Originally published on Medscape Blogs on June 8, 2022 Last week, after the multiple recent tragedies in our nation, I found myself turning to my laptop to write the feelings that were too big. But instead of my usual prose essay form, what came out was a poem. I also had been thinking a lot…
Comments closedAn oncologist colleague once said to me at a funeral, “People assume that as oncologists, we understand more about death than other people. But we really don’t.” He then faced a church filled with mourners and delivered a heartrending eulogy. I’ve thought of his words often since. Every time I counsel a patient and family…
Comments closedIs the duty of the physician to capture the patient stories, or capture a billing code? In July 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed revamping Medicare payments for office visits. CMS plans to collapse Medicare fees for levels 2 through 5 office visits into a single price beginning in 2019, as…
Comments closedHere is an example of “meaningful use” from the clinic, and how meaningless it is for actual practice: Mr. X. is a man in his 80s who was cured of his cancer, but at what cost. The therapies which eradicated the cancer left him with permanent frailties and the loss of his independence. A family…
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