Primary care news and information

More and more doctors are ditching insurance companies, and letting patients pay them directly for their care. There was a conference on "direct pay" healthcare held for local doctors in Minneapolis on Saturday, the first of its kind in Minnesota. Business models vary from practice to practice,...
FULL STORY »

For a long time, many of us healthcare professionals have operated largely within our own comfort zones. We do just as we've always done, acting independently of each other, as if in our own private universe. We saw little incentive to change, least of all soon.
FULL STORY »

Outliers was reminded of an Introduction to Philosophy course when we heard about the American College of Physicians' new “What is Internal Medicine?” public relations campaign. Rene Descartes' most famous line gets a retread in the effort: “I think, therefore...
FULL STORY »

Group Health, a not-for-profit health system based in Seattle, has named Barbara Trehearne VP of primary care, effective July 26.
FULL STORY »

A prominent organization representing internal medicine physicians has launched a public relations campaign to, well, tell the public what internal medicine physicians do.
FULL STORY »

David Share, M.D., senior vice president of value partnerships with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, has been shepherding the Blues' patient-centered medical home project during the five years of its existence.
FULL STORY »

More is being spent per capita in West Virginia than any other state to promote public awareness of the new healthcare reform law, but advocates are concerned that those who could benefit most still won't get enrolled.
FULL STORY »

Dr. Michael Kelleher, Reliant Medical Group's medical director for quality and patient safety and interim chief medical officer, sees Massachusetts as ahead of the curve in unmasking a medical crisis: the looming shortage in adult primary care.
FULL STORY »

Mobile computing devices are becoming almost as much of an essential tool in U.S. physician practices as the exam table, according to a new survey.
FULL STORY »

Now in its fifth year, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan's patient-centered medical home program has certified 3,770 physicians in 1,243 practices for 2013, a 25% increase in physicians from 2012.
FULL STORY »