After waiting hours to see the doctor for a 2-minute visit, some patients have resorted to giving a bill to their physician.

It sounds extreme, but economist Alan Krueger writes that the cost of patient waiting, estimated to be $240 billion in 2007, is neglected when considering the cost of health care.

I’ll be the first to admit that many doctors do not appropriately value patient time, and, under normal circumstances, there (more…)

In a time of change, this is the time to boost the numbers of minority physicians. According to a 2004 survey from the American Association of Medical Colleges, only 3.5% of U.S. physicians are black, while blacks make up 12.3% of the U.S. population. There is also a similar gap among Hispanic doctors and the Hispanic population in the United States. In 1975, the proportion of medical school (more…)

Which events of 2008 most affected and will continue to affect practicing physicians?

Here are my top 3.

First, is Medicare’s institution of “never” events, where payment is denied for certain medical errors. In addition to uncontroversial events like operating on the wrong patient, Medicare has also included conditions where total prevention is impossible, including patient falls and hospital acquired infections. By doing (more…)