Business of Medicine

Outgoing ALA President Forecasts Bright Future

PHOENIX-Laryngology is enjoying a resurgence in the world of endoscopy and the future of the field is promising, outgoing American Laryngological Association (ALA) President Roger L. Crumley, MD, MBA, said in his presidential address at the 130th annual meeting of the association, an address that touched on the discipline’s past as well as challenges it is facing.

Universal Electronic Health Records: Progress or Boondoggle?

Implementing electronic health records (EHRs) for all 633,000 physicians and 5708 hospitals in the United States is a daunting task, and one that is being nudged forward by Team Obama’s $19 billion stimulus plan earmarked to help health care providers to switch to EHRs.

The Time for Leadership Is Now, Says Past ACS President

PHOENIX-With the election of President Barack Obama and with lawmakers in Washington poised to overhaul the health care system, with patients’ faith in their doctors faltering, and with health costs continuing to rise and quality becoming ever more questionable, Gerald B. Healy, MD, took the lectern for his keynote address here as if he were taking the helm of a ship at risk of being capsized by stormy seas.

Green Is the Healthy Way to Go

PHOENIX-Doctors have a duty to encourage the hospitals and clinics they work in to go green because helping create a cleaner environment will improve the health of the very patients they are supposed to be caring for.

Keeping Rhinoplasty Complications to a Minimum

PHILADELPHIA-It’s a moment that rhinoplasty surgeons dread: They’ve performed a surgery, the operation is over, then they realize that something has gone wrong. To fix it, there will have to be another surgery.

Multidisciplinary Treatment Needed for Vascular Anomalies

Few medical conditions that otolaryngologists treat possess the breadth of heterogeneity of vascular anomalies. The size of lesions ranges from minute to massive, and the manifestations range from trivial to life-threatening, with the severity of symptoms not always proportional to the size of the lesion.

Computer Technology Boosts Rhinologic Surgery, but Poses Choices for Surgeons

PHILADELPHIA-Constantly advancing computer technology in rhinologic surgery leads to the possibility of better patient care, but also can mean difficult decisions for surgeons weighing whether to make an expensive purchase. Three surgeons gathered to discuss some of the nuances of the technology in a mini seminar at Rhinology World 2009.