by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 6, 2022 | COVID-19, COVID-19 & HBOT, Fight the Good Fight, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation estimates more than 23 million Americans have been affected by long COVID, which is why it is being described as a “mass disabling event.” It’s officially a disability under the Americans with Disability Act...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 30, 2022 | Fight the Good Fight, Pyoderma Gangrenosum
Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an inflammatory skin disorder that causes excruciatingly painful skin ulcerations. It’s supposed to be rare, but it’s only rarely diagnosed. At any given time, I will have 8 or 10 patients with PG in my practice. Biopsies fail to diagnose...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 18, 2022 | Fight the Good Fight, Pyoderma Gangrenosum
This is a story that only happens in the world of chronic wounds. It illustrates why wound care practitioners need to keep asking “What is this wound a symptom OF?” It also illustrates why patients often get worse care as a result of medical specialization because the...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 15, 2022 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
Attention everyone in the Novitas jurisdiction! Novitas will host an Open Meeting on Friday, August 26, 2022, at 10:00 AM ET to allow the public to provide feedback about proposed Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs). The Open Meeting will be held via Webinar only....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 10, 2022 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Healthcare Payment Policy
I’ve previously posted information about the sweeping changes to office-based payment of Cellular and/or Tissue-Based Products (CTPs) recently proposed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Office-based physicians will no longer be separately...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 9, 2022 | Fight the Good Fight
A few months ago, a woman brought her father in to see me for his leg edema. She had intervened when his health and his mental function deteriorated dramatically. When I walked in the door, I could tell he had sleep apnea. He was falling asleep as I talked to him, his...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 8, 2022 | Fight the Good Fight
My husband’s 10-year journey with dementia has been over for several years, but nearly every week I discover another friend or colleague who has embarked on the long goodbye. I can’t pretend to give anyone advice, but here are a few things I learned from my husband’s...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 5, 2022 | Fight the Good Fight, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
The American Medical Association (AMA) has just adopted a resolution opposing the unsafe use of so-called “mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy” in “mild hyperbaric facilities.” You can find more information below and in the link, but let me first illustrate WHY this issue...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 3, 2022 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Healthcare Payment Policy, Tales of the Medicare Disadvantaged
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Request for Information seeking public comment on the Medicare Advantage program. The goal of this program was described as, “more equitable, high quality, and person-centered care that is affordable...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 2, 2022 | Fight the Good Fight
It’s 2 am and I am up with a migraine but at least I have figured out why. Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia due to malabsorption syndrome. I was pretty sick by the time I sought help because the onset of the anemia was insidious (5+ years)...
