By CARLA K. JOHNSON (AP) CHICAGO — A nurse may soon be your doctor. With a looming shortage of primary care doctors, 28 states are considering expanding the authority of nurse practitioners. These nurses with advanced degrees want the right to practice without a doctor’s watchful eye and to prescribe narcotics. And if they hold a doctorate, they want to be called “Doctor.” For years, nurse practitioners have been playing a bigger role in the nation’s health care, especially in regions with few doctors. With 32 million more Americans gaining health insurance within a few...

Operation cover-upIt’s degrading the way our teenage girls and women dress today. They are wearing low-cut tops that expose their breasts, and pants that expose their butts. You see store clerks and waitresses, etc. dressed the same way. This is not appropriate dress for the job. No wonder there are so many sexual assaults and rapes. Store owners and others, please remind your personnel to look professional. It’s a sad day when you have to depend on cleavage for good tips. What a mistake Read More…

Doctor Shortages, Deadly Nursing Strikes Shows New Law’s Short-Term Results Won’t Be Pretty By Ken Terry, BNET Health policy experts and medical societies are concerned about a shortage of primary care physicians, which will be even worse when the Affordable Care Act unleashes an estimated 32 million newly insured patients on the healthcare system. And if you’re wondering what effects that might have on hospitals, a new study of striking hospital nurses suggests that the short-term result won’t be pretty. The study, led by MIT professor Jonathan Gruber (ironically, a cheerleader for reform),...

By CARLA K. JOHNSON (AP) CHICAGO — A nurse may soon be your doctor. With a looming shortage of primary care doctors, 28 states are considering expanding the authority of nurse practitioners. These nurses with advanced degrees want the right to practice without a doctor’s watchful eye and to prescribe narcotics. And if they hold a doctorate, they want to be called “Doctor.” For years, nurse practitioners have been playing a bigger role in the nation’s health care, especially in regions with few doctors. With 32 million more Americans gaining health insurance within a few...

By Geoff Meade EUROPEAN Union rules do not stop national authorities carrying out language tests on foreign doctors working in the UK, the European Commission has said. A health select committee report this week called for tighter vetting of foreign doctors, including rapid improvements to the way English language competency is checked among medics who travel to the UK for work as general practitioners. It urged ministers to press for EU rule changes to allow the General Medical Council to check on language competency. Yesterday the commission said foreign doctors working in the UK were covered...

By LAURAN NEERGAARD (AP) WASHINGTON — Better beat the crowd and find a doctor. Primary care physicians already are in short supply in parts of the country, and the landmark health overhaul that will bring them millions more newly insured patients in the next few years promises extra strain. The new law goes beyond offering coverage to the uninsured, with steps to improve the quality of care for the average person and help keep us well instead of today’s seek-care-after-you’re-sick culture. To benefit, you’ll need a regular health provider. Read More…

As coverage is extended to the once uninsured, observers hope regional medical schools are able to satisfy the growing demand. The University of New England was already planning to nearly double the size of its medical school in Biddeford. Its timing couldn’t be better. The health care reform law signed last week by President Obama will extend insurance to more than 30 million uninsured Americans. In Maine, that means that about 140,000 people will soon be more likely to see a primary care doctor than wait until they’re sick enough for the emergency room. They might have to wait to...

WASHINGTON — A quiet revolution is transforming how medical care is delivered in this country, and it has very little to do with the sweeping health care legislation that President Obama just signed into law. But it could have a big impact on that law’s chances for success. Traditionally, American medicine has been largely a cottage industry. Most doctors cared for patients in small, privately owned clinics — sometimes in rooms adjoining their homes. Read More…

Hours before President Obama signed the health care bill Tuesday, George Butler, a retired steelworker, was the first patient to enter Evanston-Rogers Park Community Health Center. By 9 a.m., all of the 22 black and gray molded plastic seats were filled. Mr. Butler, 75, who normally comes to have his diabetes and high blood pressure treated, needed a doctor’s note to get an extension on paying his gas bill. The rest of a lower-income Hispanic and black clientele sought typical medical help: advice on hypertension, refilling medications, a checkup for a newborn and follow-ups on test results....

Ultimately the health care bill means more people have access to doctors, but there’s already a shortage of physicians and nurses. One medical professional says you shouldn’t worry. At the Michigan State Medical School they are the next generation of doctors on the front lines of medicine and up against new health care legislation. William Strampel, MSU Osteopathic Medicine Dean: “I think there are going to be some glitches, I think there are going to be some rough spots, we’re going to work over the next 5 years, but I do not believe the whole system is going to collapse.”...