Every so often, a curious patient will ask how the drugs they receive work exactly. Seeing as “No one knows for sure” is hardly a reassuring response, I typically go into a simplified discussion of intravenous agents and their known…
Category: Health
Does Telehealth Increase Spending?
A new study suggests that direct-to-consumer telehealth may increase access to care but does not decrease spending. Direct-to-consumer telehealth offers patients access to a physician via telephone or videoconferencing. Health plans and employers generally view telehealth as a way to…
Out of Operating Room Anesthesia
Much of what makes modern anesthesia carry a lower risk than the anesthetics of yesteryear relates to consistency: standard monitors, evidence based guidelines, the ready availability of equipment and personnel to be able to respond to an emergency. Few things…
Ketamine in Chronic Pain Management
In recent decades, chronic pain has increasingly been diagnosed, resulting in many patients seeking medical attention. Both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies are used to treat chronic pain, and an individualized approach tends to be based on trial and error. Irrespective…
Anesthetic Management of Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery
Spine surgery is performed for a variety of conditions including scoliosis, malignancy, herniated disks, degenerative spine disease, and spinal stenosis. The scope of surgical techniques range from quick minimally invasive single-level procedures to prolonged operations involving multiple spinal levels with…
Fully Insured or Self-Funded? The Health Plan Options Available to Employers
There are two major methods by which companies provide health coverage for their workers – fully insured health plans and self funded health plans. Each kind of plan has advantages and disadvantages, and employers are careful to select the best…
Blockchain Solutions: An Opportunity for Anesthesiologists and Their Patients
A growing number of leaders in the healthcare industry are looking to blockchain technology as a means of increasing the accessibility and interoperability of medical information. First used to record trades of the online crypto-currency Bitcoin, blockchain technology documents online…
The Micro-Hospital Movement
Smaller-scale inpatient facilities, termed “micro-hospitals”, have emerged as an alternative to traditional health care facilities and seem to be growing in popularity nationwide. Already in 19 states, according to a recent US News & World Report, micro-hospitals serve as a…