During 32 years as a physician, Daniel Federman has used his stethoscope to listen to patients’ hearts and lungs. But a recent study at the West Haven, Conn., veterans’ hospital where Dr. Federman works left him aghast. After seeing an image of the bacteria accumulated on his stethoscope, he admits, “I was appalled…The basic fact is that I don’t recall cleaning my stethoscope”—ever.
We know it can be hard to persuade physicians to do some things that have proven benefits, such as monitor blood pressure or keep patients on anticoagulants. But it might be even harder to get them to stop doing things. In May, a systematic review in JAMA Pediatrics looked at the medical literature related to overuse in pediatric care published in 2016.
Sometimes it starts with wavy vision. Objects appear distorted. Familiar faces go blurry. Sean Teare, a 48-year-old health care consultant from Duxbury, struggled to read menus in dimly lit restaurants. After a battery of tests, his optometrist told him he had age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, an eye disease that afflicts more than 9 million Americans and can cause serious vision loss. “It came as a complete shock,” said Teare.
When we think of our favorite doctors, nurses and overall hospital experiences, we oftentimes think of the nurse who held our hand during a difficult time or the physician who took extra time to answer questions. We think of the people who walked with us through our process and helped us meet our mental, physical or emotional goals. These are great examples of what can happen when patient-centered care is effectively implemented.
A federally-run South Dakota hospital will have another week to improve care conditions or risk losing key federal funding. The Rosebud Indian Health Service hospital was set to learn last week whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would pull its ability to bill to the federal health insurance programs.
Krishna Yeshwant is a doctor and health investor with GV, Alphabet's venture arm. We asked him about the "craziest thing he ever learned about health care." For him, it's how the medical system undervalues prevention and diagnostic tools, but pays out inordinate sums for treatments.