Insurance for insurance: just what the economy and perverted health care system ordered:

Called UnitedHealth Continuity, the product is not actual medical insurance, but is aimed at people who may have insurance now but are worried they may lose it — and may not be able to obtain replacement insurance on their own. They may expect to retire early, for example, before they qualify for Medicare.

Kevin Pho, MD of KevinMD fame, has a nice summative article on the topic of ER overcrowding and the challenges ahead in USA Today.Musings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.

... over at Medico Medical Student - Richard Strauss style.Musings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.

A brief diversion:

Adolescence carries its own unique challenges, especially those of the dermatologic variety. God knows the conversations with my brother on this topic never seemed to end back then, so this link is for you, Big Bro.

(Please, don't read the link if you've just eaten or are under 18, but the experiences described, well, 'nuf said.)

-Wes

I never like high def. Sheesh, I look old.

But after seeing lots of patients with atrial fibrillation, my colleagues and I decided to collaborate on producing a video to introduce patients to atrial fibrillation. It was placed online today and runs about 8 minutes.

"Medicare has, in fact, had success in mitigating the climb of health costs. From 1970 to 2006, Medicare spending per beneficiary rose 8.7% annually, compared with 9.7% for private insurance."

Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.)
Chairman
Finance Committee
Washington

Reference: "Letters to the editor," Wall Street Journal 2 Dec 2008

I just got this nice letter from Pfizer sent to my professional e-mail:

Dear Health Care Provider:

Boy, not only will insurers take your money to "spread the wealth" of risk for healthcare, they're now into web portal design and maintenance! I mean, I want insurers to tell me about sweet potato soup recipes, don't you? It's such an efficient use of our health care dollar, right?

Heh.

-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.

A while back, I gave an EKG challenge to the blog-o-sphere to review an EKG of a young man who presented to the Emergency Room for evaluation of shortness of breath and lightheadedness unrelated to exertion. After posting the EKG, I got all kinds of answers for the young man's ailment, but most failed to guess the gist of the exercise: that the EKG was normal.

It is interesting to ponder why.