The best medical schools for research are dominated by private and pricey institutions. The top four, in descending order are Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis. The fifth place, however, goes to a public institution in California, according to US News and World Report.
The University of California – San Francisco, School of Medicine (5th) is the top rated California program from research and primary care. The UCSF Medical Center also has been named one of the top 10 hospitals in the country, and it is also the best hospital in the Bay Area.
Stanford School of Medicine (6th) aims to identify candidates who are committed to serving the needs of all members of society and whose accomplishments reveal originality and a capacity for independent, critical thinking. Our students are best characterized by a strong desire to develop into exceptional clinicians and innovators in the biomedical sciences and public health.
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (tied 11) has more than 2,000 full-time faculty members, almost 1,300 residents, more than 750 medical students and almost 400 Ph.D. candidates. The medical school is also ranked ninth in the country in research funding from the National Institutes of Health and third in the United States in research dollars from all sources.
UCSD’s School of Medicine (tied15) and its Division of Medical Education help aspiring and current physicians in their quest for life long learning. Its aim is to train physicians to give state of the art, scientifically astute, and compassionate care to patients. The 120 members of the Division work with the faculty of the School of Medicine to encourage intelligent and humanistic individuals to pursue medicine as a career and to, in practice, fulfill their potential to develop, deliver, and assess the curricular materials needed for them to learn the science of medicine as well as the art.
Source
Monday, September 28, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Docs speak out on health care reform
The health care system in the United States is broken. That much was in agreement among those who spoke at a health care reform meeting hosted by state Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153, Monday at Holy Redeemer Hospital.
“Clearly we’ve got to address access,” Holy Redeemer Health System President and CEO Mike Laign said. “Everyone should have access” to some measure of health care “so they are not living in fear.”
About 50 physicians, hospital administrators and other health care providers attended the forum aimed at soliciting input for a plan to meet President Obama’s goal of universal access to health care in the country. Shapiro was named last week as one of 32 state legislators nationwide to serve on the White House Team of State Legislators for Health Reform.
The team has been tasked with “helping the president shape the health care debate,” and subsequently to “cheerlead” for passage of a plan, Shapiro told the attendees, adding, “We are in the shaping phase.”
Access and cost are the two main factors, he said, with issues in Pennsylvania, such as not having enough primary care physicians and ob/gyns to treat people, shared by many states. Congressional committees are in the process of drafting legislation and “ideally a package will be ready to vote on in September or October,” Shapiro said.
“The current path — the status quo — in unsustainable,” he said. “The time is right; I need your help.”
Defensive medicine in the form of unnecessary tests, the high cost of medical school, the inflated cost of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, patient expectations and philosophical issues regarding end of life care were among topics addressed by about 20 who offered comments at the meeting. Many also cautioned about rushing to formulate a plan.
The government “should be taking the time to do it right,” said Dick Jones, CEO of Abington Memorial Hospital.
Hospitals are working to reduce infection rates, unnecessary tests and hospital stays, but “something has to be done about tort reform,” Jones said. “We’re playing our part, but we can’t be totally nailed to the wall on cost,” he added, noting most hospitals make no margin on Medicare.
According to a report released in June by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, hospitals’ operating margins dropped from 4.82 percent to 3.98 percent in fiscal year 2007-08, and almost a third of 169 that reported data had negative total margins.
Health care reform “is complicated” and “payment is not just the [only] issue,” said Dr. Arnie Cohen, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Einstein Hospital.
Patient expectations need to be changed, physicians need to be in charge of treatment and “tort reform belies everything we do in medicine,” Cohen said. “Everything we do every day is based on protecting ourselves.”
“Malpractice reform must be a key element of any reform. We need to resolve conflicts in a different fashion,” Montgomery County Medical Society President Mark Lopatin agreed.
“Patient expectation is huge … that to me is the core of the problem,” he said. Access is not impacted just by a lack of insurance, “there are backups due to unnecessary tests.” Defensive medicine costs about $100 billion a year, he said.
More than 80 percent of health care costs occur in the first and last years of people’s lives, said a doctor who identified himself as a nephrologoist who works at seven hospitals. There is a need to determine how to address “extra care for those who have no chance of survival.”
Source
“Clearly we’ve got to address access,” Holy Redeemer Health System President and CEO Mike Laign said. “Everyone should have access” to some measure of health care “so they are not living in fear.”
About 50 physicians, hospital administrators and other health care providers attended the forum aimed at soliciting input for a plan to meet President Obama’s goal of universal access to health care in the country. Shapiro was named last week as one of 32 state legislators nationwide to serve on the White House Team of State Legislators for Health Reform.
The team has been tasked with “helping the president shape the health care debate,” and subsequently to “cheerlead” for passage of a plan, Shapiro told the attendees, adding, “We are in the shaping phase.”
Access and cost are the two main factors, he said, with issues in Pennsylvania, such as not having enough primary care physicians and ob/gyns to treat people, shared by many states. Congressional committees are in the process of drafting legislation and “ideally a package will be ready to vote on in September or October,” Shapiro said.
“The current path — the status quo — in unsustainable,” he said. “The time is right; I need your help.”
Defensive medicine in the form of unnecessary tests, the high cost of medical school, the inflated cost of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, patient expectations and philosophical issues regarding end of life care were among topics addressed by about 20 who offered comments at the meeting. Many also cautioned about rushing to formulate a plan.
The government “should be taking the time to do it right,” said Dick Jones, CEO of Abington Memorial Hospital.
Hospitals are working to reduce infection rates, unnecessary tests and hospital stays, but “something has to be done about tort reform,” Jones said. “We’re playing our part, but we can’t be totally nailed to the wall on cost,” he added, noting most hospitals make no margin on Medicare.
According to a report released in June by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, hospitals’ operating margins dropped from 4.82 percent to 3.98 percent in fiscal year 2007-08, and almost a third of 169 that reported data had negative total margins.
Health care reform “is complicated” and “payment is not just the [only] issue,” said Dr. Arnie Cohen, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Einstein Hospital.
Patient expectations need to be changed, physicians need to be in charge of treatment and “tort reform belies everything we do in medicine,” Cohen said. “Everything we do every day is based on protecting ourselves.”
“Malpractice reform must be a key element of any reform. We need to resolve conflicts in a different fashion,” Montgomery County Medical Society President Mark Lopatin agreed.
“Patient expectation is huge … that to me is the core of the problem,” he said. Access is not impacted just by a lack of insurance, “there are backups due to unnecessary tests.” Defensive medicine costs about $100 billion a year, he said.
More than 80 percent of health care costs occur in the first and last years of people’s lives, said a doctor who identified himself as a nephrologoist who works at seven hospitals. There is a need to determine how to address “extra care for those who have no chance of survival.”
Source
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
It’s great to be here in Annandale, and I’m looking forward to answering questions from the folks here with us today as well as the Americans who’ve submitted questions online.
Discuss
COMMENTS (3)
But before I begin, I just want to say a few words about where we are as a nation and where we need to go.
We are living through extraordinary times. This generation of Americans – our generation – has been called to confront challenges of a magnitude unmatched in recent history – challenges that few generations of Americans have ever been asked to confront. In addition to the immediate threats we face – two wars and a deep recession – our economy has also been weakened by the failure to solve problems that have plagued us for decades: the crushing cost of health care, the state of our schools, and our dependence on foreign oil.
Now, I know there are some who say that in tackling all these problems, my administration is taking on too much at once – that we’re moving too fast, too soon.
Well I say that America has waited long enough. It’s not too soon to fix our schools when we’re already behind other nations in graduation rates and achievement. It’s not too soon to wean ourselves off dirty sources of energy when we’ve been talking about our oil dependence since Richard Nixon was president. It’s not too soon to reform our health care system when we’ve been talking about fixing it since Teddy Roosevelt was president.
We are at a defining moment for this nation. If we act now, we can rebuild an economy that is strong, and competitive, and prosperous once more. We can lead this century as we lead the last. But if we don’t act – if we let this moment pass – we could see this economy sputter along for years, if not decades. We could see our children inherit a world that is poorer and more dangerous than the one we found. I know that people say the cost of fixing our problems is great, but I can assure you – we have reached a point where the cost of doing nothing is far greater.
Source
Discuss
COMMENTS (3)
But before I begin, I just want to say a few words about where we are as a nation and where we need to go.
We are living through extraordinary times. This generation of Americans – our generation – has been called to confront challenges of a magnitude unmatched in recent history – challenges that few generations of Americans have ever been asked to confront. In addition to the immediate threats we face – two wars and a deep recession – our economy has also been weakened by the failure to solve problems that have plagued us for decades: the crushing cost of health care, the state of our schools, and our dependence on foreign oil.
Now, I know there are some who say that in tackling all these problems, my administration is taking on too much at once – that we’re moving too fast, too soon.
Well I say that America has waited long enough. It’s not too soon to fix our schools when we’re already behind other nations in graduation rates and achievement. It’s not too soon to wean ourselves off dirty sources of energy when we’ve been talking about our oil dependence since Richard Nixon was president. It’s not too soon to reform our health care system when we’ve been talking about fixing it since Teddy Roosevelt was president.
We are at a defining moment for this nation. If we act now, we can rebuild an economy that is strong, and competitive, and prosperous once more. We can lead this century as we lead the last. But if we don’t act – if we let this moment pass – we could see this economy sputter along for years, if not decades. We could see our children inherit a world that is poorer and more dangerous than the one we found. I know that people say the cost of fixing our problems is great, but I can assure you – we have reached a point where the cost of doing nothing is far greater.
Source
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