Docs still open to freebies; Geisinger gets the medical home right;

> Despite the medical industry's so-called movement away from industry ties, a new survey by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine reveals that, other than pediatricians, individual physicians still consider receiving gifts from drug and device manufacturers to be generally appropriate. Article

> The New York Times reports on how Geisinger Health System, which is also a health insurer, has managed to achieve an 18 percent reduction in hospital admissions and 7 percent reduction in overall medical expenses using the medical home model. Hint: The company pays the salaries for extra nurses in the doctors' offices and shares with the doctors any savings they can achieve by reducing medical expenses. Article

> In the wake of the mainstream press picking up on medical offices' increasingly charging patients administrative fees for services that are not covered by insurance, the Medical Group Management Association continued the discussion--specifically pertaining to no-show fees--in its LinkedIn discussion group and published several of the more interesting comments on its blog. Post 

> Under current law, Illinois doctors convicted of sex crimes sometimes escape discipline, even when their victims are patients, reports an article in the Chicago Tribune. The newspaper's review uncovered 16 sex offenders who have held state medical licenses within the past 15 years. Not one had his license permanently revoked following his conviction. Article

> A bill responding to a case of a pediatrician molesting over 100 children unanimously cleared the Delaware Senate last Wednesday. If approved by the House and signed by Gov. Jack Markell, the law would require a doctor applying for a Delaware medical license to provide letters from the healthcare facilities where they had direct contact with patients during the five years prior to their Delaware application. The letters require disclosure of any substantiated incidents of violence, threats of violence or neglect and any disciplinary actions that resulted from those incidents. Article

> Well known physician blogger Kevin Pho, MD, noted that 15,000 doctors across Germany are staging a walkout to press for higher pay and better working conditions. He asked readers--many of them coping with slashed reimbursement from the U.S. government payer--if American doctors ought to do the same. Post

And finally... It's official: Nothing good can come of canned unicorn meat. Article