A group of Temple University doctors is notifying patients that it has reached an impasse in contract negotiations with Keystone Mercy Health Plan. The contract with Temple University Physicians expires Aug. 31, and "based on the expiration of these contracts, TUP can no longer provide primary care, specialty care or hospital outpatient testing at Temple University Health System facilities for patients covered by Keystone Mercy," the university said in a release. Temple University Physicians consists of faculty members from Temple's School of Medicine, and they provide most of the care at Temple University Health System hospitals.
Massachusetts has temporarily suspended the medical license of a plastic surgeon who allegedly performed two operations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center while impaired and appeared to fall asleep during a patient's liposuction. The hospital fired Loren J. Borud, MD, after he was allowed to practice for six years while struggling with substance abuse problems. Borud had previously entered a monitoring agreement with Physician Health Services, a rehabilitation program run by the Massachusetts Medical Society. Kenneth Sands, MD, senior vice president of healthcare quality at Beth Israel, said Physician Health Services has a good reputation for helping doctors recover from addiction and closely monitors them after they return to work to make sure they do not drink or take drugs.
An investigative committee established by the joint boards of the Shriners of North America fraternal organization and the Shriners Hospitals for Children brings to light problems with the national organization, which runs a network of 22 hospitals that provide free orthopedic and burn care to needy children. The report found that the chairman of the Shriners Hospitals Board of Trustees Ralph Semb sought to dismiss a fund-raising executive who had refused to hire a direct-mail company Semb and another board member tried to steer him to. Semb was re-elected chairman of the board of the hospitals in June at the annual Shrine convention in St. Louis.
U.K. Doctors will face annual assessments so that licences can be removed from poor performers under proposals from England Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson. GPs, hospital consultants, and private practitioners will also have to renew their licences every five years under the plans. Senior doctors will be asked to assess others who are practicing in their area to ensure they are not putting patients at risk, and patients will also be asked for their feedback during the assessment process. Donaldon’s report, Medical Revalidation: Principle and Next Steps, will also suggest steps to ensure that doctors keep up to date with medical advances.
While trolling the Facebook pages of the school's medical students,
University of Florida researchers found shots of future doctors grabbing their breasts and crotches or posing with a dead animal. They also found many photos of students drinking heavily.
The study also found that almost half of medical students had Facebook pages, but only 37% of those students limited viewership to friends.
This New York Times op-ed offers an analysis of the flaws in our current fee-for-service reimbursement system by contrasting the profitability of a CT scan to a standard patient visit. "The best way for a doctor to make money in his practice is not to spend time with patients but to use equipment as much as possible," says Peter B. Bach, MD, a doctor at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. "That means moving the maximum number of patients through the practice, and spending the minimum amount of time with each one."