Today the startup that I work for Sharepractice http://sharepractice.com/ was featured in an article in Fast Company today. Here is a link to the article http://www.fastcoexist.com/3028524/a-yelp-for-medicine-so-doctors-can-rate-whether-treatments-work They did a good job succinctly explaining what our app does. We allow medical professionals to rate treatments for efficacy including drugs, supplements, and procedures.
We are excited as our hard work is paying off and we are beginning to get high quality information from healthcare practitioners to other healthcare practitioners in a format that is easy to use. Medical providers can check us out in the app store for iphone. Check us out and put in some practice pearls! Vote on your favorite treatments. Tell us what you would like to see. Dream big!
Showing posts with label Healthcare Reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthcare Reform. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Breast Cancer Prevention
Breast Cancer Prevention is not getting a mammogram. It is not getting your genes tested. I am disappointed to see such things being touted as prevention on the major cancer society websites. A few years ago Dr. Tierona Low Dog was speaking at a conference I was at and she said a very profound thing... "We'll never win the war on cancer until we agriculture and manufacturing at the table". This blew me away. Was she suggesting that how we live our lives, the things we make, the very things we eat may contribute to causing cancer? It was the first time I heard it being openly spoken at a medical conference. http://www.drlowdog.com/
Of course it does not take a PhD or MD to understand that our lifestyle is causing this. I think most of us intuitively know this. However, for those of us with advanced degrees, we must see proof. That proof is here, to the tune of billions of dollars of research dollars. Yet, the word is not getting out. Doctors are not talking with patients (who has the time in a 15 min appointment) about these factors. In many cases the medical system is complicit. For most of my oncology patients, I am the only doctor to ask them why they think they got cancer.
I have decided to spend my time here in Sonoma county looking at the risk factors that have led Marin and Sonoma county to having the highest breast cancer rates in the world. http://www.zerobreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-in-marin I think that the reasons may be due to the affluent lifestyle we enjoy here. I intend to spend time speaking to patients and professionals about the factors and use real world solutions to mitigate these environmental factors.
To get breast cancer 3 basic things have to happen: 1.You have to mutate key genes in the DNA that lead to uncontrolled cell growth. You have to have DNA repair mechanisms impaired. 2. You have to have growth promoters (hormones and xenoestrogens) so those cells can grow. 3.You have to have the immune system not function in killing these cells. To resolve these issues we will have to take a look at the causes of 1,2, and 3 and have a real conversation about how those chemicals, radiation, hormones, and xenoestrogens got into our bodies.
Breast Cancer Prevention is addressing the actual factors that cause breast cancer. It is actually addressing the environmental degradation that has led to the ever increasing toxic molecules in the air, water, and earth. It is addressing the economic and political factors that allow such things to occur. It is conducting research as to how xenoestrogenic compounds get into our bodies and how to get them out. Please come to one of my talks on Breast Cancer Prevention or schedule one for more information. See also Events and Resources on my website www.drchrisholder.com
More to come... Who is with me?
Of course it does not take a PhD or MD to understand that our lifestyle is causing this. I think most of us intuitively know this. However, for those of us with advanced degrees, we must see proof. That proof is here, to the tune of billions of dollars of research dollars. Yet, the word is not getting out. Doctors are not talking with patients (who has the time in a 15 min appointment) about these factors. In many cases the medical system is complicit. For most of my oncology patients, I am the only doctor to ask them why they think they got cancer.
I have decided to spend my time here in Sonoma county looking at the risk factors that have led Marin and Sonoma county to having the highest breast cancer rates in the world. http://www.zerobreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-in-marin I think that the reasons may be due to the affluent lifestyle we enjoy here. I intend to spend time speaking to patients and professionals about the factors and use real world solutions to mitigate these environmental factors.
To get breast cancer 3 basic things have to happen: 1.You have to mutate key genes in the DNA that lead to uncontrolled cell growth. You have to have DNA repair mechanisms impaired. 2. You have to have growth promoters (hormones and xenoestrogens) so those cells can grow. 3.You have to have the immune system not function in killing these cells. To resolve these issues we will have to take a look at the causes of 1,2, and 3 and have a real conversation about how those chemicals, radiation, hormones, and xenoestrogens got into our bodies.
Breast Cancer Prevention is addressing the actual factors that cause breast cancer. It is actually addressing the environmental degradation that has led to the ever increasing toxic molecules in the air, water, and earth. It is addressing the economic and political factors that allow such things to occur. It is conducting research as to how xenoestrogenic compounds get into our bodies and how to get them out. Please come to one of my talks on Breast Cancer Prevention or schedule one for more information. See also Events and Resources on my website www.drchrisholder.com
More to come... Who is with me?
Friday, January 27, 2012
Some thoughts on healthcare reform
Not an easy topic to find solutions to. Billions at stake, lives at stake. Others have done a good job debating the pros and cons of the current law as it makes its way through the courts, so I will not rehash those, but will just add a few ideas.
Many have an unease in advocating for a single payer system and for some good reasons, the current system Medicare does not pay well for the doctors, and creates many limitations for the patient. I am interested in the Swiss system where as I understand it, insurance is purchased by the individual (and thus not tied to employment), you can purchase a variety of plans to suit your needs and lifestyle, and the companies while private cannot make a profit. It is the middleman without the exorbitant middleman pay. Here are some examples of middleman profit and non-profit in insurance companies in America: (numbers from Wikipedia)
Aetna net profit 1.28 Billion for fiscal year 2009
Cigna operating income 1.3 Billion for fiscal year 2009
United net profit 3.82 Billion for fiscal year 2009
Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield is Nonprofit (a favored insurance among many doctors in my area due to higher pay rates)
Premera Blue Cross is Nonprofit (another liked insurance due to paying doctors quickly) (Premera did try to go for profit but was rejected by Washington state insurance commission.)
I would love to go into further detail about how insurance contracts work, how much docs get paid, ect, however it is against the terms of my insurance contracts to discuss these details. It is also against the terms of my contracts to change my fee on a need basis other than a 25% time of service deduction. (I did go into it a few years back with some members of congress, that were quite astounded to hear how it all worked... or in our case does not work)
So far in the end I would propose a Swiss style system. Private companies not allowed to make a profit but can still pay CEOs their 6 figure salaries. States that want to, can put out their own plan as they do now... in Washington it is Lifewise a subsidary of Premera. This gives the control at the state level where currently states have the right to control healthcare law. I see the role of the federal government as two fold: help provide states with funds to build and run hospitals and emergency services, and to offer tax deductions for those purchasing health plans. Health plans would all be bought by individuals and would not be tied to employer however, and employer can pay an employee more to buy more insurance if they so choose. Brings alot more competition and free market into the system and does not tie you to a job you hate.
I like the idea of catastrophic plans for young healthy folks tied to a health savings account (HSA). This is a plan that only covers big medical emergencies and 1 annual visit per year, but allows you to put away tax free several thousands of dollars and rolls over from year to year. These HSAs can be used for over the medications, over the counter meds, supplements, massages, acupuncture, chiropractors, ect... Many things that conventional plans may not cover. This is the type of plan I currently have.
Comments, questions?
Many have an unease in advocating for a single payer system and for some good reasons, the current system Medicare does not pay well for the doctors, and creates many limitations for the patient. I am interested in the Swiss system where as I understand it, insurance is purchased by the individual (and thus not tied to employment), you can purchase a variety of plans to suit your needs and lifestyle, and the companies while private cannot make a profit. It is the middleman without the exorbitant middleman pay. Here are some examples of middleman profit and non-profit in insurance companies in America: (numbers from Wikipedia)
Aetna net profit 1.28 Billion for fiscal year 2009
Cigna operating income 1.3 Billion for fiscal year 2009
United net profit 3.82 Billion for fiscal year 2009
Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield is Nonprofit (a favored insurance among many doctors in my area due to higher pay rates)
Premera Blue Cross is Nonprofit (another liked insurance due to paying doctors quickly) (Premera did try to go for profit but was rejected by Washington state insurance commission.)
I would love to go into further detail about how insurance contracts work, how much docs get paid, ect, however it is against the terms of my insurance contracts to discuss these details. It is also against the terms of my contracts to change my fee on a need basis other than a 25% time of service deduction. (I did go into it a few years back with some members of congress, that were quite astounded to hear how it all worked... or in our case does not work)
So far in the end I would propose a Swiss style system. Private companies not allowed to make a profit but can still pay CEOs their 6 figure salaries. States that want to, can put out their own plan as they do now... in Washington it is Lifewise a subsidary of Premera. This gives the control at the state level where currently states have the right to control healthcare law. I see the role of the federal government as two fold: help provide states with funds to build and run hospitals and emergency services, and to offer tax deductions for those purchasing health plans. Health plans would all be bought by individuals and would not be tied to employer however, and employer can pay an employee more to buy more insurance if they so choose. Brings alot more competition and free market into the system and does not tie you to a job you hate.
I like the idea of catastrophic plans for young healthy folks tied to a health savings account (HSA). This is a plan that only covers big medical emergencies and 1 annual visit per year, but allows you to put away tax free several thousands of dollars and rolls over from year to year. These HSAs can be used for over the medications, over the counter meds, supplements, massages, acupuncture, chiropractors, ect... Many things that conventional plans may not cover. This is the type of plan I currently have.
Comments, questions?
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