by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 2, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight
Dear Diary, I AM SO SPECIAL! Today I was treated with another new “Cellular and/or tissue based product!” Sometimes it’s big enough to be cut and put on all of us, and sometimes it’s so small that only one of us can get the special treatment. I always say, “PICK ME!...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 25, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight
Have you ever seen an oxygen toxicity seizure? You can see one on this You Tube, produced by the U.S. Navy many years ago. Here are the verbatim comments of hyperbaric technicians (from the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Registry) who observed oxygen seizures during...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 13, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight
Welcome to Pizza University for wound care! Check out the video below, and find out why we need to get rid of the cheese and hold the pesto:
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 28, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
I am just going to say it. The majority of prospective trials in wound healing have enrolled subjects whose wounds were more likely to heal than not. While more “generalizable” trials (meaning, actually relevant to real patients) are underway or in the planning...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 21, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
The story of my son’s intraoperative pressure injuries In August of 2017, Hurricane Harvey dumped 52 inches of rain on Houston turning the 4th largest city in America into a literal island. However, with our house above water, I was selfishly focused on...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 5, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
By Helen Gelly, MD Most people these days know their Credit Score. There are “apps” to check it and to improve it, even though it may be calculated in a complex way from a lot of factors. And even though the financial impact of a low credit score may be indirect, most...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 25, 2019 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Fight the Good Fight
This month in TWC, learn about the history of total parenteral nutrition and how the Space Race of the 1960’s helped patients with malabsorption. I explain why QCDR quality measures have been a disappointment for all specialties, why Practice Improvement Activities...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 24, 2019 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
I started this series of blogs with a discussion of Medicare audits and the impending bankruptcy of Medicare. We determined that audits come from perceived improper use and the reason that audits are accelerating is the impending bankruptcy of Medicare. Medicare is...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 22, 2019 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
Every practitioner is being positioned on a grid in relation to the cost of care as described, and their quality score which is usually a score obtained from MIPS quality reporting. The ideal position on the grid is the top right corner. To CMS, that person delivers...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 18, 2019 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
Why do my patients cost so much? I showed you the numbers in my MIPS “cost” category which concluded that I spend $58,000 per episode rather than $16,000, which is the average for a family practice doctor. Remember that these costs are being triggered by...
