Physician Advocates for Single-Payer Health System Reform

Host: Michael Greenberg, MD and Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Carol Paris, MD We've heard a lot about health system reform in recent months. One possible mode of health care reform is the single-payer approach, but advocates of single-payer believe their principles have not received fair consideration from lawmakers, in large part because of the lobbying influence of the health care industry. Critics of single-payer argue that quality of care will go down and that the model will breed excess demand for medical services; advocates counter that it is the only way to provide comprehensive, cost-effective medical coverage for all. Hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Larry Kaskel welcome single-payer supporter Dr. Carol Paris, a psychiatrist practicing in southern Maryland, to articulate how she and her colleagues in the single-payer camp believe health care should be organized in the United States. Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Kaskel will also discuss physicians who are blogging about their malpractice trials, and a new study that indicates pagers may be more error prone than we expect. Is it time for physicians to abandon their beepers in favor of a litany of other mobile communication options?