Allegheny County Medical Society Blog

Two years in the making, the Allegheny County Medical Society announces the publication of “A Tradition of Leadership, Innovation and Caring,” a 200-page history of medicine in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The work was commissioned by Jack Krah, former ACMS executive director, through Legacy Publishing Co., Birmingham, Ala. Its author is Diane C. Wuycheck, former ACMS director of communications, with layout assistance from Meagan K. (Welling) Sable, ACMS director of publications and Bulletin managing editor.

I’ve often wondered how we have come to call what we have in our country the American “healthcare” system. Within that system, we have large “healthcare” institutions, “healthcare” providers and patients or employers buying “healthcare” insurance. Yet, most of the work done by these entities doesn’t have much to do with keeping people in good health. Oh, we certainly do a great job at restoring health to those who are ill.

Opinion

President’s Message........... 394
Why do we call it ‘healthcare?’
Robert C. Cicco, MD

Editorial ................................396
The secret is kindness
Deval (Reshma) Paranjpe, MD, FACS

Perspective ......................... 400
Suicide and hastening death in terminally ill patients
Keith Lagnese, MD, FAAHPM, HMDC

Perspective ......................... 402
A century of modern influenza: 1918 to 2018
Bryan Stevens, MD

Perspective ......................... 404
The voice of the people and Medicare coverage
Thomas James III, MD, FACP, FAAP

Perspective ......................... 406
It’s time for Allegheny County physicians to embrace harm reduction
Wendy E. Braund, MD, MPH, MSEd, FACPM

Perspective ......................... 408
Hospital Within a Hospital: How to achieve value-based care
Anthony M. DiGioia III, MD
Molly H. O’Brien
Angela D. DeVanney

The University of Pittsburgh’s medical student AMA chapter hosted a Medical Student Career Speed Dating event on Monday, October 22 at the Herberman Conference Center.

Opinion

Medical Editor.......................362
National News Journal Club and the Triple Test
Deval (Reshma) Paranjpe, MD, FACS

Editorial ..............................364
Let's Ask
Charles Horton, MD

Perspective ........................ 366
No Swan Song in Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension
Andrew Pogozel, MD

Perspective ........................ 368
Doctor, My Antidepressant Stopped Working
Marc E. Garfinkel, MD, DLFAPA, DLFAACAP

Perspective ........................ 370
Introversion: Not a Weakness, but a Strength
Wendy Palastro, MD

“MMR causes autism.” “Gardasil makes girls promiscuous.” Today’s highly publicized debates about vaccines are often compared (unfavorably) to the heyday of vaccine development in the mid-twentieth century, when smallpox was eradicated and schoolchildren lined up by the millions to be protected against polio. At a time when presidential candidates are asked about their stance on vaccines and when famous comedians make internet videos about how their benefits outweigh their risks, it may be mete to recall that those campaigns were no less political or fraught with uncertainty.

As a practicing medical oncologist with a specialty in breast cancer for the past 22 years, I have been fortunate to see substantial advances in treatment. A majority of women are now diagnosed with early stage disease, and five-year survivals without recurrence for women with estrogen receptor positive stage I and II breast cancer now exceed 85-90%. The question I now deal with is not: “Will I survive this,” but rather, “What will it take to get me there?”

1. Introduction

CMS has been actively promoting telehealth since 2000, when Social Security Act §1834(m) was adopted, and CMS has continued to expand the covered telehealth services. Pennsylvania is a late comer to the telehealth legislative field, but its proposed Telemedicine Act is a comprehensive payment parity and state licensing/enabling piece of legislation.