Posted on August 25, 2009 in General,Our Blog,Patient Care

A recent story in USA Today outlines the decline in the number of doctors practicing family medicine. Apparently medical students and doctors think specializing will bring more money and perhaps more prestige than entering primary care. The American Academy of Family Physicians reports that the percentage of medical school graduates selecting primary care has declined… read more

Posted on August 20, 2009 in Our Blog

I know we’ve covered preventable deaths quite a bit lately, but the issue just doesn’t go away, and in this climate where the health care debate seems to be the most common topic of conversation, don’t you find it timely? I urge you again to read the Dead by Mistake series by Hearst Newspapers, which… read more

Posted on August 17, 2009 in Our Blog,Patient Care,Patient Death

Another excellent story in the Seattle PI sheds some light on the state of our nation’s hospitals. The article is full of frightening statistics about medical errors and preventable deaths. I used to think hospitals must be among the safest places to be, but now I am not so sure. Before I scare you with… read more

Posted on August 14, 2009 in Our Blog,Patient Death

You hear a lot about patients who seek drugs from doctors, but you don’t hear as much about doctors overprescribing drugs (“as much,” I said. We’ve previously discussed the Payette Clinic and its alleged overprescription of narcotics). Perhaps this is because most of us trust that doctors only prescribe medications that we really need. Why,… read more