A majority of American doctors support the concept of national health insurance, according to a survey by researchers at Indiana University's Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research. The survey findings represent a shift in thinking over the past five years. The survey found that 59 percent of physicians support "government legislation to establish national health insurance." A similar survey conducted in 2002 found that 49 percent of physicians supported the concept.
The Slidell (LA) Memorial Hospital board of commissioners have approved a three-year contract with TeamHealth to provide emergency room doctors beginning June 1, 2008. Citing increased wait times and general patient dissatisfaction, the hospital sought to part ways with Emergency Medical Physicians and Services, its former emergency room service provider. During a meeting on the matter, all of the hospital's doctors who spoke said the emergency room doctors had expressed concerns about working for TeamHealth, in part because it is a large, national company and in part because the current emergency room director likely would not stay on under TeamHealth's management.
While an increasing number of doctors perform surgery in their offices instead of hospitals, researchers have found a higher risk of death and complications in offices compared with other facilities. However, many health leaders, doctors, insurers and patients support office surgery, because the setting is convenient and more private. It also allows physicians to control the schedule and use their own staff. There's less risk of infections spread by sick hospital patients as well. In addition, patients may save hundreds or thousands compared with outpatient surgical centers and hospitals.
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons has ended efforts to oust three doctors from the state's Board of Medical Examiners because of their ties to the owner of a Las Vegas clinic where flawed procedures set off a regional health scare. Gibbons now plans to appoint three temporary board members able to step in as the panel deals with matters involving the clinic linked to a hepatitis C outbreak.
Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, CA, has emerged as the leading candidate to take on the challenge of reopening Martin Luther King-Harbor hospital in Los Angeles. Pacific Hospital, which offers only basic emergency services and relatively few specialized programs, is in negotiations with the county to provide in- patient services for residents of South Los Angeles and surrounding communities.
Trauma hospitals across the country are closing or at least eliminating expensive services. Georgia's dearth of such hospitals is now dramatically impacting patient safety. In Georgia alone, the state death rate for trauma victims is 20 percent higher than the national average. If Georgia met the average, 700 lives would be saved yearly, according to data.