Kaiser Health News reporter Jay Hancock wrote a personal account of his battle to get a good night’s sleep. It all began with a desire for answers: I had been feeling drowsy during the day, and my wife told me I snored. Both can mean obstructive sleep apnea. With obstructive sleep apnea, the mouth and…
Category: Doctors & Hospitals
Right to Treat: Big Brother wants to Control Care and Treatment Information
Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed legislation to allow the California state medical board to discipline doctors who its believes are spreading coronavirus misinformation during direct patient care. Penalties include the possibility of losing or suspending physicians’ medical licenses.
The bill, AB2098, states that any licensed physician or surgeon is committing “unprofessional conduct” if they disseminate “misinformation or disinformation” about the nature and risks of the virus, the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, and the development, safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.
Do You Want Your Test Results Before Your Doctor?
The Cures Act signed into law in 2016 by then President Obama included many provisions. One was medical test results must be available for patients to review without delay. While doctors and patients universally think this is a desirable outcome, The New York Times found reasons to criticize it.
Its intention was to bring health care into the modern era. And the provision has successfully given patients easy access to their medical records, empowering them to play a more active role in their care by eliminating the doctor as gatekeeper.
But it has also led to experiences like mine, in which patients are confronted with material they never wanted to see. Some have learned about life-altering diagnoses and developments — from cancer to chronic illness to miscarriage — through emails and online portals, left to process the information alone.
Texas Hospitals Thrive While Saddling Patients with High Medical Bills and Debt
Kaiser Health News and the Urban Institute looked at areas with high medical debt and compared them to hospitals’ profit margins. It profiled the North Texas region surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth.
Of the nation’s 20 most populous counties, none has a higher concentration of medical debt than Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth. Second is Dallas County, credit bureau data shows.
Does a lot of medical debt indicate that a Urban Institute are struggling to pay their medical bills and the local hospitals are struggling as a result? That was not the case according to the analysis.