Computers, Family Practice Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants...Patients have choices!

Moving past this story below…..Nurses and Physician Assistants will work the Primary Care Management. Physicians will fill the specialty fields. STILL….There will be a physician shortage as America’s population ages and grows!

How computers will replace your doctor

And open the door to a new boom in the nursing industry

By Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry | December 15, 2014

The Week

You've probably read some widespread sillinesses about how technology is moving us toward a world split between "high-skill" and "low-skill" jobs. Worriers claim that people with high-skill jobs will gobble up all of the economic pie, and those with low-skill jobs will be left with mere crumbs. This notion was perhaps best exemplified by economist Tyler Cowen's book Average is Over.

This is nonsense. Because high-skill jobs are in peril, too. And sometimes, their death will make way for a raft of new "low-skill" jobs.

For example, look at the future of the general practitioner of medicine. This is considered the epitome of the high-skilled, secure, remunerative job. Four years of college! Four years of medical school! Internship! Residency! Government-protected cartel membership!

And yet, this profession is going the way of the dodo bird.

To understand why, the first thing you need to understand is that multiple studies have shown that software is better able to diagnose illnesses, with fewer misdiagnoses. Health wonks love this trend, known as evidence-based diagnosis, and medical doctors loathe it, because who cares about saving lives when you can avoid the humiliation of having a computer tell you what to do.

Then you need to look at companies like Theranos, which allow you to get a blood test cheaply and easily at Walgreens, and get more information about your health than you'd get in a typical doctor's visit.

Then look at a company like Sherpaa, whose mobile app provides you diagnoses, helps you get your prescriptions filled, refers you to specialists, and so on. Right now, Sherpaa works with doctors. But there's no reason to think it couldn't eventually work with software (and in the meantime, work with cheaper Indian doctors rather than morbidly expensive American doctors).

But, you say, we won't be able to get rid of the human general practitioner absolutely. People will still need human judgment, and the human touch.

You are right — absolutely right. But the human we need is someone with training closer to a nurse's than a doctor's, and augmented by the right software, would be both cheaper and more effective than a doctor. You might pay a monthly subscription to be able to treat this person as your family "doctor" — although most of your interaction would be with software via an app. They'd be better than a doctor, too — trained in general wellness and prevention, and being able to refer you to specialists if need be.

What room is there left for generalist doctors in that scenario? None. They're the ones who the internet will replace; and it is nurses and other "low-skilled" health workers who will do best out of this shift. And most importantly, it will be great for patients.

ObamaCare architect says you should die at 75…he even says care should be halted at 75!

There are some politicians that call it a “Death Panel”, but we average Americans call it a “brick wall”! Try getting a bureaucrat or the bureaucracy to redress a wrong by our government….well let’s just say you’re not going to win!!!

Who wants to live forever? Doctor and former Obama health adviser says elderly are 'feeble, ineffectual and pathetic' and he hopes he dies when he's 75

·        Physician Ezekiel Emanuel is a former Obama health policy adviser 

·        Rejects the American 'obsession with an endlessly extended life'

·        Writes in essay: 'For many reasons, 75 is a pretty good age to aim to stop'

·        Older brother to Obama's first chief of staff, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

By Jill Reilly for MailOnline

PUBLISHED: 11:39 EST, 23 September 2014 | UPDATED: 04:41 EST, 24 September 2014

A former Obama health policy adviser has insisted he wants to be dead by his 75th birthday as the elderly are 'feeble, ineffectual and pathetic.'

Physicist Ezekiel Emanuel, architect of Obamacare and brother of former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, claims that longevity often comes at the expense of quality of life and the desire to live longer is 'misguided.'

Writing in the October issue of The Atlantic, he says: 'There is a simple truth that many of us seem to resist: living too long is also a loss. 'It renders many of us, if not disabled, then faltering and declining, a state that may not be worse than death but is nonetheless deprived. 'It robs us of our creativity and ability to contribute to work, society, the world. 'It transforms how people experience us, relate to us, and, most important, remember us.

'We are no longer remembered as vibrant and engaged but as feeble, ineffectual, even pathetic. 

The father-of-three acknowledges that his desire to die in his seventies does not sit well with his family, especially his daughters, but insists he will not change his mind as his years advance.

He says that if parents live to their nineties, their children must give up their retirement time to look after them and the only time they are free is when their parents die - and they are then old themselves.

Emanuel insists in the essay that he is not arguing for euthanasia or assisted suicide at a certain age.

He says that if he was diagnosed with cancer now he would probably have it treated, but when he turns 65 he will have his last colonoscopy and have no screening for prostate cancer at any age.

Emanuel insists that once he turns 75 he will refuse all medical treatment and says he 'die when whatever comes first takes me.'

In the essay, which is published on the website with photos of his family, Emanuel says he will hold a memorial before his death to celebrate his life, but if his survivors want to have one when he has passed away it is not his 'business.'

Emanuel, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, does acknowledge that sometimes age is not a barrier to creativity.

He cites the case of a prominent health economist who recently celebrated his 90th birthday and continues to be 'brilliant', but insists that the man is simply 'an outlier—a very rare individual.'

Emanuel blasts the American obsession with 'exercising, doing mental puzzles, consuming various juice and protein concoctions, sticking to strict diets, and popping vitamins' and says he thinks the mindset is both 'misguided and potentially destructive.'

Emanuel, told ABC's Dr. Richard Besser on This Week: 'I look at the data on disability, I look at the data on Alzheimer's disease, I look at the data on loss of creativity.  

'And 75 seems to be the right moment where the chance of disability, physical disability is low, you're still not in the high Alzheimer's risk of 30 percent or 50 percent and creativity has sort of come to an end.

Emanuel, the director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and head of the Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, helped develop President Obama's health care reform law. 

Emanuel's youngest brother is the president's first chief of staff, current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Their other brother is Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel whose clients have included Rhianna, Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. 

The three brothers were raised in Chicago by their father Israeli-born pediatrician Benjamin and mother Marsha, a nurse who was a descendant of Russian immigrants. 

They also have an adopted sister with cerebral palsy who shuns the limelight.

Obamacare ends Life at age 75...Yep you heard it here first!

Okay…Where do you start with this shit? The guy how wrote the Obamacare law says we “humans” have no right to expect healthcare beyond the age of 75. Nice guy right? Tell your parents or grandparents that it has been nice knowing ‘em ‘cause Obamacare will be happy to have them die! Don’t they make bad movies about this stuff?

Who wants to live forever? Doctor and former Obama health adviser says elderly are 'feeble, ineffectual and pathetic' and he hopes he dies when he's 75

·        Physician Ezekiel Emanuel is a former Obama health policy adviser 

·        Rejects the American 'obsession with an endlessly extended life'

·        Writes in essay: 'For many reasons, 75 is a pretty good age to aim to stop'

·        Older brother to Obama's first chief of staff, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

      By Jill Reilly for MailOnline

·         

PUBLISHED: 11:39 EST, 23 September 2014 | UPDATED: 04:41 EST, 24 September 2014

A former Obama health policy adviser has insisted he wants to be dead by his 75th birthday as the elderly are 'feeble, ineffectual and pathetic.'

Physicist Ezekiel Emanuel, architect of Obamacare and brother of former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, claims that longevity often comes at the expense of quality of life and the desire to live longer is 'misguided.'

Writing in the October issue of The Atlantic, he says: 'There is a simple truth that many of us seem to resist: living too long is also a loss. 

'It renders many of us, if not disabled, then faltering and declining, a state that may not be worse than death but is nonetheless deprived. 

'It robs us of our creativity and ability to contribute to work, society, the world. 

'It transforms how people experience us, relate to us, and, most important, remember us.

'We are no longer remembered as vibrant and engaged but as feeble, ineffectual, even pathetic. 

The father-of-three acknowledges that his desire to die in his seventies does not sit well with his family, especially his daughters, but insists he will not change his mind as his years advance.

He says that if parents live to their nineties, their children must give up their retirement time to look after them and the only time they are free is when their parents die - and they are then old themselves.

Emanuel insists in the essay that he is not arguing for euthanasia or assisted suicide at a certain age. He says that if he was diagnosed with cancer now he would probably have it treated, but when he turns 65 he will have his last colonoscopy and have no screening for prostate cancer at any age.

Emanuel insists that once he turns 75 he will refuse all medical treatment and says he 'die when whatever comes first takes me.'

In the essay, which is published on the website with photos of his family, Emanuel says he will hold a memorial before his death to celebrate his life, but if his survivors want to have one when he has passed away it is not his 'business.'

Emanuel, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, does acknowledge that sometimes age is not a barrier to creativity.

He cites the case of a prominent health economist who recently celebrated his 90th birthday and continues to be 'brilliant', but insists that the man is simply 'an outlier—a very rare individual.'

Emanuel blasts the American obsession with 'exercising, doing mental puzzles, consuming various juice and protein concoctions, sticking to strict diets, and popping vitamins' and says he thinks the mindset is both 'misguided and potentially destructive.'

Emanuel, told ABC's Dr. Richard Besser on This Week: 'I look at the data on disability, I look at the data on Alzheimer's disease, I look at the data on loss of creativity.  

'And 75 seems to be the right moment where the chance of disability, physical disability is low, you're still not in the high Alzheimer's risk of 30 percent or 50 percent and creativity has sort of come to an end. Emanuel, the director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and head of the Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, helped develop President Obama's health care reform law. 

Emanuel's youngest brother is the president's first chief of staff, current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Their other brother is Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel whose clients have included Rhianna, Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The three brothers were raised in Chicago by their father Israeli-born pediatrician Benjamin and mother Marsha, a nurse who was a descendant of Russian immigrants. They also have an adopted sister with cerebral palsy who shuns the limelight.

Obamacare closing more and more private practices....Physicians are leaving small communities

Many, many, many physicians have had to close their private practices, and forced to join hospital owned offices. Either that or find a job not in medicine! Gee…thanks Obamacare….What ever happened to “you can keep your Doctor”? He (Obama) knew that it was a load of crap….and so did all the rest of us. The sooner Obamacare is scrapped the better….just another closed-end, expensive, waste of time and money government program that only Socialist covet!

Alaska Physician Shuts Down Practice, Citing Obamacare

From the Daily Caller

9:39 PM 09/21/2014

Sarah Hurtubise Reporter

After a long list of Obamacare failures in Alaska, one physician is shutting down his decades-old practice, charging that the health-care law and other federal programs are “unsustainable” for practicing doctors.

Dr. William Wennen, a plastic surgeon, is closing his Fairbanks practice after 38 years of working in the state. Dr. Wennen blames federal health insurance programs, citing Obamacare, Medicaid and Medicare, for shutting down his practice.

“It is an unsustainable system,” Dr. Wennen wrote to his customers in a letter obtained by The Daily Caller. “I am personally writing off upwards of three quarters of a million dollars annually in free/uncompensated care.”

“My reasons for closing down the office are simply economic,” Wennen wrote. “The governmental agencies that are supplying ‘medical insurance’ to the elderly, the disadvantaged, the indigent and the sick, injured, or disabled have placed an unrealistically low value of worth on physician’s services.”

Medicaid typically has the lowest physician reimbursements of any federal program. Doctors have been protesting pay cuts for services through Medicaid and Medicare. It’s increasingly difficult for customers to actually find health care providers that accept the coverage — especially in private practice, where doctors are more hard-pressed to be profitable than at big-budget hospitals. 

 “Within the last month, Fairbanks has lost three other much respected physicians for the same or similar reasons,” Dr. Wennen wrote. ”I am not the first and certainly will not be the last of the exodus of physicians from active practice because of all of this.”

Dr. Wennen is far from alone in his stark opposition to the health-care law. A recent survey from the Physicians Foundation found that 46 percent of doctors in the U.S. would give Obamacare a “D” or an “F,” the Washington Examiner reported.

For his part, Wennen hopes to continue providing medical care through other avenues, but can no longer afford to keep his practice. Other doctors nationwide have simply refused to accept coverage provided by federal agencies — even private coverage sold through Obamacare exchanges.

Physicians argue about the problems and causes of the medical system

Insurance Companies and Medical Malpractice Lawyers will always find a way to take care of politicians (and politicians will take care of them). We the paying consumer seeking medical care…we’re F%*#ed!

Doctors Debate Cause of Their Profession's Woes

By Sean Piccoli
Friday, 19 Sep 2014 21:40 PM

Writing in NewsMax

"It’s just one more of the multiple interferences between the doctor and the patient, and gets in the way of our treatments," Hubbard said of President Barack Obama's signature law. 

"I know that we need some guidance and there are things that need to be changed," said Hubbard, "but all we’re doing now is setting up a more of a bureaucracy, more of people in the middle that are going to frustrate doctors even more and more. And doctors are just going to decide, well, it’s not worth it."

Hubbard said that if he were polled he would give the ACA a "D."

Chris Lillis, an internal medicine specialist and "Doctors for America" contributor, said that the health-care overhaul deserves better. 

"My grade is a B-plus," he said, arguing that "the bureaucracy that remains between me and my patients … is the for-profit health insurance companies."

Lillis said that insurers, even after getting millions of new customers through the state and federal health-insurance exchanges established under the ACA, "are engaging in a lot of underhanded tactics to try to continue to control costs.

"Things like raising the price of generic medicines, restricting networks, forcing prior authorizations on physicians," said Lillis. "And I understand Dr. Hubbard’s concern, but he ought to train his blame on the insurance industry, not on Obamacare."

Americans do not for the most-part understand Obamacare, and what they do know....They don't like!

The takeaway here is that Americans for the most part do not understand the law, but what they do understand they (Americans) do not like. Big trouble moving forward for us all. It aint gonna be pretty!

Disapproval of ObamaCare reaches new high, poll finds

By Elise Viebeck - 09/16/13 01:15 PM EDT

A new poll finds 53 percent of people disapprove of ObamaCare and President Obama's approach to healthcare policy, a record high on both questions. 

The survey from USA Today and the Pew Research Center also found Republicans have gained a narrow but telling edge on healthcare issues generally. 

The poll revealed that 40 percent now prefer the GOP on healthcare compared to 39 percent who prefer Democrats, erasing a preference for Democrats that had stretched back more than 20 years.

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The findings come just two weeks before ObamaCare's new insurance marketplaces open for enrollment. But that process, which is crucial to healthcare reform's success, could see trouble given ongoing confusion among crucial groups. 

About one-third (34 percent) reported that they do not understand how the healthcare law will work, a figure that has only slightly improved since the law's passage.

Meanwhile, nearly four in 10 of the uninsured do not realize they will be required to buy coverage or pay a fine starting next year.

This understanding is better among the general population, where seven in 10 grasp the so-called individual mandate, but worse among young people whose participation in the new exchanges is vital to ObamaCare's success.

Some have attributed the public's weak understanding of healthcare reform to Republicans' opposition to the law.

In Congress, the GOP has voted more than 40 times to repeal, defund or dismantle ObamaCare, and states run by Republicans have often worked against the administration to undermine the law's rollout.

The House GOP is debating how best to thwart ObamaCare during the next fiscal battle to fund the government.
Conservatives want to pass a spending bill that funds every part of the government except the healthcare law, hoping the imminent threat of a shutdown will force Obama to neglect the reform.

But ObamaCare's opponents do not necessarily agree on this tact, according to the poll. A majority (51 percent to 42 percent) said officials should help the law succeed instead of working to ensure its failure.

USA Today and Pew polled 1,506 adults between Sept. 4-8. The survey's margin of error is three percent.

It's a start! Computers will replace physicians in the care of the human being! Just a start!

This is only the start. My believe is within a few short years a computer will greet the patient in the waiting room, assist them into the exam room, scan the patient (with the help of an implanted device - yeah...that's coming soon as well), ask a few short questions, then diagnose and prescribe if necessary! You heard it here first. Physicians will be directing, and in some instances assisting the doc-computer.

IBM Watson partners with Modernizing Medicine of Boca Raton

May 17, 2014|By Marcia Heroux Pounds, Sun Sentinel

Modernizing Medicine is partnering with IBM Watson — of Jeopardy! fame — to expand its electronic medical assistant.

With the help of the supercomputer, physicians will soon be able to ask a question of Watson about treatment research and get an immediate response as they're caring for a patient.

The interaction would take place via Modernizing Medicine's iPad tablet customized for specialty physicians such as dermatologists.
"The next decade forward will be the most exciting we've ever seen in computing as we begin to ask the computer questions and get direct answers," said Dan Cane, co-founder and CEO of Modernizing Medicine, based in Boca Raton.
IBM announced Friday that Modernizing Medicine was among three companies chosen for the IBM Watson Ecosystem program designed to develop a new generation of apps.
"The power of Watson is a game-changing proposition. Since we established a Watson developer ecosystem, we've seen the creativity flow from entrepreneurs around the world with business-changing ideas for the Watson technology," said Michael Rhodin, senior vice president for IBM Watson Group.
Watson may be best known for the 2011 stunt when the supercomputer was pitted against the best players on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! The computer won.
Cane said Watson represents a new era in which a computer can understand natural language while Modernizing Medicine collects data to help doctors learn from treatment outcomes.
With Watson, doctors will be able to instantly access research and information about clinical trials in hundreds of medical journals to better assess a treatment for a patient.
"Watson allows us to combine both worlds," Cane said. "It's a phenomenal collaboration."
Modernizing Medicine has built a prototype and plans to make Watson available to dermatologists that use its iPad app later this year, he said.
Cane said the company was working out a financial arrangement with IBM, which he couldn't disclose.
Modernizing Medicine, which was founded in 2010, has more than 3,300 physician practices across the country using its medical assistant systems.
The business has grown to $17.5 million in revenue in three years, employing 175 people.

In 2013, Modernizing Medicine was listed at No. 47 on Forbes' annual ranking of America's Most Promising Companies.