US Physician Practices Versus Canadians: Spending Nearly Four Times As Much Money Interacting With Payers
- Dante Morra1,*,
- Sean Nicholson2,
- Wendy Levinson3,
- David N. Gans4,
- Terry Hammons5 and
- Lawrence P. Casalino6
The Phantom Menace of Sleep Deprived Doctors
By DARSHAK SANGHAVI
Last month something extraordinary happened at teaching hospitals around the country: Young interns worked for 16 hours straight — and then they went home to sleep. After decades of debate and over the opposition of nearly every major medical organization and 79 percent of residency-program directors, new rules went into effect that abolished 30-hour overnight shifts for first-year residents. Sanity, it seemed to people who had long been fighting for a change, had finally won out.
Of course, the overworked, sleep-deprived doctor valiantly saving lives is an archetype that is deeply rooted in the culture of physician training, not to mention television hospital dramas. William Halsted, the first chief of surgery at Johns Hopkins in the 1890s and a founder of modern medical training, required his residents to be on call 362 days a year (only later was it revealed that Halsted fueled his manic work ethic with cocaine), and for the next 100 years the attitude of the medical establishment was more or less the same. Doctors, influenced by their own residency experiences, often see hospital hazing as the most effective way to learn the practice of medicine.
LORETTA MCLAUGHLIN
FRIGATE BAY, St. Kitts THE BIG news here is that the Marriott Hotel plans to build a small but elite hospital within two years in a new beachside building on the Atlantic, with resplendent ocean views and sumptuous resort amenities.
Re The Phantom Menace of Sleep Deprived Doctors, Darshak Sanghavi, New York Times Magazine, Aug 6th 2011
ReplyDeleteWhilst there is no compelling evidence that restricting physician work hours contributes to improved patient safety in hospitals (The Phantom Menace of Sleep Deprived Doctors, Darshak Sanghavi, New York Times Magazine, Aug 6th 2011), such measures could reduce risk of accidents involving fatigued and sleep-deprived doctors driving cars or riding push-bikes home after marathon shifts.
Sleep deprivation and fatigue leads to much reduced concentration and prolonged reaction times; I have fallen asleep at the wheel on several occasions after long night shifts. The “menace,” to themselves and road users, posed by a sleep deprived doctor continues after sign off from long shifts. Even if enhanced patient safety from work hour restriction is not possible, surely patients would much rather see well rested, and happier, doctors.
Dr Joseph Y Ting
They find that it is in fact quiet simple to turn practice into habit and in terms of a naturally healthy life.best tea for sore throat
ReplyDelete