There is a petition before OSHA that is asking for Residents hours to be shortened. Certain advocacy groups are arguing that Residents are working too long hours. So, should there be tighter regulations on the work hours for Residents?

In this current economic environment, will public hospitals survive? With this current economy and the advent of the new health care reform law, will these solo public hospitals be able to survive or will they slowly become extinct and overshadowed by the bigger health systems and possibly even by new government run hospitals?

Despite the recent drop in patient admissions to US hospitals, several facilities seem to be raking in a profit. One of the most profitable hospitals currently in the US is Flowers Medical Center in Dothan, Ala.

Recent polls indicate that support for the new health care law is slipping. Americans are not happy with this new health care law, especially not excited about the individual mandate where they will be forced to purchase a health insurance policy, whether they want to or not.

The problem comes into play when you are a physician who is a victim of Sham Peer Review or who has been falsely accused of Disruptive Physician Behavior? Where do you turn to for help? Doctor’s Advocate can assist you.

The HHS has just announced that $32 million in assistance will be doled out to those rural healthcare systems to assist in their medical care of patients in those localities. It’s great that the Federal Government is dishing out money to these rural healthcare facilities; however, this is all being done on the taxpayers’ dime.

For those who have been advocating for stronger patient privacy rules, the wait is over. The HHS will now have to make stronger standards and rewrite those privacy rules. Temporary rules were issued in August; however, the HHS will issue its final regulations sometime in the fall of this year. Both sides of this issue have valid points, but we’ll have to wait until the fall to see the final regulations laid out.

More and more people are opting to put off elective, non-critical medical procedures as they are deciding to live with those non-critical health issues rather than being patients in the hospital. There is a correlation here between this growing trend and hospital stocks going on the decline.

Critics say the current privacy rules do not protect patients. Hospital administrators and insurance companies lean towards keeping the laws as they are. The Obama Administration is working on rewriting those laws in regard to patients being notified of a breach in privacy over patient’s records. The real question is in the language and how does one define the “harm” done in such a breach of privacy with regard to patients and their records?

How are you feeling so far now that we’re five months into this health reform system? Have you embraced the change yet? Well, the White House is asking you and every American physician to embrace this new health reform system. Is that something that you can do? Where do you find yourself in regard to this matter…which side of the fence are you on?