Hundreds of millions of federal dollars have flowed into our two major hospitals yet they were unprepared for this crisis and have had to institute a “Crisis Standards of Care Emergency”. We know that these hospitals were letting nurses go during the past year and that there was a shortage so to make matters worse […]
Tag: healthcare
Patient Outcomes
There are many variables that contribute to patient outcomes and an accurate reckoning and weighting of those variables can be difficult and challenging. For the past 18 months we have been listening to “experts” tell us what we should do about wearing masks, social distancing, and vaccinations. A very critical and almost always overlooked factor […]
(Eagle, Idaho) Ed Humphreys, Republican candidate for Idaho Governor, called on the Governor to put a moratorium in place on refugee resettlement until Idahoan’s housing needs are met. “We have law enforcement officers, teachers, and nurses who can’t afford housing. We must place a moratorium on refugee resettlement until our state can keep up with […]
Who has “SKIN IN MY GAME”?
When did employers, or government agencies become doctors? In Idaho with the changes that were made in the Professional Practices Act and the Medical Practice Act during several legislative sessions in the early two thousands is the answer. It used to be that only doctors could prescribe medicine or procedures or order a radiologic test. […]
Progressive Conformity
I have mentioned before that in my forty-four year career in Medicine and Surgery in both the military and in private practice in Boise I have been blessed to have been surrounded by doctors, nurses, technicians, Catholic Sisters and even a few administrators whose dedication every single day to sick patients remained an inspiration to […]
Pioneers or ‘Pie in the Rear’
When Idaho was still a territory and was applying for Statehood many people in the State wanted Idaho to be known as the ‘PIONEER STATE”. Many Idahoans I know are direct descendants of the early pioneers. The 1st patient I ever attended to in Idaho was a 91-year-old lady. I asked her if she was […]
The Great Covid Caper
While I don’t believe we are heading for what Aldous Huxley described in his book “Brave New World”, I do believe that if Joe Biden is installed as the 46th president of these United States, we will see the beginning of the end when it comes to our constitutional freedoms. We saw the beginnings of […]
The Pandemic and Priorities
No matter what the project—a business venture, a scientific experiment, government funding of grants or infrastructure, or one’s own family, it is always wise to take a deep breath and look at what our original goals were, and to see if we are marching toward those goals, see what changes need to be made—adopt and […]
Supply and Demand in Health Care
We are now at the stage in the COVID-19 Pandemic where we can look at the responses of different countries and the impact that different designs in health care systems have had on outcomes. Just like in our country Europe is experiencing a second surge of COVID-19 patients testing positive and in some places hospital […]
Fig Plucking
There was an old saying in Ohio when people would keep doing something wrong or stupid, the act would be described as “fig plucking” The term came from the ditty with the refrain: “I’m not a fig plucker or a fig plucker’s son, but I’ll pluck figs till the fig plucker comes” Seems like there […]
The Common Good and Individual Self Interest have oftentimes been portrayed by modern-day academics, politicians, and media experts as being on opposite ends of the political and economic spectrum. History dating back to the ancient Greek Philosophers and up to the Fathers of the Enlightenment and through the Industrial Revolution and attempts to redefine the […]
As we approach the “peak of the curve” in Idaho and as our Governor will be coming down with his decision about extending “stay in place” policies for the whole State of Idaho early next week I believe a few observations are in order. First of all, I believe the Governor’s instincts have served the […]