Medpundit

	medpundit

	Commentary on medical news by a practicing physician.

Epocrates MedSearch Drug Lookup

"When many cures are offered for a disease, it means the disease is not curable" -Anton Chekhov

''Once you tell people there's a cure for something, the more likely they are to pressure doctors to prescribe it.''
-Robert Ehrlich, drug advertising executive.

"Opinions are like sphincters, everyone has one." - Chris Rangel

email: medpundit-at-ameritech.net
or if that doesn't work try:
medpundit-at-en.com

Medpundit RSS

Quirky Museums and Fun Stuff

Who is medpundit?

Tech Central Station Columns

Book Reviews: Read the Review
Read the Review
Read the Review
More Reviews

Second Hand Book Reviews
Review

Medical Blogs
rangelMD

DB's Medical Rants

Family Medicine Notes

Grunt Doc

richard[WINTERS]

code:theWebSocket

Psychscape

Code Blog: Tales of a Nurse

Feet First

Tales of Hoffman

The Eyes Have It

medmusings

SOAP Notes

Obels

Cut-to -Cure

Black Triangle

CodeBlueBlog

Medlogs

Kevin, M.D

The Lingual Nerve

Galen's Log

EchoJournal

Shrinkette

Doctor Mental

Blogborygmi

JournalClub

Finestkind Clinic and Fish Market

The Examining Room of Dr. Charles

Chronicles of a Medical Mad House

.PARALLEL UNIVERSES.

SoundPractice

Medgadget
Health Facts and Fears

Health Policy Blogs
The Health Care Blog

HealthLawProf Blog

Facts & Fears

Personal Favorites
The Glittering Eye

Day by Day

BioEdge

The Business Word Inc.

Point of Law

In the Pipeline

Cronaca

Tim Blair

Jane Galt

The Truth Laid Bear

Jim Miller

No Watermelons Allowed

Winds of Change

Science Blog

A Chequer-Board of Night and Days

Arts & Letters Daily

Tech Central Station

Blogcritics

Overlawyered.com

Quackwatch

Junkscience

The Skeptic's Dictionary

Recommended Reading
The Doctor Stories by William Carlos Williams

Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82 by Elizabeth Fenn

Intoxicated by My Illness by Anatole Broyard

Raising the Dead by Richard Selzer

Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

The Sea and Poison by Shusaku Endo

A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

MEDICAL LINKS
familydoctor.org

American Academy of Pediatrics

General Health Info

Travel Advice from the CDC

NIH Medical Library Info

Sunday, December 14, 2003

Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Friday afternoon I heard news that put me in an extreme funk all weekend long. First, my Medicare payments were being held at the Medicare payer for our state because the postman sent one back saying it was "undeliverable." I had to fill out a multiple page form to certify that I am where I say I am, and mail it in (no fax, no phone call would suffice.) If I wrote a letter of hardship, maybe, just maybe, they would expedite things. They say I can expect a six week delay.

Then, a colleague of mine announced he was closing his practice because his malpractice insurer is pulling out of the market. So far, he's been unable to find a replacement. The news took him by surprise, and he can't practice without insurance. This is the closest to home the malpractice crisis has ever hit. It had the same effect that hearing about the sudden, unexpected death of an aquaintance has. You think, "If it could happen to him, it could happen to me."

Then, today, I heard this news, and the funk lifted. The problems in my little corner of the world paled with the thought that things just might get better in other corners of the world where everyday problems are so much greater.

posted by Sydney on 12/14/2003 08:48:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, December 14, 2003

0 Comments: