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Featured, Health Policy, Healthcare Reform, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: Save Money on Your Skyrocketing Medical Bills with Marshall Allen

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Marshall Allen – https://www.americaoutloud.news/how-to-save-money-on-your-skyrocketing-medical-bills/

According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), health spending represents 18.3 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP). Americans whether individually, through insurance, or through the government spent $4.3 trillion ($4,255.1 billion) or $12,914 per person in 2021. Out of pocket spending was 10.2 percent or $433.2 billion. Out of pocket expenses are coinsurance, deductibles, and services not covered by insurance but do not include insurance premiums. The average person in America pays $456 per month for marketplace health insurance.  According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), in 2021, the average cost of employee health insurance premiums for family coverage was $22,221. The average annual premium for a self-only plan was $7,739. Employers paid about 80 percent of those premiums, making the true cost less transparent to the employee.

A key problem with insurance is the total ignorance of the charges until after the service is performed.  The third party payer system encourages overspending and higher prices. According to one study, employees who used a price transparency tool paid between 10 percent and 17 percent less than employees who did not have access to the service. Worse, the health insurance system often-times does not come through when you really need it.

Surveys published by the American Hospital Association in July 2023 found that some 80 percent of patients, nurses and physicians say insurer policies and practices are reducing access to medical care, driving up health care costs and increasing clinician burden and burnout. Sometimes our legislators work against us. They have limited physician owned hospitals even though data show that both commercial negotiated prices and cash prices in physician-owned hospitals were about one-third lower than their competitors across eight common services and have higher quality care.

What are we to do? GoFundMe crowdfunding has now become a method for patients to pay their bills. By one study’s calculations 200,000 requests annually were related to medical causes. This is not a permanent solution.

My guest will discuss some tools for paying less in a system that is not looking out for you.

Key websites to visit:

https://www.marshallallen.com

Newsletter – https://marshallallen.substack.com

Allen Health Academy (videos) https://www.allenhealthacademy.com

Medical Care Prices – https://www.fairhealthconsumer.org; https://www.healthcarebluebook.com/explore-home/;
https://turquoise.health;
https://healthcostlabs.com.

Bio

Marshall Allen is a journalist who has spent more than fifteen years investigating the health care industry, exposing the insidious ways the system preys on vulnerable Americans: price gouging, sloppy billing, fraud, insurance denials, unnecessary treatment and more. He is also the founder of Allen Health Academy, which produces a curriculum of short on-demand videos to equip and empower employees to navigate the health care system. He is the author of “Never Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.” Mr. Allen’s work has been honored with several journalism awards, including the Harvard Kennedy School’s 2011 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and coming in as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. Before he was in journalism, Mr. Allen spent five years in full-time ministry, including three years in Nairobi, Kenya. He has a master’s degree in Theology.

Culture & Society, Featured, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: Unveiled: One Woman’s Story, Trapped by Fundamentalist Islam

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Yasmine Mohammed – https://www.americaoutloud.news/yasmine-mohammed-unveiled-one-womans-story-trapped-by-fundamentalist-islam/

Violence is becoming commonplace. We cannot let it become inured to it. We hear about weekend violence on the big cities, shrug it off and are thankful that it was not in our neighborhood. But there is a particular kind of violence that happens in every neighborhood: violence against women. Sadly, so many of abused women trusted their partners who professed their love and devotion. Some women escape their abuser with their lives and mental state intact. Others are not so fortunate.

Women have been duped by men for millennia. The same can be said for religion. Faith in a higher power is a good thing to remind us that we are but a tiny fraction of the universe and humankind. In my view, no legitimate religious or secular philosophical tenet commands that we should subject ourselves to abuse at the hands of another human being.

My guest tonight lived through abuse for years and I’m sure her story will touch us all.

Yasmine’s book: Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam

Yasmine’s websites: https://www.yasminemohammed.com; https://www.freeheartsfreeminds.com

Bio

Yasmine Mohammed advocates for the rights of women living within Muslim majority countries, as well as those who struggle under religious fundamentalism in general. She is the founder and President of Free Hearts Free Minds, a nonprofit charity that provides mental health support for members of the LGBT community and freethinkers living within Muslim majority countries where both so-called “crimes” can be punished by execution. She hosts the podcast Forgotten Feminists where she has conversations with inspirational women from restrictive religious backgrounds who have fought and who have overcome. Her book, Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam is a memoir of her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist Islamic household and her arranged marriage to a member of Al-Qaeda.

Culture & Society, Current Events, Featured, Health Policy, Healthcare Reform, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: Employer Based Health Insurance

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Matt Ohrt –https://www.americaoutloud.news/matt-ohrt-healthcare-policy-from-an-insurance-agent/

Medical care is expensive. Hospitals can cost anywhere from $1,305/day, to $4,181/day depending on the state where you live. The top reason that non-elderly adults do not have health insurance is that they cannot afford it. Worse, half of insured adults say they have trouble affording health costs. To save money on prescription drugs, 20 percent of folks either don’t fill the prescription, use over-the-counter medicines, skipped doses, or cut pills in half.

Two-thirds of Americans have private health insurance and the remainder have public health insurance. Nearly half of Americans receive health insurance through an employer. According to Aon, a business consultant, projects that the average healthcare costs for U.S. employers will increase 8.5% in 2024 to more than $15,000 per employee. Aon suggests that given the tight labor market, employers will absorb the increased cost rather than raise the employees’ contribution – that is already several thousands in premiums, deductibles, and copays. But we are asleep at the wheel. According to Forbes, employees spend 18 minutes selecting their benefits, and 42 percent wait until the last minute to enroll.

Entrepreneur Mark Cuban , the co-founder of the discount drug program, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co., “[CEOs] waste a sh-tload of money on less than quality care for their employees, and more often than not it’s their sickest and lowest paid employees that subsidize the rebates and deductibles.” Until we can move to a system where financing healthcare is not tied to the employer, employers have to take the lead in reducing costs.

Bio

Throughout his career, Matt Ohrt has served as an influential executive leader, working for companies such as Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Badger Mining (#1 Great Place to Work in America awards), and as the Vice President of HR for Merrill Steel in Schofield, WI. While at Merrill Steel in Wisconsin, he led the company on a healthcare transformation journey to implement a multitude of healthcare services at no cost to employees and their families, such as onsite clinics, a mobile clinic (converted ambulance), physical therapy, chiropractic, MRI, bundled orthopedic surgeries, and a world-class wellness program. He has received numerous awards for his healthcare innovations. In 2018 Matt founded the Healthcare Best Practice Group. He has written a book about his plan, Save Your Company, Don’t Feed the Beast – The Employer Healthcare Success Formula.

Relevant Websites:

Culture & Society, Current Events, Featured, Health Policy, Medicine, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: The Highs and Lows of Medical Cannabis with Dr. Dustin Sulak

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Dr. Dustin Sulak – https://www.americaoutloud.news/the-highs-and-lows-of-medical-cannabis/

Pot, Mary Jane, weed, grass, and reefer are among the many names for marijuana. Marijuana is one strain of cannabis, the plant species that includes hemp. Hemp contains low levels of the psychoactive compound delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and marijuana has high levels. Another active compound in cannabis is cannabidiol (CBD) and it is non-psychoactive. Any Baby Boomers who indulged can confirm that the amount of THC in marijuana has increased over the last 25 years. In the mid-1990s, the average THC content of confiscated weed was roughly 4 percent. By 2014, it was about 12 percent, with a few strains of pot containing THC levels as high as 37 percent.

Cannabis was a key crop of the early American colonists. Indeed, one of our first president, George Washington’s main crops was hemp. In fact, the Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut colonies were required to grow it. Hemp was used for fabric and rope. It wasn’t until the mid 1800s that cannabis was sold in doctors’ offices and pharmacies for medicinal purposes in the United States, mainly for stomach problems.

Cannabis had been used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years, with artifacts from China suggesting it was used for malaria, poor memory, gout, and rheumatism. Immigrants from Mexico during the Mexican Revolution in the early 1900 were primarily responsible for the start of recreational use in the U.S. Unfortunately, during the Depression and the Prohibition era, the focus shifted to outlawing cannabis as an evil brought here by Mexican immigrants. By 1931, 29 states had outlawed cannabis. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 made selling, possessing or transferring hemp products for anything but industrial use a crime. The first person to violate the Act was sentenced to 4 years of hard labor.

Although the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 repealed the Marijuana Tax Act, the law made marijuana a Schedule I drug, meaning it had no medical use and the potential for addiction. This is the category that includes heroin, ecstasy, and LSD! But things began to change when California’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996 legalized marijuana for medical use by chronically ill persons. Today medical marijuana is legal in all but 11 states, although it remains illegal under federal law.

Recreational marijuana has been gradually moving from the culprit in “Reefer Madness” to a mainstream indulgence. However, many fear complete legalization as cannabis – thanks to its narcotic Schedule I status – has not had the research it deserves. (Fortunately, the Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that the cannabis be downgraded to the class of drugs with more safety and lower potential for abuse.)

Many doctors are not familiar with the types of cannabis and the various uses. It can sometimes help patients when other more mainstream medications and treatments have failed.

My guest today is an integrative medicine physician and a highly regarded national expert in the use cannabis.

Dr. Sulak’s website: Healer.com; HealerCBD.com

Bio

Dustin Sulak, D.O. is a renowned integrative medicine physician based in Maine, whose practice balances the principles of osteopathy, mind-body medicine, spirituality in healthcare, and medical cannabis. Dr. Sulak educates medical providers and patients on its clinical use. Dr. Sulak excels in the treatment of patients with conditions that have not responded well to conventional treatment. Dr. Sulak received undergraduate degrees in nutrition science and biology from Indiana University, a doctorate of osteopathy from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed an internship at Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency.

Culture & Society, Current Events, Featured, Health Policy, Medicine, Politics, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: Opioid Addiction and Settlement Funds with Dr. Molly Rutherford

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Dr. Molly Rutherford – https://www.americaoutloud.news/its-2024-what-is-happening-with-opioid-addiction-and-the-settlement-funds/

In 2020, 54 million U.S. adults were living with chronic pain. Management of non-cancer pain went through a slow evolution starting in 1980 to include opioids. While opioids are indicated in many types of pain, they carry potential risk of addiction and overdose. The National Institute on Drugs Abuse data in 2019 revealed that 21 to 29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them; between 8 and 12 percent of people using an opioid for chronic pain develop an opioid use disorder.

In 1995, the pharmaceutical companies insisted that their new opioid pain relievers, particularly OxyContin, were safe and effective and not addictive. Not true. Worse yet, an April 13, 2022 congressional oversight committee report revealed that at least 22 McKinsey consultants were simultaneously working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on opioid safety and advising Purdue Pharma on how to influence the regulatory decisions of the U.S. FDA, as well as how to maximize sales. The bad behavior travelled down the food chain. For example, an email in the records of distributor AmerisourceBergen revealed during a state trial last year in West Virginia described their addicted consumers as “pillbillies” and referred to OxyContin as “hillbilly heroin.” Distributors also sent massive quantities of OxyContin to small rural communities clearly disproportionate to the population.

Now many of the major players in the prescription opioid debacle are paying the piper. Several physicians have been prosecuted – some unjustifiably – for overprescribing, others were a frank embarrassment to the profession by operating pill mills.

The national opioid settlement resolved thousands of civil lawsuits by state, local, and Native American governments. The lawsuits alleged that the sometimes sketchy business practices of many firms in the chain of commerce contributed to the opioid crisis. The national opioid settlements are the second-largest public health settlement of all time, following the $246 billion tobacco master settlement of the 1990s.

The largest pharmaceutical opioid distributors, (McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health) will pony up $21 billion and one manufacturer (Johnson & Johnson) will contribute $5 billion as well as cease manufacturing prescription opioids. Teva, Walgreens, and Walmart and several other smaller companies add to the financial mix.

The creator of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma (not to be confused with Perdue, the chicken supplier) entered into a separate settlement for $6 billion as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. While 60,000 vocal victims approved of, and were awaiting the funds, the federal government decided the terms immunizing Purdue’s owners, the Sacklers, from personal liability was not consistent bankruptcy law since the Sacklers did not declare personal bankruptcy. The case is currently in front of the Supreme Court and no ruling is expected until June 2024.

Who will control the funds? Currently several states have created councils that vary in their make-up but generally include health professionals, law enforcement, and victims of addiction. Importantly, where will the money go?

These councils are deciding on where to allocate the funds and are now the objects of multiple companies pitching their products. Most agree that the biggest portion should go to treatment by building treatment facilities and increasing access to medications for opioid use disorder, including for the uninsured, and providing naloxone to reverse overdoses. Some local governments want to use the funds to purchase law enforcement tools. Despite usefulness in curbing drug trafficking, as you can imagine, many groups are unhappy with this option. Additionally, many worry that as with the tobacco settlement, monies would go to unrelated projects.

My guest will share her expertise in addiction medicine and public policy.

*Dr. Rutherford’s website: Blue Grass Family Wellness: https://bluegrassfamilywellness.com

*To find how the settlement funds will be used in your area go to:

https://www.naccho.org/uploads/downloadable-resources/OpioidSettlementsPDFFinal.pdf

Bio

Molly Rutherford, MD, MPH is the founder, medical director, and physician at Bluegrass Family Wellness—a direct primary care clinic in Kentucky. She is board certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine, and employs a holistic approach to her patients’ physical health. She has more than a decade of experience treating opioid addiction.

Culture & Society, Featured, Health Policy, Law, Medical Ethics, Medicine, Politics, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: Defining Death with Dr. Heidi Klessig

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Dr. Heidi Klessig – https://www.americaoutloud.news/defining-death-with-heidi-klessig-md/

Historically, people advocated for at least 24 hours between the diagnosis of death and burial in case a mistake was made in the diagnosis. For years physicians searched for a sure sign of death. Some thought putrefaction of tissues was the only sure sign. Ultimately it seemed reasonable to define death as when all spontaneous vital functions ceased permanently. Then came organ transplantation and the whole concept of the moment of death has changed— irreversibly, like death itself.

The advances in medical science have made adherence to medical ethics more essential than ever. Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), mechanical ventilation and artificial nutrition were only the beginning. We now are experimenting with pig to human transplants and freshly obtained aborted fetal tissue is being used to create “humanized mice”. We can’t get carried away with the technology and forget the humanity. First and foremost, a patient has the right to self-determination and the physician’s duty is to respect the patient’s decisions and to do no harm to the patient. Incidents where patients were labelled DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) without their (or their family’s) consent are unacceptable.

Unfortunately, along with the innovations that can prolong life and sometimes cure, we have drifted into a utilitarian mindset when considering patient treatment alternatives. Often times, the suggested treatment—or non-treatment—pathway is at odds with the concept of the innate dignity of being a living human being. All involved persons must remember that we are far more than clumps of cells or a collection of body parts for future use.

Also disturbing is the popularity of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, euphemistically called “medical aid in dying” (MAID). In Canada, assisted suicide has been in effect since 2016. In 2022 medically assisted deaths constituted 4.1 per cent of all deaths in Canada. This was a 30 percent increase from 2021. The patient who partakes need not be terminally ill. According to a BBC news report, social problems like poverty, lack of housing, or extreme loneliness may contribute to the patient’s willingness to request MAID, and this “prompted fears it could be used as a solution for societal challenges.” As of March 17, 2024. Now persons suffering solely from a mental illness will be eligible for MAID.

As there is more and more discussion of scarce medical resources, we have to be vigilant that as physicians we maintain our commitment to respect human life. Marilyn believes death is a separation of body and spirit, but Dr. Singleton must deal with ethics, legal definitions and guidelines.

Today my guest will discuss the past, present, and future of the concept of “brain death.”

Dr. Klessig’s website: https://www.respectforhumanlife.com

Dr. Klessig’s latest book: https://www.respectforhumanlife.com/books

Bio

Dr. Heidi Klessig attended medical school at University of Wisconsin, where she also completed her residency in anesthesiology. She received the American Board of Anesthesiology’s certificate of added qualification in pain management. She was a founding partner of the Pain Clinic of Northwestern Wisconsin and was an instructor for the International Spinal Injection Society. She recently authored The Brain Death Fallacy. Dr. Klessig and Christopher W. Bogosh, RN-BC also maintain a website called Respect for Human Life that deals with issues surrounding organ transplantation

Culture & Society, Featured, Health Policy, Healthcare Reform, Medicare, Politics, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: Long Term Care Solutions

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Stephen Moses – https://www.americaoutloud.news/living-longer-is-great-but-we-need-reforms-to-reduce-dependency-long-term-care-solutions/

People are living longer and by 2030 about one in five Americans will be aged 65 years and older. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, about 8 million people 65 and older (20 percent) reported that they had dementia or difficulty with basic daily tasks like bathing and feeding themselves. Worse yet, about 3 million of them had no assistance at all. Family or friends were their only option. But these days, family members are scattered across the country and your friends may be in as poor physical health as you are.

Kaiser Family Foundation also found that 83 percent of adults surveyed said it would be impossible or very difficult to pay $60,000 a year for an assisted living facility. The inability to afford professional help can tear families apart. As parents age, their personality may change for the worse. A professional is trained to deal with the negative psychological and physical aspects of growing old. Families may find that the only way to get help is to put their parents in a nursing home. What will they do if the parents do not want to go? Sometimes the children find that the nursing home is not too pleasant but it is the only one in the area that takes public insurance (Medicaid).

The cost of long term care can be upwards of $100,00 per year. While there can be a huge financial toll and the loss of all your savings, the emotional toll is worse. Comments in a blog from folks who are caregiving for their loved-one can be heartbreaking: “Feeling like there is no honorable way out”; “crying out of pure exhaustion and grief”; “not being able to ‘fix’ what is wrong”; “having to be close by at all times and never getting a break.” “I lost my husband [recently] and I don’t think I could handle losing her. I am here at home with her 24/7 with, as you say, no end in sight.” There has to be a better way for the elder and their family.

Many people think that Medicare will pay for long term care of your choice indefinitely. Not true. Too many people end up on Medicaid with its limited options. Planning can make it so your future is what you want it to be.

My guest will discuss the reforms to reduce dependence on Medicaid and free up private financing to fix the LTC challenge.

Bio

Steve Moses is president of the Center for Long-Term Care Reform. The center promotes universal access to top quality long-term care by encouraging private financing as an alternative to Medicaid dependency for most Americans. Previously, Mr. Moses was president of the Center for Long-Term Care Financing (1998-2005), Director of Research for LTC, Inc. (1989-98), a senior analyst for the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1987-89), a Medicaid state representative for the Health Care Financing Administration (1978-87), an HHS departmental management intern (1975-78), and a Peace Corps volunteer in Venezuela (1968-1970). He is widely recognized as an experienced expert and innovator in the field of long term care. His recent monograph on the issue is Long-Term Care: The Problem and Long Term Care: The Solution.

Culture & Society, Current Events, Doctors, Featured, Health Policy, Medicine, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: Do We Really Need to Take So Many Pharmaceuticals?

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Richard Amerling, MD – https://www.americaoutloud.news/do-we-really-need-to-take-so-many-pharmaceuticals-richard-amerling-md/#

The second opinion is—or should be—a staple of medicine. Second opinions can help you make better decisions about your health. In one large national survey, one-fifth of patients who saw a doctor in the past year sought a second opinion. According to one study, a second opinion affected treatment plans for 37 percent of patients and changed diagnoses for almost 15 percent.

And why should you get as second opinion? Sometimes your insurer requires one, especially for surgery or expensive treatments. I doubt they are looking out for you. They are likely making sure they can save a few bucks. If you have an unclear diagnosis or want an expert on your condition, you should definitely talk to another physician. It may turn out that the recommendations are the same. If you are still uncomfortable, get a third opinion.

One very important reason for getting a second opinion is that your current treatment is not working, is risky, and/or you have major side effects. You may wonder if such drastic treatment is actually necessary. On the flip side, always get a second opinion if your doctor tells you that you have no options. And remember to ask if waiting is an option.

I have a few personal rules about treatment. The doctor is not always right. In a trusting relationship, your doctor will welcome your questions and offer that you get another opinion. He or she will not be insulted if you ask whether the treatment is really necessary. Never feel rushed unless a real emergency. It’s your body; the final choice is up to you.

One of the things I can thank Covid for is that it exposed the flaws in the “follow the science” mantra. It got many doctors asking, whose science? Does anybody really have the last word in how to treat patients? Remember statins, low fat diets and countless other differing and changing opinions in medicine?

Unfortunately, during Covid, many doctors were whipped into submission by fear and intimidation. But standing your ground works. Physicians filed lawsuits against California’s AB 2098 (Sec. 2270 of Business and Professions Code). This was the “misinformation” law that threatened physicians with the loss of their licenses if they disagreed with the official “scientific consensus” on Covid-19. Then magically, this Covid misinformation law was quietly repealed by a late amendment provision (sec. 19) to Senate Bill 815.

In today’s episode, my guest and I will talk about medical opinions, medical consensus, and your overall health.

Bio

Dr. Richard Amerling is a board-certified internist/nephrologist with over 35 years of clinical experience, mostly in New York City.  In 2016, he took a position at St. George’s University and taught there until July 2021, when he refused the Covid vaccine. Dr. Amerling is Past-President of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. 

Culture & Society, Featured, Health Policy, Medicine, Politics, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: Teeth, Drugs, and the Business of Medicine

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Joel Strom, DDS and Kenneth Schell, D.Pharm. – https://www.americaoutloud.news/the-down-and-dirty-business-of-medical-care-joel-strom-dds-and-kenneth-schell-d-pharm/

The world of medicine encompasses so many ins and outs that patients never see. As costs go up, patients need to be aware of the reasons, and hopefully do something to keep those costs down for themselves—even if the politicians won’t do it.

Almost everyone in U.S. (92 percent) has health insurance whether private or government-financed, yet half have trouble with costs and 41 percent report have medical debt. Thirty-five percent of adults have delayed dental care due to costs. Our teeth are more important than many think they are, but dental care is the most common service to go. Prescription medicines are another culprit. Twenty-five percent of adults either skipped a dose or cut pills in half to save money.

The down and dirty business of medical care is starting to make the news as much as the end result: high costs. Five insurance companies control half the market. Now there is a proposed merger between two of them: Cigna and Humana. Cigna has Express Scripts, the second largest pharmacy benefit manager. Humana has Humana Pharmacy Solutions, the fourth largest PBM. This would significant consolidate the PBM market. Humana is big in the Medicare Advantage market. Medicare Advantage is the HMO with fixed rates for medical care Medicare beneficiaries.

We also have private equity firms buying up medical practices and consolidating them into one large group. The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down because these purchases have led to higher prices. For example, prices charged by anesthesiology groups increased 26 percent after they were acquired by private equity firms. (The most commonly represented medical groups included anesthesiology (19.4%), multispecialty (19.4%), emergency medicine (12.1%), family practice (11.0%), and dermatology (9.9%) From 2015 to 2016, there was also an increase in the number of acquired cardiology, ophthalmology, radiology, and obstetrics/gynecology practices.)

Do buy-outs and mergers help or hurt patients? My guests deal with patients and health policy. We are going to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of what is under the surface of medical care.

Bio

Dr. Joel Strom has practiced general dentistry for more than 40 years and is a former President of the California State Dental Board. He has extensive leadership experience in all aspects of the dental profession including education, regulation, professional leadership, clinical practice and as an expert witness.  He is an Adjunct Professor at the Forsyth Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, former Chairman of Ethics in the Practice of Dentistry at USC, And Dr. Strom had a 12-year tenure on the California Science Center Board of Directors. Dr. Strom founded the Dr. Joseph Warren Institute, a 501c4 non-profit designed to educate and motivate health care professionals to become leaders in the political and public policy debate on health care reform.

Bio

Kenneth H Schell, Pharm.D earned his Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of California, San Francisco. He has almost 40 years’ experience in clinical pharmacology and pharmaceutical science, including overseeing pharmacy operations in managed care, pediatric and adult hospitals, medical groups, home infusion, hospice and mail order organizations. Dr. Schell served as president of the California State Board of Pharmacy and on the Board of Directors and as Presidential Officer of the California Society of Health System Pharmacists. He is also lectures at the Skaggs UCSD School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences where he teaches Pharmacy Law and Ethics. He currently serves on the Sharp Healthcare Institutional Review Board for research projects. He also served in compliance and privacy as Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer at a major Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM).

Dr. Schell also serves on several other Boards including Disability Rights Now, which champions disabled individuals seeking to become attorneys and ACTG Biopharma, an organization seeking to support novel therapies for individuals with brain injuries.

Current Events, Featured, Health Policy, Healthcare Reform, Medicine, Politics, What's New

America Out Loud PULSE: The Impact of Social Justice and Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Medicine

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From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Elaina George, MD  – https://www.americaoutloud.news/the-impact-of-social-justice-and-artificial-intelligence-in-the-future-of-medicine/

After many years in medicine, I am amazed at all the new advances and that as clinicians we are in a constant state of learning. I think back to medical school and the rigorous science courses and long hours I put in to learn the skills to give great care patients.

It’s sickening that medicine is now burdened with an increase in violence — five times more than employees in all other industries. This is not just at the hands of the mentally ill. Patients are also frustrated by difficulty in getting attention due to staffing shortages and a variety of social issues. According to a JAMA study nearly 24 percent of physicians have endured “occupational distress” by verbal insults and harassment by patients and visitors.

According to a survey of medical students in 91 countries, 21 percent are considering quitting. A whopping 60 percent are worried about their current mental health. Some contributing factors include financial and academic pressures, and the worry of future shortages and burnout. In spite of the negatives, 89 percent of the students are devoted to improving patients’ lives.

Organizations are trying to improve the well-being of health care personnel starting with the medical students. The majority of medical schools have joined many universities and instituted pass-fail grading systems. Removing grades is meant to allow students to focus on studies, not grades. Additionally, the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 (basic science) score reporting shifted from a three-digit score to a simple pass-fail.

The AMA views this licensing exam grading change as a chance to improve student well-being. However, 86.2 percent of residency program directors listed the USMLE Step 1 score as an important factor in deciding which applicants to interview. The program directors are now looking for other attributes by which to judge applicants and to look at the student more holistically. They have to rely more on letters of recommendation and personal statements.

I do believe a well-rounded person is good for communication with patients and the ability to see the patient as a whole person. But will future doctors be taught more social justice than science? After all, they can look to Chat GPT for a diagnosis.

My guest, Dr. Elaina George, and I will discuss the changing face of medicine – in education and how it is practiced in light of the social justice movement and artificial intelligence.

Dr. George’s website: http://drelainageorge.com

Living in the Solution podcast: http://drelainageorge.com/podcast-2/

Book: Big Medicine: http://drelainageorge.com/product/big-medicine/

To find an independent physician go to the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons website: https://aapsonline.org/direct-payment-cash-friendly-practices/.

Bio

Dr. Elaina George is a Board Certified Otolaryngologist (Ear, Nose, and Throat physician). She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Biology and received her Masters degree in Medical Microbiology from Long Island University. She earned her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Dr George completed her residency at Manhattan, Eye Ear & Throat Hospital. She is the author of Big Medicine: The Cost of Corporate Control and How Doctors and Patients Working Together Can Rebuild a Better System, a book which explores how the U.S. healthcare system has evolved and explains how patients and doctors can create a healthcare system that is based on the principles of price transparency with the power of the doctor patient relationship. She currently also has a radio show, Living in the Solution.

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