| 10 Things Your HMO Doctor Won't Tell You
While it's generally difficult to sue HMOs for malpractice, the cases against Harris instead focused on treatment incentives and disincentives, which can be illegal under Texas law. Also in 2000, ruling in another case, the U.S. Supreme Court said such incentives don't violate an HMO's fiduciary duty under federal law. "In an HMO system, a physician's financial interest lies in providing less care, not more," Supreme Court Justice David Souter said. "No HMO organization could survive without some incentive connecting physician reward with treatment rationing." That ruling calls into question the various laws against incentives and disincentives in Texas and 22 other states. It also raises the issue: If such incentives are legal, how could they affect your care? Following are some things your doctor won't tell you as you sit across from him on the examining table, backside to the breeze.
Heart Bypass Best for Multiple Blockages
Bypass surgery remains the best option for heart patients with more than one clogged artery, according to the first big study to compare bypass with drug-coated stents. The new research dims hopes that the less drastic stent procedure would prove to be just as good for people with multiple blockages. In the study, heart attack and death rates were lower among people who had surgery than those given artery-opening balloon angioplasty and stents _ mesh cylinders oozing drugs to keep vessels from reclogging. It is latest setback for drug-coated stents, which have revolutionized heart care and have been implanted in about 6 million people worldwide. They are far better at keeping vessels open than older bare metal stents. However, sales have been hurt in the past year by safety concerns and studies questioning the value of angioplasty itself for certain patients.
Paulette Burke - Commended for caring
Paulette Burke spent her earliest years growing with grandmother, farmer Casilda Stewart, of whom she says, "I learned from her to learn to appreciate people for who they are. It is not the things that you give. It's the way how you give it, and after giving, the love that you show." Now a grandmother herself and far from wealthy, Burke was recently given a merit award by the National Council for the Aged for her selfless work with seniors living in Beechwood/Greenwich Park and Lyndhurst areas of Kingston. In the last week, she was also chosen by the National Council for the Aged as the top candidate for the International Volunteers Award. Exceptional work She helps them to keep healthy and young. Beverly Edwards, parish organiser for National Council for St.
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