iPathology

Questioning the benefits of routine finger stick glucose measurements in type 2 diabetes

The New York Times recently reported on Canadian studies that suggest that routine monitoring of glucose levels by type 2 diabetic patients using test strips may have limited clinical benefits and may not be an effective use of resources. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the U.S. with the current emphasis on evidence based medicine and the pressing need to reduce health care costs.

The MSM Pick up the Mayo/Medicare Story

The Wall Street Journal has an editorial today on the decision by a Mayo primary care clinic in Glendale, AZ to drop acceptance of Medicare as a payment type. This is story that, as they say, "has legs".

Mayo Clinic to Stop Accepting Medicare Patients at a Primary Care Site

I read with much interest the report in Business Week that Mayo Clinic will, for a 2-year trial period, stop accepting Medicare patients at its primary care clinic in Glendale, AZ. Although individual physicians and physician groups have been opting out of Medicare for years, few large health care systems have taken this approach. According to the report in Business Week, Mayo lost $840 M in treating Medicare patients in 2008. Medicare patients who want to continue their care at this clinic will have to pay by some other means.

It's surprising to me that the mainstream media haven't picked up on this story. Medicare is a social contract between the government and seniors. If the third party in the equation, namely, the healthcare industry, refuses to participate then this becomes a major national problem.