In-store medical clinics like those at Walmart – having established a beachhead with relatively healthy patients looking for convenient, low-cost care for simple problems – are eyeing a bigger prize, the millions of Americans with costly illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
More and more patients looking for a doctor are going to physician-rating websites. But experts say that these sites are still not as useful as they could be and, in some cases, are misleading potential patients with incorrect or out-of-date information.
One Saturday evening when Phil Dyer was puttering around the garden of his home in Issaquah, he felt his heart begin to race, and his throat constricted so much that he could barely breathe. His wife drove him to the emergency department, a freestanding facility two miles away that’s operated by Swedish Medical Center.
Patients aren’t crowding into emergency rooms because they can’t get insurance, say ER physicians, but because they can’t find doctors.
Ongoing disclosures reveal drug manufacturers have paid out $390 million to doctors since 2009.
Doctors who accept speaking fees and other compensation from pharmaceutical or medical device companies will soon see their names and the value of the gifts on the Web.
To learn more: Visit the White House Healthcare Issue page. Visit the American Medical Association’s Web site.
President Barack Obama’s Remarks at the American Medical Association Annual Meeting in Chicago As Released By The White House, June 15, 2009 From the moment I took office as President, the central challenge we have confronted as a nation has been the need to lift ourselves out of the worst recession since World War II. [...]
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
Enter your email address below to receive updates each time we publish new content.
Seattle Times Health News
Experts divided over recommendation to screen children for cholesterol
Some clinicians say universal screening is an important tool to help identify children who are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and to pinpoint others who could benefit from treatment. Others express concerns that screening may do more harm than good.
People in state high-risk insurance plans often feel left behind
The federal health law set up new plans that are cheaper and more comprehensive than the older ones run by states but consumers need to go without insurance for six months to qualify.
Peeking in on your doctor’s notes
Although federal law guarantees patients the right to examine and get copies of their medical records, providers haven’t always made it easy to do so. But the movement to give patients direct access to their health information has picked up steam, and policymakers have encouraged it as a way to empower patients to help manage their health and their medical care.
Add to Google
Recent Comments