Author: Gene

(Snippets from the frontline) An effective doctor office visit for patients Business interests have taken over healthcare, so most physicians are on a tight schedule.  For patients, time is not … Continue Reading →

(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 →