Hard hit by wildfires, California doctors remain in practice
More than 250 physicians lost their homes to the wildfires that hit the Santa Rosa and Napa Valley areas of California last October. But few have given up and moved on from the area, according to the North Bay Business Journal.
The Sonoma County Medical Association has been working closely with physicians who are trying to rebuild. The group says the Solano and Napa County Medical Societies also indicated few physicians affected by the fires have chosen to relocate.
“We want to make sure our healthcare community stays robust,” said Patricia May, M.D., a general surgeon at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa, who lost her own home in the fires and is now president of the Sonoma County Medical Association. (North Bay Business Journal)
Survey: Majority of women in healthcare don't expect parity for 25 years
Even though more women are taking on positions of power in healthcare, they're not exactly optimistic about the future of gender equality in the industry.
Rock Health, a digital health venture fund, surveyed more than 630 women between May and June and found that 55% believe it will take 25 years or more to achieve gender parity in healthcare.
Just 5% believe parity is achievable in the next five years and another 5% believe gender parity will never be achieved in the industry, according to the survey. (Fierce Healthcare)
Doximity releases guide to residency programs
Doximity, the physician social network, has released a guide to help medical school students compare residency programs across the U.S.
The 2018-2019 Residency Navigator includes information on more than 4,000 residency programs across 28 specialties. The guide is based on alumni ratings and reviews and shares insights from the largest survey of its kind, with over 72,500 verified U.S. physician respondents who have contributed nominations, ratings and hand-written reviews. (Doximity residency guide)
Many cancer patients say doctors don’t discuss financial toxicity
Doctors need to do a better job discussing the financial worries of cancer patients, according to a new study.
The study, published in the journal Cancer, found the topic of financial toxicity is not being adequately addressed by oncologists and other clinicians. Although a survey of 306 medical oncologists found that about half of them said someone in their practice often or always discusses financial burden with patients, many patients disagreed. They reported inadequate clinician engagement in the management of their financial concerns.
“Clinician assessment and communication regarding financial toxicity must improve; cure at the cost of financial ruin is unacceptable,” the researchers wrote. (Cancer study)