Phoenix says transition smooth despite patient complaints

A corporate entity took over emergency room operations at Haywood Regional Medical Center last week, and so far it hasn’t gone great, according to patients and those working inside the ER.

Doctors criticize board’s decision and its process

The current falling out between Haywood Regional Medical Center and the ER doctors is a symptom of a larger problem afoot, according to physicians who appealed to the hospital board on behalf of the medical community last week.

Emergency physicians air concerns, hear public input at community forum

Haywood Emergency Physicians expressed concern at a public forum last Tuesday night (Dec. 19) about the turnover of emergency room operations at Haywood Regional Medical Center to a new corporate physician staffing entity at midnight the night of Thursday, Dec. 28.

It is a sad day, indeed

Thursday night, the Haywood Regional Medical Center Board chose to breach the hospital’s contract with Haywood Emergency Physicians rather than consider mediation, as proposed by the medical staff.

What the system needs now

By Mark Jaben

In an earlier column, I discussed whether cutting costs should be the underlying motive for our health care system. Unfortunately, there is something even more fundamental that has been cut along the way.

Looking for ways to fix the health care system

By Mark Jaben

Last time, we talked about EMTALA (the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act), managed care and how far the pendulum has swung, leading to decreased capacity in the system. The availability and provision of health care is not determined by system planning, but by unintended downstream effects, resulting in uneven, unfair health care rationing. Do the rules of the system still work?

What the health care system needs now

Do the rules of our health care system work anymore? That is the question posed in this column two weeks ago.

A survival guide for direct-to-consumer ads

By Mark Jaben

In the 1970s, a book written about a doctor’s internship experience, The House of God, reached near cult status for its reasonably accurate — if not cynical — portrayal of one intern’s experience surviving medical training.

Health care costs remain important issue for voters

From behind the prescription counter at Village Pharmacy in Waynesville, Jim Winfree has a bird’s eye view of rising drug costs in America.

Where do you get medical advice?

By Mark Jaben

I always marvel at people that tell me they haven’t been to a doctor in 25 years. Not engaging the health care system is a great strategy if you can get by with it. But then, they are seeing me, so what does that say.

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