by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 11, 2021 | Healthcare Payment Policy, Tales of the Medicare Disadvantaged, The Patient's Voice
If your practice is like mine, an increasing percentage of your patients have Medicare Advantage (MA), rather than traditional Medicare fee for service (FFS). If you are like me, you have been frustrated with the inability to get their Medicare “Advantage” plan to pay...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 19, 2020 | The Patient's Voice, Undaunted Spirit Award
If you are struggling with the COVID blues (like me) and need some encouragement, check out the editorial in the July issue of Today’s Wound Clinic. The theme of the issue was amputation prevention, and I asked Morgan McCoy to be the guest editor. Morgan is a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 13, 2019 | Miscellaneous Musings, The Patient's Voice, Undaunted Spirit Award
With her permission, I am sharing the photo of this beautiful woman who had a cardiac arrest 6 months ago in conjunction with an acute MI, went into cardioenic shock and was kept alive with the help of a left ventricular assist device. She’s got a host of underlying...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 18, 2019 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, The Patient's Voice, Uncategorized
An increasing percentage of my wound center patients have Medicare Advantage plans offered by private payers. As I’ve discussed on previous blogs, it’s getting very hard to use cellular and/or tissue-based products (CTPs) on chronic wound patients with Medicare...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 26, 2019 | Miscellaneous Musings, The Patient's Voice
Here’s a photo of a gorgeous Texas quilt, hand crafted by an octogenarian wound center patient (she’s getting her dressing changed). Caroline Fife, M.D.Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound care physician dedicated to improving patient outcomes through quality driven...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 22, 2019 | Miscellaneous Musings, The Patient's Voice
This cane makes me think of the Johnny Cash song, “I’ve been everywhere.” Caroline Fife, M.D.Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound care physician dedicated to improving patient outcomes through quality driven care. Please visit my blog at CarolineFifeMD.com and my...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 20, 2019 | Miscellaneous Musings, The Patient's Voice
Here’s a nifty way to keep track of your phone and your pen if you are in a wheelchair. Caroline Fife, M.D.Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound care physician dedicated to improving patient outcomes through quality driven care. Please visit my blog...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 19, 2019 | Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, The Patient's Voice
Patients inspire me every day. This lady in her 9th decade showed me a picture on her smart phone (which alone is an accomplishment). She’s at church playing the accordion and the piano at the same time. I’ll add her to my gallery of patients with “undaunted spirit.”...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 26, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, The Patient's Voice
My wonderful Dad, a WWII and Korean War veteran, and probably the closest thing to the real Indiana Jones, died a few years ago after a series of terrible strokes. He had undergone neurosurgery in Houston at the hospital where I was on staff and when he suffered a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 22, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, The Patient's Voice
About 13 years ago, one of my children developed a serious medical illness and I took several months off to be a full time caregiver. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go back to practicing medicine. I was pretty depressed about the whole situation when I decided to try...
