Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG

It all seems so simple, but from the KFF Health Policy Reports
While parents can access their teenagers' nonconfidential paper records, EHR systems thus far do not have a way to prevent parents from accessing confidential material. As a result, many EHR providers are "revoking parental access to children's records as soon as they turn 13," according to the Journal. In addition, teenagers generally cannot access their own records because their status as a minor does not permit them to enter into the necessary security agreements for EHRs.
Reports provides links to groups who are examining this conundrum.

Posted by at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A fascinating interview with Dr Al. Sommers, Dean of the School of Public Health at Hopkins, as he gets ready to retire to continue teaching and research. Where has public health been, where is it going, why should we pay more attention to public health.?

Posted by at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those who want easy access to details on medical care spending the 3rd edition of the KFF Medicare Chartbook is now available in .pdf format. It is worth knowing that 'Health Care" spending in 2002 was 14.9% of the GDP according to the center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), According to an article from the February 2004 Issue of Health Affairs - "Health Spending Projections through 2013" Health spending is projected to account for 18.4 percent of GDP by 2013, up from its current high point of 14.9 percent in 2002.

Posted by at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the Kaiser Famity Foundation
The two timelines, Medicare: A Timeline of Key Developments and Medicaid: A Timeline of Key Developments, feature one highlight from every five-year period in the history of each program — with a click you can access the full summary of developments from that five-year period. Within the summaries you will find links to related material, including reports and videos, providing more background information. The timelines also feature a sliding enrollment indicator so you can see how coverage under the programs has grown since 1965.

Posted by at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier this week the RTD had a story on first contact care using nurse practitioners with offices in supermarkets. A practice not allowed in Virginia at this time. Now from the Sunday Telegraph in the UK comes this story about use of paramedics to divert patients from ERs.

A new breed of "super paramedics" will treat patients at home, drastically reducing the number of people sent to Accident and Emergency departments, the Health Secretary has revealed.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Patricia Hewitt said that at least nine in 10 calls to the emergency service could be dealt with in ways other than taking the patient to hospital. Instead of sending an ambulance, specially trained paramedics on motorcycles or in cars could be sent to help patients at home. They could also provide continuing care.

A review to be published this week will propose retraining some paramedics to perform tests, prescribe drugs and treat chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes.

Posted by at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)