Change Happens...

Its been a very full new year for us here in upper Middle TN. Brian and I have had one meeting after another it seems, and when you add in the kid's events we haven't have five minutes to ourselves as the piles of "tax stuff" in my room can attest to.

I have just returned home from an overnight stay in Nashville, this one for doctor stuff. You might have been at the Capital too much if the Legislators and Lobbyist are starting to ask you if you are there doctoring or farming...

I got to interact with my elected officials at the hill today and watch several of my physician friends do the same. I was really struck by how some of the doctors approached the visits like a lecture with a rigid set of talking points, while I took a more laid back approach. Who knowns which way is better, but I liked mixing in talking points with asking about Mums and making it to state playoffs in Basketball. I admit that I have known my Legislators for a lot longer though.

People - most people - are so busy that they don't take time to get to know their officials and then they expect the legislator to automatically take their position for an issue if something ever does move them enough to call or write.

Our state legislators work long hours, sit through boring and often confrontational meetings to keep our Government going and I thank each and every one of them for it. While I know that I may not agree with every vote they cast, at least I know that my concerns represent a personal face and story to them when I call. I can be grown up enough to agree to disagree on issues as well. I think more people in America have forgotten that critical fact.

Here in America, we are rapidly forgetting that we exist in a government of the people and by the people, and when the people are more interested in their facebooking and texting maybe we the people should reevaluate what that says about us as a whole.

Over the last year, there has been a ton of information put out about Health Care Reform... but after taking some time and thinking long and hard about it, I really think we need patient reform. Americans have forgotten that without an investment from them in the relationship with their doctor there will never be good medicine. And Doctors need to take time to listen to the patients complaints. But that means that patients need to come in focused and not with a laundry list of complaints and forms to fill out. Patients, especially those on government subsidized health care need to be made more accountable for their treatment, and tort reform should have been the basis of health care reform from the start.

How do you fix a broken system that is forced to order 20% of all MRIs in "defensive medicine"?

So even though as I sit here typing with a massive headache, I am glad for my fast paced life and for the work I do for my passions - agriculture and medicine. I fear that today's generation - my generation - is one that thinks someone else is going to take care of the issues and I can just live my life.

I have to counter that with something my Grandfather told me, "If you did not do any work for it, don't complain about it."

Hoping for brighter tomorrows... I have three here at home that need them.

my girls

Diner at Japanese with my hubby and my girls.

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playing games

Spent some down time tonight playing Rook angle Uno with my family. It was humbling to be bested at Uno by the five year old. I'd like to think this is a fluke, but she beats us all the time.

Yesterday, @DiamondMFarms and I went to Capital to plead, well at least state our position on ag related issues.

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Family Picture

 

A good reason for Heard health

We had another snow filled afternoon here in Tennessee, and given a light patient load, and sled some fun was in the making. Hubby and I had to check and feed the cattle at Diamond M Farms and since our babysitter was sick (aka my Mom "Gigi" who lives with us) we loaded up the kids and off we went.
Sledding, snowball fights, time with family friends and the loss of Ella's glasses rounded out the afternoon. But a picture is worth a thousand words, see my 2 year old eating snow. This is a prime reason that his Daddy spends so much time monitoring the health and immunization status of our cattle. He never knows when his doctor wife will get the bright idea to sled in the cow pasture, probably ruining some of his precious forage, and by so doing let the two year old eat snow from said pasture.
Agriculture impact can be found everywhere. Even in a two year olds handful of snow.

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Proposed TN care cuts - good or bad?

The new government in our state is facing tough issues in regards to our health care Medicaid program. I know that we are not alone in this plight and hope that some changes could be for the better. But I am deeply concerned when they plan on limited number of MD visits, little to no Physical Therapy, no hospice care, etc.

It seems like this is overkill in many places. Not all patients on TNcare are over using the system. As a working doctor in upper rural TN I already deal with treating multiple chronic diseases with only five scripts for medicine a month, with a few exceptions, and it takes my nurses an extra 20-40 minutes per prior authorization that we need.

Could we not make sensible changes instead of saying no MRI or limited visits, let's set up a copay system for these patients. This would cut down on unnecessary office visits and ED visits as well. I would even allow for a refund of fees if there were an emergency.

As a provider it seems to me that some not all of the Medicaid patients have no responsiblity to their end of their treatments.

How can we as a society fix healthcare cost without addressing this fundamental flaw?

So while I applaud the efforts for reform, further tieing my hands as a provider will only lead to trouble and more work with less time for actual patient care.

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Working Mom

I have thought a lot about what I wanted to write about next. Believe it or not have even put pen to paper and done some old fashioned research. Currently I am working on ideas about peoples perception of food safety in America, and some personal thoughts about cancer.

But at the moment I have a few minutes while my kids are at music class to think and write. Just got a hug from nephew as Aunt Amy stopped by class.

And what I am thinking is I am glad that this rain and not snow. And I am glad that our cows can get in from the weather. This week I had to help work on an abcess of a calf. My husband still thinks I am a vet. And that I wish I had an iPad to work with... silly thoughts

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