Tag: physician

  • Can I Get a Witness? Do You Use Chaperones in the Exam Room?

    Can I Get a Witness? Do You Use Chaperones in the Exam Room?

    In 2018, the world of sports was rocked with the revelation that Larry Nassar, a physician for USA Gymnastics, used medical examinations as a pretext to molest nearly three hundred female gymnasts over a twenty-year period. Many of these young athletes were abused while their parents were in the examination room. News coverage of the…

  • REPORT: Nearly Half of Resident Physicians Report Burnout

    REPORT: Nearly Half of Resident Physicians Report Burnout

    ROCHESTER, Minn. – Resident physician burnout in the U.S. is widespread, with the highest rates concentrated in certain specialties, according to research from Mayo Clinic, OHSU and collaborators. The findings appear in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Physician burnout is a dangerous mix of exhaustion and depersonalization that contributes to physicians making mistakes while administering…

  • Let’s Talk About Physician Burnout

    Let’s Talk About Physician Burnout

    According to Medscape’s 2018 Annual Physician Lifestyle Report, Burnout and Depression Section, 42 percent of physicians surveyed have reported burnout symptoms in the last year. Fifteen percent of physicians admitted to experiencing either clinical or colloquial forms of depression. The National Institute of Mental Health reports 6.7 percent of all American adults suffered at least…

  • Demand for Non-Physician Providers Rose to Make Up for Physician Shortage

    Demand for Non-Physician Providers Rose to Make Up for Physician Shortage

    The Medical Group Management Association has released its 2018 MGMA DataDive Provider Compensation Survey revealing primary care physicians’ compensation rose by more than 10 percent over the past five years. This increase, which is nearly double that of specialty physicians’ compensation over the same period, is further evidence of the worsening primary care physician shortage…

  • What If No One Was On Call [at the Legislature]?

    What If No One Was On Call [at the Legislature]?

    2018 Recap of the Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature In times of illness, injury and emergency, patients depend on their physicians. But what if no one was on call? Public health would be in jeopardy.  However, the same holds true for the Legislature. During the 2018 session alone, if the Medical Association had not…

  • STUDY: Independent Practice Declines Due Partially to EHRs

    STUDY: Independent Practice Declines Due Partially to EHRs

    A new study conducted by the Trump Administration suggests electronic health records are currently failing at reducing the cost of billing for medical facilities, especially for independent practices. “Small physicians’ groups and solo providers could not afford to purchase and maintain electronic medical records and comply with government reporting requirements,” the White House report stated.…

  • Alabama Physician Health Program Announces Reorganization

    Alabama Physician Health Program Announces Reorganization

    The Alabama Physician Health Program, the Medical Association’s confidential resource for physicians and other medical professionals with potentially impairing conditions or illnesses, recently announced a reorganization and new staff to better protect the health, safety and welfare of those it serves. The APHP provides confidential consultation and support to physicians, physician’s assistants, residents and medical…

  • Study: Range of Opioid Prescribers Play Important Role in Epidemic

    Study: Range of Opioid Prescribers Play Important Role in Epidemic

    A cross-section of opioid prescribers that typically do not prescribe large volumes of opioids, including primary care physicians, surgeons and non-physician health care providers, frequently prescribe opioids to high-risk patients, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The findings suggest high-volume prescribers, including “pill mill” doctors,…

  • ProAssurance Establishes the Nation’s First Academic Research Program Dedicated to Physician Wellness

    ProAssurance Establishes the Nation’s First Academic Research Program Dedicated to Physician Wellness

    BIRMINGHAM – ProAssurance Corporation has announced the establishment of the ProAssurance Endowed Chair for Physician Wellness at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. This academic chair is the first of its kind in the United States and demonstrates ProAssurance’s commitment to its role as a leading advocate for America’s physicians. The initial $1.5 million gift…

  • Medical Association Joins 132 Medical Groups to Oppose H.R. 2276

    Medical Association Joins 132 Medical Groups to Oppose H.R. 2276

    The inclusion of audiologists in Medicare’s definition of “physician” will create confusion. In May, legislation (H.R. 2276) was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would inappropriately provide audiologists with unlimited direct access to Medicare patients without a physician referral and amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to include audiologists in the…