Our current health care system has become one big reimbursement game. Make no mistake about it - If the health care game was a little sexier, I am sure it would appear on Nintendo or Xbox and become a best seller.
As it stands, the current health care system is filled with poor and misguided incentives. The more “stuff” you do, the more procedures you perform, the more you are reimbursed. Your income isn’t based on outcome or patient satisfaction – nor is it even remotely related to it. In all reality, you don’t have to be accountable to the patient whatsoever. There is also a fine line between “fair reimbursement” and any of a number of serious words like “fraud” and “over-utilization”.
Accountability is critical – to the success of the system, and to the patient. Therein lies one of the biggest problems in the health care reimbursement game.
The podcast “Consumer’s Guide To Health” is taking a brief summer vacation. After returning to the airwaves in January, it was time to put the feet up and relax for a week.
The next episode – Episode 50 – will be on Thursday, August 30. This biweekly podcast and live stream airs on BlogTalkRadio every other Thursday at 11:00am central time. Exciting times are ahead this fall for the “Consumer’s Guide To Health” podcast, with cooler weather, more great topics and interviews, and a little bit of redesign thrown in for good measure.
All previous episodes of CGH are currently available on my BlogTalkRadio channel. You can subscribe via RSS and the podcasts are also available on iTunes. The next episode will be on Thursday, August 30 – join the discussion!
The London Olympics are over. Big sigh. Are you having withdrawal symptoms? No more epic performances morning, noon, night, and late night. The world’s best reality TV show is now on hold for another two years.
I guess that means that it’s time to get back to the real world. Fortunately, college football will soon be upon us. Oh, and there is this little shindig called a presidential election just around the corner. I am sure that will provide us with plenty of rhubarb over the months ahead.
Time to dive right in to another episode of the Rhubarb Report.
It was the first world record in track and field at the London Olympics. The time was 1:40.91. The event? The final of the men’s 800 meters. The performance surpassed a record that had stood since 1997. The man to do it? David Rudisha of Kenya.
All of the attention may have been on Usain Bolt in the 200 meters that day, but a few important points were lost in the mix. David Rudisha has been defeated just once in the past 46 races at this distance. He also has the three fastest 800 meter times of all time, and six of the top 8.
So what made this performance so special? I would suggest that one quote sums it up quite nicely: “I was well-prepared and I had no doubt about winning”.
Rudisha provided us with a fine case study in sport psychology.
The London Olympics are now in the history books. For two weeks, we were exposed to some honest-to-goodness reality TV. The beauty and spectacle of the Olympics is built on the stories and athletic performances of each and every athlete, regardless of their home nation.
Out of all of the Olympics highlights, I present to you my top 20 moments in the London Olympics – with personal bias and in no particular order!
It was a sweaty August weekend and I was up against a deadline or two.
The date was Saturday, August 11, 1990. Sunday night, I would be driving to Syracuse to get on a train. Those long twin silver lines (yes, a Bob Seger reference) would then take me to Austin, Texas. There was a lot to be accomplished before leaving town. As you can imagine, there were a lot of loose ends to tie up, and many friends to visit.
But there was also one little musical adventure that needed to be finalized. There was a demo tape that needed to be recorded.
I will admit that the last minute chain of events made my last weekend in Canada just a little crazier than I had imagined. But, it also left me with some fantastic memories and a farewell demo tape for the archives.
The first week of the London Olympics has had its share of drama, excitement and controversy. Thus far it has been a memorable Olympiad, with swimming and gymnastics leading the way as always. Week One provided an exclamation point to swimmer Michal Phelps’ career when he broke the record for most Olympic medals with a total of 22. I don’t see that record being broken any time soon. Great stuff, indeed.
As much as I enjoy watching the other events, it is always a treat once we get to Day One of track and field. It epitomizes the Olympic motto of “citius, altius, fortius”, or, for those who prefer the Queen’s English, “faster, higher, stronger”.
After a few days of track and field, it is readily apparent that we have a new legend to discuss. His name? Usain Bolt.
Up to 60% of runners will sustain an injury within any given year. Poor running mechanics, in conjunction with poor, ineffective and outdated training methods, can pose a significant injury risk. "RunSmart" was written to address these issues in the running community.
"Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the third edition and fourth editions of "Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Team Approach" by Charles Giangarra, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.
Top 5 finalist in three categories: "Best Overall Blog", "Best PT Blog" and "Best Advocacy Blog".
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