Opinion content from 2007
GO TO » Jan. - Feb. - March - April - May - June - July - Aug. - Sept. - Oct. - Nov. - Dec.
December
- » Discussion: Prescribing a more active life - Dec. 24
- » Letter: Protect doctors so they can say no to improper requests for antibiotics - Dec. 24
- » Letter: Open-source code is best path to creating physician-friendly EMRs - Dec. 24
- » Discussion: AMA's plan for 2008 - Dec. 17
- » Letter: Small practices could benefit from EMR data -- if given the chance - Dec. 17
- » More maydays for a Medicare meltdown - Dec. 17
- » Discussion: Tax credits for EMRs - Dec. 10
- » Letter: ACPM: Ask lawmakers now to fund preventive medicine residencies - Dec. 10
- » Discussion: Putting the quality in rankings - Dec. 3
- » Letter: Proposed law would rework residency spending to increase primary care - Dec. 3
- » World of medicine gets smaller, flatter - Dec. 3
November
- » Discussion: Heeding the MRSA warning - Nov. 26
- » Letter: What will the test of time reveal about what really matters to those seeking medical career? - Nov. 26
- » Letter: Tort system reflects a greedy society - Nov. 26
- » To partner or perish? That is the question - Nov. 26
- » Discussion: Repair student loan repayment law - Nov. 19
- » Letter: Insurers distort the proper economics of providing heath care in this country - Nov. 19
- » Letter: SCHIP bill would have been "first big step" towards socialized medicine - Nov. 19
- » Discussion: Longer view on drug safety: New power in FDA law - Nov. 12
- » Letter: Religious needs are important element of an effective treatment plan - Nov. 12
- » Discussion: Medicare Advantage: Wrong way to spend $54 billion - Nov. 5
- » Letter: For organ donation, eminent domain argument fails morally and ethically - Nov. 5
- » Letter: Health insurance creates its own drawbacks for patients, physicians - Nov. 5
- » Letter: Key question in health coverage: Who needs insurance but can't get it? - Nov. 5
- » Let's keep competition in medicine -- and insurance - Nov. 5
October
- » Delivering an ounce (or more) of prevention in your office - Oct. 22
- » Discussion: Don't duck the flu shot - Oct. 22
- » Letter: Stylish scrubs undercut germ control - Oct. 22
- » Letter: Medicare sends uninsured count up - Oct. 22
- » Discussion: Addressing health care costs -- the right way - Oct. 15
- » Letter: How will a reworked health system attract those needed to provide care? - Oct. 15
- » Discussion: Restaurant menus: Reveal the calories - Oct. 8
- » Letter: Sticking with paper records for now - Oct. 8
- » Letter: Unregulated growth of retail clinics undermines primary care medicine - Oct. 8
- » Discussion: Prescription for confusion - Oct. 1
- » Letter: This footwear a safety flop - Oct. 1
- » Letter: AMA Alliance: We are active partners in Voice for the Uninsured campaign - Oct. 1
- » Reaching top quality of care a joint effort - Oct. 1
September
- » Discussion: The uninsured: A campaign for action - Sept. 24
- » Letter: Encryption not a burden when communicating with patients - Sept. 24
- » Letter: Rodeo injuries seem a waste of already strained medical resources - Sept. 24
- » Letter: The government should claim organs for donation by eminent domain - Sept. 24
- » Discussion: Reining in rankings for tiered and narrow networks - Sept. 17
- » Letter: EMRs are not designed now with human factors in mind - Sept. 17
- » Letter: Untangle SCHIP from the needed Medicare pay increase for physicians - Sept. 17
- » All is not quiet on the Canadian health system front - Sept. 17
- » Discussion: Protect health access for kids, seniors - Sept. 10
- » Letter: Forcing physician to e-prescribe would create a "financial burden" - Sept. 10
- » Letter: Pen and paper still best for now - Sept. 10
- » Discussion: Federal prompt-pay law: A path to timely reimbursement - Sept. 3
- » Letter: People want, need medical homes - Sept. 3
- » Letter: Allow compassionate and ethical involvement by doctors in executions - Sept. 3
- » Letter: Medicaid should include incentives for patients in pay-for-performance - Sept. 3
- » AMA joins the battle with a campaign for the uninsured - Sept. 3
August
- » Discussion: Autism and vaccine safety: Courtroom controversy, exam room reassurance - Aug. 27
- » Letter: Transgender policy is misguided - Aug. 27
- » Letter: To serve patients and the profession, more physicians should be lawmakers - Aug. 27
- » Discussion: Dr. Pou's plight: Heroic actions, harrowing aftermath - Aug. 20
- » Letter: Focus on numbers is a misleading approach on doctor discipline - Aug. 20
- » Letter: Antitrust case reveals what government thinks of physicians - Aug. 20
- » Autonomy vs. accountability: A delicate balance - Aug. 20
- » Discussion: Veterinarians and physicians: Working together for one medicine - Aug. 13
- » Letter: Physicians shouldn't casually dismiss patient mistrust of treatment plan - Aug. 13
- » Letter: Referral rule change not in sync with real world of medical practice - Aug. 13
- » Discussion: Right response to wrong incentives - Aug. 6
- » Letter: Retail clinics have something to teach on the subject of access to care - Aug. 6
- » Letter: CEJA: Ethics code does not allow physician participation in an execution - Aug. 6
- » Quality care results from comparing, analyzing data - Aug. 6
July
- » Discussion: Quality must come first in retail health clinics - July 23
- » Letter: Neurological surgeons: Back surgery is safe and effective when warranted - July 23
- » Discussion: Doing what's best to prepare for the worst - July 16
- » Letter: Medicare should not be trusted to make medical decisions - July 16
- » Letter: Abortion participation just as sullying to medicine as aiding in executions - July 16
- » Letter: Primary care, rational premiums are needed to make Medicare sustainable - July 16
- » Discussion: A new tool against childhood obesity - July 9
- » Letter: Patients think they have traditional Medicare, but it's actually an HMO - July 9
- » Letter: Pa.'s $12 solution to control costs - July 9
- » Discussion: Getting aboard SCHIP - July 2
- » Letter: Ready "day or night" to ensure execution takes place on schedule - July 2
- » Letter: Cooperate on care, not stress division - July 2
- » Letter: Pay-for-reporting a shell game - July 2
June
- » Discussion: TB on a plane - June 25
- » Letter: In the real world outside Capitol Hill, it's clear that Medicare's a mess - June 25
- » Letter: What a deal: Lower pay but more work - June 25
- » Letter: ABMS: Our board certification process is rigorous and does not require specialty society membership - June 25
- » Discussion: Fighting back against frivolous lawsuits - June 18
- » Letter: Medicare and Social Security can't be sustained as currently operated - June 18
- » Discussion: Medicare health plans' unfair advantage - June 11
- » Letter: Physicians are acting properly when they participate in executions - June 11
- » Letter: Where's the voice of physician outrage over the bids to take over practices? - June 11
- » A president's review of critical issues facing medicine - June 11
- » Discussion: Health plan class-action settlements: Trust, without the expiration date - June 4
- » Letter: Legal training teaches that physicians must take control of their own destiny - June 4
- » Letter: United's threat to fine physicians is on top of enough other burdens - June 4
- » Celebrating -- and reflecting on -- a year of principles - June 4
May
- » Discussion: New thinking about flu vaccination - May 28
- » Letter: Lawmakers should consider toll insurers take on the quality of care - May 28
- » Letter: If board certification essential, why is it not part of licensure exam process - May 28
- » Letter: Don't limit videotaping to surgery -- turn the camera on lawyers, too - May 28
- » Discussion: Physician pay cuts no solution to Medicare Part B problems - May 21
- » Letter: Create a no-fault period of probation for new drugs - May 21
- » The AMA: A 160-year commitment to quality care - May 21
- » Discussion: United's fine mess: A way to alienate physicians - May 14
- » Letter: Serious Medicare repair will start when enough doctors drop out - May 14
- » Letter: FDA tobacco control bill is misguided - May 14
- » Discussion: Roadmap for health IT - May 7
- » Letter: Rhyming pay-for-performance plea - May 7
- » Letter: Lay people -- and especially lawyers -- should not evaluate physicians - May 7
- » Letter: AMNews edited out a resident's acknowledgement to her mentor - May 7
- » Trust: A reciprocal relationship between us and patients - May 7
April
- » Discussion: Reducing underage drinking: Surgeon general issues Call for Action - April 23
- » Letter: P4P not so simple a solution, proven by confusion over who gets the bonus - April 23
- » Letter: Don't let IMG externships become a lucrative and exploitative business - April 23
- » Discussion: UnitedHealth Group-Sierra merger a bad deal - April 16
- » Letter: Pay cut ahead; so is a plan for "graceful exit" from Medicare - April 16
- » Letter: Managed care wrong for Medicare - April 16
- » Letter: DEA should allow marijuana studies - April 16
- » Letter: As new certifications appear, they raise practical and legal issues - April 16
- » Discussion: Joining forces for patient safety - April 9
- » Letter: Be sure to check with liability insurer about possible "free" tail coverage - April 9
- » Letter: Walter Reed scandal suggests what a single-payer system would be like - April 9
- » Letter: Physicians must take a stand over their right to set own fees - April 9
- » Discussion: Dump -- don't expand -- the SGR - April 2
- » Letter: Good-bye to drug rep gifts and unholy alliance with pharma companies - April 2
- » Letter: AMA brings medical and moral weight to quest for mental health parity - April 2
- » The partnership principle: Together we are stronger - April 2
March
- » Discussion: The FDA and tobacco control: New hope for action - March 26
- » Letter: Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement: We are committed to improving quality of care - March 26
- » Discussion: Dr. Nathan Davis Award: AMA honors outstanding public servants - March 19
- » Letter: Living donor transplants underscore failures in obtaining cadaver organs - March 19
- » Military medical care and lessons for the home front - March 19
- » Discussion: Time to pass mental health parity - March 12
- » Letter: "Underreported" conditions or common problems exaggerated? - March 12
- » Letter: To ease ED overcrowding, spend more on Medicare and Medicaid office visits - March 12
- » Letter: Boards letting nonphysicians stray into areas beyond their qualifications - March 12
- » Discussion: E-prescribing stumbling blocks - March 5
- » Letter: It's "childfree," not "childless" - March 5
- » Letter: To take strain off EDs, put money into primary care, mental health services - March 5
- » Letter: Take a break? Not likely, given the pressures of medicine today - March 5
- » AMA's health advocacy agenda, our own Sacagawea - March 5
February
- » Discussion: Shoring up the drug safety system - Feb. 26
- » Letter: New board certifications beg question: What's an IM physician qualified to do? - Feb. 26
- » Letter: Sleep deprivation among physicians is hardly limited to residents - Feb. 26
- » Letter: Spread the burden of paying for care - Feb. 26
- » Letter: Calif. provider tax idea is a bad idea that could spread across the country - Feb. 26
- » Discussion: Covering the uninsured: Working from common ground - Feb. 19
- » Letter: Court erred in expert witness ruling - Feb. 19
- » Letter: A break from this practice won't work without a vacation from expenses - Feb. 19
- » Letter: Advice from Capitol Hill: How physicians can lobby effectively - Feb. 19
- » Pay-for-performance: It's about cost control, not quality - Feb. 19
- » Discussion: An honor for AMNews - Feb. 12
- » Letter: ABIM chief: We will be working with three co-sponsors to create sleep medicine certification - Feb. 12
- » Letter: Looking past pills, adherence efforts offer insights into being a physician - Feb. 12
- » Discussion: Tobacco control: A long way to go - Feb. 5
- » Letter: ISDA: Our Lyme disease treatment guidelines were rigorously researched - Feb. 5
- » We can echo the leadership principles of past presidents - Feb. 5
January
- » Discussion: AMA's advocacy agenda: Helping doctors help patients - Jan. 29
- » Letter: Rising expenses outstrip the ability of part-time physicians to cover them - Jan. 29
- » Letter: PHRs, sure, but to cut care costs, target exorbitant plan profits - Jan. 29
- » Discussion: Medicare crisis avoided, but hard work ahead - Jan. 22
- » Letter: ACS: Our standards program was the prototype for the Joint Commission - Jan. 22
- » Starting the new year with our priorities set realistically - Jan. 22
- » Discussion: Crisis for nation's EDs - Jan. 15
- » Letter: IMG's knowledge of U.S. medicine and culture came by trial and error - Jan. 15
- » Discussion: Plans drive doctors to tiers - Jan. 1
- » Letter: Pay-for-performance is fine for factories, wrong for medicine - Jan. 1
- » Letter: Key votes on abortion rights and stem cell research were victories for science and physician autonomy - Jan. 1
- » A new year but continued resolve to reform pay system - Jan. 1