March 24th 2023
Study examines effects of law that makes records available to patients.
February 27th 2023
Did surgeon inexperience result in iatrogenic injury?
January 7th 2015On July 29, 2010, a 46-year-old obese primarily Spanish-speaking patient was admitted to a hospital by her private ob/gyn Dr. A for a total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) and/or laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) that day.
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Legally Speaking: CP diagnosed after preterm delivery in Spain
December 10th 2014A California woman with a history of 2 premature deliveries and a single miscarriage became pregnant in 2004. A few days after the pregnancy was confirmed, she was seen by a physician at a military base in connection with an application to accompany her husband overseas. The application was approved and the patient went to Spain, where she delivered at 31 weeks’ gestation in 2005.
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Medicaid reimbursement impacts Pap, mammography screening
September 4th 2014An analysis of data from 46 states and the District of Columbia shows that the level of Medicaid reimbursement for office visits has an impact on likelihood of patient screening with Pap tests and other diagnostics for cancer.
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Editorial | Graduate medical education at the crossroads
September 1st 2014If you are like me, you had no idea who provided the money to pay your salary as a resident. I just assumed it was my hospital. But the federal government spends more than $15 billion per year on residency and fellowship training, and many are asking why physicians deserve this special largesse denied other professionals.
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What ob/gyns need to know about health policy in 2014
March 1st 2014Although the passage and politics surrounding implementation of the ACA have been tumultuous, it seems certain for now that the law will stand at least until 2016 if not permanently and our practices will have to change, in some ways for the better.
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The costs to medical practices for implementing the International Classification of Diseases-10th Revision (ICD-10) coding system have been grossly underestimated, according to a recent study by Nachimson Advisors for the American Medical Association (AMA). The association is calling for a delay in the October 1, 2014, ICD-10 go-live date in order to give practices more time to prepare for the financial and administrative requirements.
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Top 4 ways to avoid malpractice suits
September 25th 2013For many physicians, no matter their specialty, the one thing that keeps them up at night is fear of medical malpractice lawsuits. Elisabeth Madden, partner at Lynch Gilardi and Grummer law firm in San Francisco, is an attorney with more than 20 years’ experience defending healthcare providers. In this article, based on a session at a recent conference for dermatologic surgeons, Ms. Madden explains some of the top ways surgeons can avoid medical malpractice lawsuits.
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Medicaid pays for nearly half of all US births
September 5th 2013In 2010, Medicaid financed 48% of all births in the United States, an increase of 19% in the proportion of all births covered by Medicaid in 2008. This finding, from a study published in the Sept. 2013 issue of the journal Women's Health Issues, adds to previous research showing that the numbers of women dependent on Medicaid for health care are growing.
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Free contraception leads to better pregnancy timing
August 1st 2013Properly timing subsequent pregnancies is important for both mothers and babies. It’s often accomplished with postpartum contraception, which may be out of reach for low-income women. A recent study in Obstetrics & Gynecology looked at how prescription of postpartum contraception through publicly funded programs affects the interval between pregnancies.
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Senators push for publicly accessible Medicare claims data
June 27th 2013Medicare claims data would be transparent to the public via a free, searchable database if a bill introduced June 18 becomes law. The Medicare Data Access for Transparency and Accountability Act (Medicare DATA Act) is a bipartisan effort, led by US Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore).
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IOM rails on healthcare system
September 14th 2012The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has once again issued a lengthy report indicting the US healthcare system as falling abysmally short, using just about any means of measure. The report says that based on 2009 figures, the United States is wasting approximately $750 billion per year on the care of its people.
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