Archives for July 2007

Pediatric Grand Rounds 2.8

July 29, 2007 | by

Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsAt midnight just over a week ago, the seventh and final edition of the children’s wildly popular Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, was officially released.

To commemorate the occasion, each section of this week’s PGR begins with a quotation or some dialogue from the story. A total of 25 blog articles are included in this edition, each one just as magical as the next, and I hope you enjoy reading them all as much as I did. I intentionally kept my comments short so that you can focus on the content of each article.

So, without further delay, I present to you Pediatric Grand Rounds 2.8.

Physician Profiling

July 25, 2007 | by

The Washington Post published an interesting article today on physician profiling.

In the fight to control healthcare costs, employers and insurance companies are now monitoring physican performance. Using sophisticated computer software to analyze millions of health claims and billing data, doctors are being profiled. Physician profiles are rated and used to direct patients to effective and reasonably priced healthcare.

The Highlight HEALTH Web Directory is Now HONcode Accredited

July 24, 2007 | by

I’ve written previously about the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory and my effort to catalog and make available health-related websites I find to be informative and useful.

I’m very pleased to announce that, similar to Highlight HEALTH, the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory is now an HONcode accredited website.

Healthcare Bloggers Code of Ethics

July 20, 2007 | by

The HONcode is the oldest and most widely used ethical code concerning the quality and trustworthiness of medical and health related information available on the internet. It was created for evaluating medical and health websites and outlines eight ethical standards in the presentation of medical and health information online.

To become HONcode accredited and display the HONcode seal, there is an application process and an annual review. The aim of the HONcode is to protect the reader by ensuring that they know the source and purpose of medical and health information they read on the internet.

Lawmakers Debate Funding Children’s Health Insurance

July 16, 2007 | by

The Washington Post is reporting that the decade-old State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which expires in September and was expected to be renewed and possibly expanded, is held up in Congress. The debate is the proper role of government in healthcare.

The $5 billion dollar program annually helps 6.6 million low-income, uninsured American children see doctors when they’re sick. Both the U.S. House and Senate are proposing deals to expand the program and increase funding over the next five years, proposals the President characterizes as attempts to enlarge the federal role of healthcare and reduce private insurance coverage for some children.