healthcare statistics Some healthcare agencies and hospitals are shuffling elder seniors into hospice at a rapid rate because it is profitable.  … Continue Reading →