The game that used to be reserved for politicians; the game that parents are not supposed to play; the game that Google rankings depend on, celeb's slave for, teens die for, and medical school professors pretend to ignore; namely, the 'popularity contest'.
Now consider the effects of this game on the medical profession and its consequences for the rising cost of health care. Surprised? Just consider how you would rate your doctor in a patient satisfaction survey if he/she told you that you needed to lose 30 pounds?
"You can tell people to eat their vegetables all you want; they’re still going to remember more fondly the person who gave them a slice of cake."
Were you aware that the growing trend in the United States is to tie a physician's compensation to their performance - not in the operating room - not in providing quality evidence-based care - but on their rating on the
patient satisfaction survey?
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| Catering to Patients Can be Harmful to Their Health |
I invite you to read this very interesting article by Kai Falkenberg published in Forbes [Jan 2, 2013] called, "Why Rating Your Doctor is Bad for Your Health?" .
Labels: culture of healthcare, health care costs, patient satisfaction, physician patient interaction
Pam Kress-Dunn, medical librarian at Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque,Iowa, answers that question beautifully! In this latest installment article published online in the magazine
'Pulse', the reader is afforded an authentic glympse into the daily challenges of the hospital librarian, that largely stealth pillar and support of evidence-based medical practice.
'Pulse: Voices from the heart of medicine' delivers compelling, powerful first-person stories about health care written by patients and doctors, caregivers and nurses, mental health professionals and students. Real-life health care is captured in a way that is honest, intimate and unique; opening a window into the world of medicine. For more
'voices' from the
'heart of medicine' tune in weekly to
Pulse Magazine .
Labels: culture of healthcare, healthcare workers, hospital librarian, hospital services, Hospitals, medical librarian, medical library, Mercy Medical Center, narratives, stories of healthcare
The Lancet Student takes a hard look at
'inter-specialty rivalry' in all it's manifestations, and how it has and does effect the career choices of each new generation of physicians.
"Sweeping generalisations such as 'the medics are the clever geeks and the surgeons are the cool heroes’ may masquerade in jest but both health professionals and the media have a huge obligation to project a positive image of their own specialty rather than badmouthing others ... it is through an attitude of arrogance and disregard for others choices ... that a universal hierarchy of specialties has been allowed to persist... such a chain of command may eventually influence the priority level of various specialties within healthcare and thus impinge upon patient treatment."
Click on the title to read the full article
"Why does everyone love a brain surgeon?" by
Priya Garg, 5th year medical student at Imperial College, London.
Labels: career choices, culture of healthcare, inter-specialty relations, media influence, medical education, medical specialties, professional rivalry, professionalism
