Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid announced that he will include a government-backed insurance plan in the chamber's healthcare reform legislation. Reid's decision was a reversal from two weeks ago, when he appeared inclined to set aside the idea in an attempt to avoid alienating party moderates. Doubts remain about whether he has the votes to guarantee passage, but he said he concluded that adding a public option was the best way of bringing the strongest possible bill to the Senate floor in November.
A new study suggests there are already fewer doctors practicing than had been estimated because of a lag in reporting retirements. The new study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, estimates that the United States has 788,000 active doctors—65,000 fewer than calculations have suggested. The doctor work force is also younger than previously estimated, with a greater proportion of doctors in their 20s and 30s and fewer who are 65 and older. By 2020, there will be 957,000 physicians, the new estimates show, rather than the 1.05 million previously projected.
Waves of flu patients have been arriving at their doors of hospitals across the country, doubling their emergency room volume. And while a relatively small number of flu patients are requiring intensive care, some are so ill they will need round-the-clock care for weeks. As a result, many hospitals are struggling to keep up with the growing number of swine flu patients, USA Today reports.
With fewer medical school students choosing the lower-paying fields of family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics, lawmakers and others say something has to be done to attract them. Helping students repay their loans could help fill a shortage of general physicians that one report estimates could reach 44,000 by 2025, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Amid growing concerns over the H1N1 virus, some hospitals in Illinois have begun revising their guidelines on visitors, in some cases prohibiting children. Edward Hospital in Naperville announced that people under 18 will be prohibited from visiting the hospital unless they have a medical issue. The hospital asked others, especially people with upper respiratory problems, to refrain from visiting patients if possible. Edward's decision came two days after President Barack Obama declared swine flu a national emergency and as concerns mount over a limited supply of vaccine. Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago also began restricting children or people with flulike symptoms from visiting patients, and restricted each patient to a maximum of two visitors.
Caris Diagnostics, the anatomic pathology and oncology testing services provider, has announced the appointment of Jerry Martino as senior vice president/CFO. Most recently, Martino, a CPA, was the executive vice president/COO for Par Pharmaceutical Companies. Before that, he was with Schering-Plough Corporation for 12 years, most recently as vice president, Global Materials Management and Global Supply Chain Operations.