News
As healthcare providers, we want to help keep our patients educated about their own well-being. On our news page here, we’ll share what’s new at Sartell Family Medicine, but also relevant links to news and healthcare articles from credible sources around the web.
Support your local private practice physician. They’re a small business.
Stuart Akerman, MD (via Kevin MD) / April 8, 2020 Small businesses are a vital part of our economy. They are ubiquitous and take on numerous forms, including traditional brick and mortar spaces, kiosks, and online enterprises. They enhance our most basic capitalist...
Study: Methadone and Buprenorphine Aren’t Used Enough in Opioid Recovery
US NEWS / February 5, 2020 Far too people with opioid addiction have had access to the most effective treatments in recent years, a new study suggests. Getting people into high-quality, evidence-based addiction treatment is seen as key to curbing the nation's deadly...
Despite insurance gains, more people in the U.S. can’t afford doctors
Reuters / January 27, 2020 A growing number of Americans find it too expensive to see doctors even though more people have health insurance, a U.S. study suggests. Over the past two decades, the proportion of adults without insurance dropped to 14.8% from 16.9%, the...
Patients are used to seeing physicians who are not their doctors
Michael Kirsch, MD / October 27, 2019 Nowadays, patients are used to seeing physicians who are not their doctors. Often, patients may be seeing a nurse practitioner, a highly trained professional for their medical care, instead of a physician. A generation ago,...
From a neurosurgeon: You need a family doctor
John Spitalieir, DO / November 12, 2019 One of my favorite scenes in the recent Apollo 11 IMAX film was a dramatic panning shot of mission control moments before lift-off. Row after row of mission specialists, engineers, astronauts, communications technicians — all...
Primary care should be one of the highest-paid specialties
Suneel Dhand via Kevin.MD / October 17, 2019 Working in both the inpatient and outpatient setting, I have to frequently recommend my patients follow-up as soon as possible with their primary care doctors. I work in a couple of different locations, urban and rural, and...
Cost of Employer-Provided Health Coverage Passes $20,000 a Year
Wall Street Journal / 9-25-19 The average total cost of employer-provided health coverage passed $20,000 for a family plan this year, according to a new survey, a landmark that will likely resonate politically as health care has become an early focus of the...
Zocdoc survey: A quarter of millennials view the ER as their primary care doctor
September 13, 2019 - Zocdoc When it comes to healthcare, younger patients aren’t waiting for an appointment to see a doctor. Roughly a quarter of millennials and Gen Z people surveyed by online medical appointment booker Zocdoc view the emergency room as their primary...
Health care costs as much as a new car
Axios / August 23, 2019 Buying a new car every year would be a very impractical expense. It would also be cheaper than a year’s worth of health care for a family. Why it matters: The cost-shifting and complexity of health insurance can hide its high cost, which crowds...
Electronic health records cannot replace a doctor who knows you
The Conversation / March 22, 2019 The introduction of electronic health records (EHRs) was accompanied by a great deal of fanfare. Such systems, which replace old paper-based charts in doctor’s offices and hospitals, were designed to make patient data more accurate,...
Expert: Hospitals’ ‘Humongous Monopoly’ Drives Prices High
Kaiser Health News / March 4, 2014 The American Enterprise Institute didn’t plan its panel last week on hospital consolidation to coincide with Steve Brill’s much-talked-about Time magazine article on hospital prices. But the Friday session could have taken the piece,...
The Mystery of Medical Insurance Coverage
MD Whistleblower / March 31, 2019 “Does my insurance cover this?” I cannot calculate how often a patient poses this inquiry to me assuming wrongly that I have expertise in the insurance and reimbursement aspects of medicine. If I – a gastroenterologist – do not even...
Even with health insurance, people are literally sacrificing food to pay for healthcare
Fast Company / May 2, 2019 A new Kaiser Family Foundation report offers a bleak outlook on the state of employer-based healthcare in America. The findings show that people are emptying their savings, taking on second jobs, borrowing from friends and family, and even...
Policymakers: Put down your carrots and sticks. They will not work.
W. Ryan Neuhofel, DO, MPH via KevinMD / April 5, 2019 As a family physician in the trenches, I routinely see blatantly poor medical care in the history of my new patients. Far too many people get unwarranted medications and tests, while important things go...
Hospitals, insurers battle over surprise medical bills
Fox Business / March 21, 2019 A battle is breaking out within the health care industry Opens a New Window. as Congress Opens a New Window. intensifies its efforts to address surprise medical bills, one that comes after urging from President Donald Trump Opens a New...
Preventive health is the key improving our health outcomes
The Hill / March 16, 2019 During the 20th century, America’s commitment to preventive health efforts such as water purification and vaccinations all but eradicated many deadly illnesses and, in the process, extended the average life expectancy by three decades, from...
Americans Are Going Bankrupt From Getting Sick
The Atlantic / March 15, 2019 In April 2016, Venus Lockett was about to give a speech at an event she volunteered for near her home in Atlanta. She was already stressed. The previous night, she had stayed up late making her presentation, and then deleted it by...
From urgent care to pharmacists, the struggle to get my kids antibiotics drove me to tears
USA Today / March 13, 2019 Early one recent Sunday morning, my kids woke up not feeling well. Due to a health notice from their school, I knew I needed to get them to urgent care for medicine right away or they wouldn’t be allowed to go to school the next day. I am a...
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