By: Agustina Trapani

Agustina Trapani — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:22:59 +0000

I really wanted the CNET Best Buy rated 55 non 3D model XVT553SV but couldn’t find any in stock anywhere. The 47 had some good deals but is just too small when you compare it to bigger sets. I’m so happy I bought the 55 3D instead. The 2D picture is absolutely stunning but the 3D is simply amazing and worth the small increase in price compared to the difference in price to a non 3D Samsung. Everyone should demo a 3D in a store before writing it off as a gimmick. DirecTV already has 3 dedicated channels and more 3D video will surely be on the way soon. Games will probably lead the revolution in 3D but 3D sports broadcasts will be awesome as well. The new BluRay players are also now 3D capable. Vizio has long had a rep for the best prices but now they have the best technology and features along with the best prices.

By: Angelic Yambo

Angelic Yambo — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:33:20 +0000

Maggie,
Great response I agree with most of what you said, except the top. There are several important reforms to the practice of medicine, that physicians, as a whole have not embraced:
greater adherence to EBM. Physicians’ n=7 patient experience does not outweigh the evidence from well-designed studies. Medicine is an art, but it needs a lot more science. That requires doctors to do a little less creative thinking, doing a better job following directions, i.e. cookbook medicine. EBM-based medicine is not as glorious as our romantic ideals of what physicians think of ourselves. Its a significant change in practice and mindset. One that potentially allows NPs to work alongside MDs in a primary care setting.
transparency on process and outcomes quality metrics. Physicians should be tracked, graded and paid based on quality metrics. Unaccountable physicians paid for service and not results, needs to be a thing of the past.
Cuts in salary. We speak of cuts in specialists salaries today, but an EBM-based system could allow NPs to work as PCPs and potentially lower compensation in primary care as well. At a system level, the latter could lead to more than $10 billion in annual savings, the former even more.
Perhaps you run in a circle of enlightened docs that have already agreed to those points. But as a physician, that has interacted with many over the years, I don’t know many who embrace these important reform elements.
I’ve been a Wennberg fan for years, so didn’t mean to give the impression that I don’t appreciate his work. My point on Berwick is that he’s a little more direct in stating what tends to be more indirectly implied by Wennberg physicians too often aren’t doing the right thing and that needs to be fixed. Waste and distorted incentives are a critical part of it, but its founded on a practice of medicine that does not place enough importance on data and studies.
Finally I’ll the say the same for your work its excellent, important, and I look forward to more. You’ve taken Wennberg’s key points and made them digestable for all and raised awareness of these issues at the same time. If my prior comments read as overly critical, that wasn’t the intent. I just strongly disagree with the point that physicians are allies in health care reform. Many of the very tough issues are ones that the medical profession isn’t ready yet to admit as a whole, and will require greater awareness by the public before meaningful changes to the practice of health care can be accomplished.

Comments on: Charities in Cabo San Lucas (Part 1)

By: Agustina Trapani

By: Angelic Yambo