WORKWEEK

Emergency departments across the country are at a breaking point. They’ve become dangerously overcrowded due to a well-studied phenomenon called boarding. Boarding occurs when patients are admitted to an inpatient unit but are kept waiting in the ED until an inpatient bed becomes available. I discussed the boarding problem a couple of weeks ago, shedding light…

The general rule of thumb is not to talk politics at the Thanksgiving dinner table. But what about healthcare? Rule #1: There must be more than one person participating in the discussion. Healthcare is inherently political. So, any discussion about a healthcare topic can get quite heated. I remember last Thanksgiving. I had one heated…

The expectation that you’ll wait hours in a crowded emergency department (ED) is an unfortunate but widely accepted norm. Who’s to blame for such overcrowding and long waits in the ED? Surprisingly… not the ED. In this article, I’ll discuss what causes ED overcrowding and long waits, how these affect different stakeholders, and some solutions…

Whole-body imaging scans as a “cancer screening tool” are low-yield in healthy patients with insignificant medical history. If you’re a physician reading this, this isn’t news to you. But if you’re not a physician, don’t be fooled: the benefits of these whole-body scans don’t outweigh the risks, which include unnecessary physical, emotional, and financial harm.…

Tech-enabled hospice startup Guaranteed is the latest startup to launch from stealth after raising a $6.5 million seed round. The company has raised $9.25 million in total and is prepared to transform the hospice space with tech-enabled services. Hospice care has become more attractive lately. The aging population means more individuals will require hospice care,…

My second-favorite holiday* is on November 1st: the start of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. Why is it one of my favorite “holidays”? Because the government (taxpayers, really) will gift millions of qualified Americans affordable health insurance—a rarity in America. The ACA Marketplace has provided affordable health insurance to millions of Americans…