Ramblings of an Emergency Physician in Texas
Kevin, MD hits one out of the park:
Doctors’ pay cuts save little in health costs – Opinion – USATODAY.com
By Kevin Pho
“Why should I care if doctors get a pay cut?” my patient recently asked me.
Therein lies the delicate dilemma physicians face today. While the common perception is that the medical profession is well-compensated, there are serious implications in targeting physician pay to control medical spending.
To say I concur would be too mild.
Personal Political Power For Physicians and Medical Group Managers
Interesting new blog from a (?former?) medical lobbyist.
TMB to Require Physicians’ FingerprintsThe Texas Medical Board (TMB) will resume using fingerprints of physicians for criminal background checks as part of the licensing process on Sept. 1. The fingerprinting will begin with the 4,000 physicians now applying for licenses in the state. After that, existing physicians will have to be fingerprinted when they apply to renew their licenses.
Joke’s on us: Texas Licenses renew yearly, so this esentially means this year.
…The price of fingerprinting is expected to be $48.95 through Oct. 1. After Oct. 1, the price is expected to drop to $44.20.The medical board previously required fingerprinting but eliminated the ink-based system in the late 1990s due to technical problems that delayed the licensure process. Electronic fingerprinting systems are more thorough and accurate and give the TMB instantaneous results, Dr. Patrick says. The DPS runs a national background check against FBI records to alert the medical board to any felonies or misdemeanors.
TMB has been using applicants’ names for background checks and running them against Texas criminal records. But that system doesn’t alert the medical board to past convictions in other states, he says.
“I suspect everyone would consider fingerprinting an imposition, but it’s something we’ve done before, and we now have the capability of doing it again in a less invasive way,” Dr. Patrick said. “If nurses are required to do it, then certainly doctors should be.”
It’s not the money, I have $44. It’s just that a) I had to submit fingerprints to the TMB when I originally applied for licensure in 1993, and b) I have another Texas State issued license that requires fingerprints. Is there some reason, other than the convenience of the TMB I should be re-fingerprinted?
Doctors are sought to appear in a documentary about docs. This arrived by email, and I have her consent to reproduce it here:
I am co-producing a documentary with a colleague of mine, Dr. Ryan Flesher, board certified in emergency medicine. I am a licensed Social Worker from the healthcare industry who never fully understood, until recently, the impact and impossible demands made upon our doctors.
I now straddle two worlds: a view from the patient’s side and a view from the doctor’s side. It has been both an enlightening and disheartening experience. After all that I have learned from my research for this film – clearly, it is time that we elicit compassion for our physicians.
The physicians’ view is rarely talked about. If I had not researched, interviewed or discovered what doctors are experiencing, I would never have known. The film’s producer, Dr. Flesher is discouraged by the business and politice, not the art, of medicine for a myriad of reasons, all of which we will be highlighting in our documentary. He could quietly walk away from medicine, leave it all behind. But he is not doing that. Instead, he is doing something purposeful with his experience by creating a film that will give voice to physicians on what needs to be said. This film is a first of its kind.
