Rebecca Artz
In 1995, my dad was given the highest honor granted to a physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles — The Pioneer of Medicine Award. This ceremony was attended by a significant percentage of our 2,000 physician medical staff, and I was given the privilege of introducing him. He was 74 years old at that time. This is...
Consistent with the theme of this issue of AANS Neurosurgeon, I can think of no greater value to medicine and society than the role neurosurgeons have played in innovation. During the career of Egas Moniz (1874-1955), there was no formal neurosurgical training in Portugal. Neurosurgery was performed by general surgeons and Dr. Moniz clearly pushed the boundaries as a...
The last 12 months has seen seismic changes in how quality mandates impact neurosurgical practices. These changes will have an increasingly greater impact upon physician reimbursement. Paradigms have shifted and initiatives have changed substantially. This article will briefly review where neurosurgery is active in the quality space, what changes have begun in 2015 and how organized neurosurgery is responding...
It has been well publicized that the American health-care system faces a unique challenge in the coming years — increasing demands for health care and a decreasing supply of health- care providers. Multiple reports published by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) from the last decade have tracked both physician supply and physician demand. In its most recent...
It is no wonder Rome teems every day with bustling visitors, moving from one ancient marvel to another, trying in vain to fit one more glimpse of the past into the day. Walking through the city, layers of past centuries are revealed around every corner, yet as the proverb goes “To know Rome, a life does not suffice”.Ancient Rome's...
Many people think of Cancún bordering the Caribbean Sea or Acapulco along Mexico’s western coastline when planning their next escape from reality. Both offer numerous beaches, all-inclusive resorts and warm weather year round. However, there is another spot sometimes overlooked by foreign tourists, but well-known by Mexican tourists, that has everything you could want. According to the guide Lonely...
In Part I of this feature, we highlighted the importance of provider communication and crucial information exchanges in order to promote patient safety. Continuing this important theme, we present the second part of this article on the primacy of the provider-to-provider handoff to safe care for our patients. To read Part I, click here.Part IIBackground The clear, accurate and effective exchange...
In affiliation with the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies (CSNS) How often have we all heard the phrase "it’s not brain surgery?” Our profession has always been held in the highest respect by the general public. Like a rocket scientist, an accomplished neurosurgeon signifies the pinnacle of professional accomplishment. Over the last decade, the U.S. has seen a...
Junkie. Stoner. Crackhead. We have all heard these terms used to describe individuals who struggle with drug addiction. These terms are dismissive and disdainful; they reflect a moral judgment that is a relic of a bygone era when our understanding of addiction was limited, when many thought that addiction was some sort of moral failing and should be a...
“The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine’s Computer Age.” Robert Wachter MD. McGraw-Hill. New York. 2015. 330pp. It shouldn’t take much to convince neurosurgeons that our conversion from paper to digital has been a disaster. Robert M. Wachter, MD, father of the hospitalist movement, documents how health care has fallen on its face...
