Healthcare Update — 02-27-2013

Knowledgeable and honest. Yeah, that’s me. Study shows that doctors wearing white coats were most likely to be judged by patients as being the “best” physicians. Doctors wearing scrubs were also more likely to be highly rated. Of course my widespread appeal could also come from my stunning good looks or my debonaire personality … Interesting dilemma. A patient in Washington DC called an ambulance at 1:26 AM when he was having trouble breathing. Just so happens that it was New Years Eve and about 25% of the entire DC firefighting force had called off sick that day. An ambulance arrived 30 minutes later and the patient arrived at the hospital exactly one hour after the initial call for help. Unfortunately, the patient’s condition was poor and he later died. There is now a news article about how the family thinks the $780 bill for the ambulance is “appalling and hurtful.” A petition was posted on Change.org to get the DC Fire and EMS Department to drop the bill and 166,000 people have signed it, many stating that the family should sue the Department for damages. Yet the bill went to the patient’s insurance company and a copy of the bill was sent to the patient’s family – clearly stating that insurance was being billed, so the family isn’t paying for the transport. Should we not pay for less than desired outcomes? If so, should the lack of payment extend to all aspects of payments? Job performance? Government benefits? Heads at the Joint Commission are a...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Tags: Healthcare Update Source Type: blogs