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Bonuses for Physician Quality Reporting
The issue of pay for performance remains an area of active debate.
Health policy makers in Washington want physicians to provide some quality reporting and participation in order to get a raise. Organized medicine has been resistant, fearing the regulatory tentacles of Big Brother. The tensions on the fault line increased in April with the posting of quality reporting measures for physicians to voluntarily submit in order to receive bonus payments.
RICHARD G. COWART |
Clarifying Hormone Therapy
In recent years, women have increasingly requested bioidentical hormone therapy from their healthcare providers to treat menopause symptoms. Some professionals have speculated the increased interest is due to the media attention bioidentical hormones received after the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study raised concerns about hormone therapy in 2002.
HOLLI W. HAYNIE |
CSI: Memphis "Uncovering the Mysteries in Health Care"
A power packed event is heading toward Memphis in May with none other than the renowned Dr. William Jessee, president and CEO of Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), as the keynote speaker.
GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN |
Getting Tennesseans Covered
"It's been a busy nine months," stated … or rather understated … Commissioner Dave Goetz of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration.
In less than a calendar year, Goetz and his team have rolled out all four of the programs for which they have oversight under the umbrella of Cover Tennessee, the state's initiative to provide more children, uninsured workers and those with preexisting conditions access to affordable health coverage.
CINDY SANDERS |
Grand Rounds May
TMA Installs Officers, Honors Physicians
At the 172nd Annual Meeting of the Tennessee Medical Association, which was held in Nashville late last month, the organization installed J. Mack Worthington, MD, a family physician from Chattanooga, as the 2007 president. Founder of the Department of Family Medicine and the Family Medicine Residency Program at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine – Chattanooga; Worthington currently serves as Family Medicine chair and program director. As the association's 153rd president, Worthington will also serve on he TMA Board of Trustees, which is responsible for the implementation and direction of Association activities between sessions of the House of Delegates (HOD), the Association's governing body. The membership has also selected family medicine/occupational medicine specialist Robert D. Kirkpatrick, MD, of Memphis, to serve as president-elect and subsequently as president of the association in 2008.
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Health Department Funding Boosts Care
The Tennessee Legislature has taken healthcare up a notch by approving a $917,000 safety net budget for health department expansions and improvements. Seven county health departments received a piece of that budget with another $4.8 million being funded for private physicians and hospital affiliated clinics that service the insured.
GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN |
Major Gene Study Uncovers Previously Unknown Mutations in Leukemia
In 2005, the Human Genome Project was completed and since then has provided an exhaustive characterization of the whole genome, accelerating research into the mechanisms of disease. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital excels in specialized cancer research and recently published data from a study utilizing the whole genome that suggests new discoveries for both childhood and adult cancers.
HOLLI W. HAYNIE |
Many Factors Driving UT's College of Nursing 2010 Plan
As the shortage of nurses persists across the country, healthcare professionals and educators continue to search for answers.
At the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's (UTHSC) College of Nursing, the faculty has been working several years on the comprehensive plan which has become known as The College of Nursing 2010 Plan.
KAREN OTT MAYER |
Murfreesboro Hospital Introduces Laborist Program
Ask most obstetricians/gynecologists why they chose the specialty, and they'll tell you that it's the rush of helping usher new life into the world.
Yet ask them about the drawbacks, and scheduling will be high on the list. When the baby decides it's time, it's time to catch the baby.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD |
One Small Step for Malpractice Reform
Everything, from a journey of a thousand miles to medical liability reform (MLR), must begin with one step.
The Tennessee Legislature has taken a small step on the road toward improving the medical liability environment in the state.
KELLY PRICE |
Physician Spotlight: Dr. Paul Bierman
For the patients of Dr. Paul Bierman and his partners, a standard of high quality care is closely tied to simple measures of service.
"We try to put ourselves in the patient's place, so that we can be more sensitive to what their needs are – as opposed to what's more expedient for us," said Bierman, one of four physicians at Memphis-based Gastrointestinal Specialists, PC.
LUCY SCHULTZE |
Snuff Out Those Cigarettes
Since flight attendants won the battle for smoke free airplanes in 1987, the debate on the effects of secondhand smoke have waged on, but according to the Surgeon General's report last year, "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke," the debate is over.
HOLLI W. HAYNIE |
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