Doctors need to eliminate waste from healthcare -Commercial Appeal

Published: September 23, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

Thirty percent of health care spending — amounting to $750 billion a year — is wasted, according to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine.

I know. As a doctor, I am party to this waste, and I think doctors can play a major role in recovering it. Read More

LETTERS : In Search of Political Champions for the Poor - New York Times

Published: September 15, 2012
By Dr. Manoj Jain

To the Editor:

Re “Cutting the Deficit, With Compassion” (Economic View, Sept. 9), in which Christina R. Romer suggested reducing the federal budget deficit “in a way that does as little harm as possible to people, jobs and economic opportunity.” Read More

Data, coaching important in changing behavior in health care and life - Commercial Appeal

Published: September 10, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

A few months ago, as I drove my daughter to the airport on Interstate 240 for her summer internship in Boston, I read the overhead message sign: "TN ROADWAY FATALITIES 371 — PLEASE DON'T BE NEXT" The same day, walking into my hospital's ICU, I saw a sign stating "104 Days Without a Fall" Read More

We all need 'skin' in Medicare debate - Commercial Appeal

Published: September 02, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

As I approach my 50th birthday, I worry about Medicare not being there for me when I become eligible. I have some inside knowledge about Medicare. My parents and in-laws are patients on Medicare. As a doctor, I am a provider for Medicare, and as a public health educator I am a consultant for a Medicare quality improvement organization. Read More

Medicare Control of Cost - Huffington Post

Published: August 31, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

As I approach my 50th birthday, I worry about Medicare not being there for me when I become eligible. I have some inside knowledge about Medicare. My parents and in-laws are patients on Medicare. As a doctor, I am a provider for Medicare, and as a public health educator I am a consultant for a Medicare quality improvement organization. Read More

Sikh Temple massacre shows violent thoughts, words lead to actions - Commercial Appeal

Published: August 10, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

On Tuesday night, I sat with my children at the Sikh temple in Cordova and wondered what triggered Wade Michael Page to massacre six people at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc.

Though no one will know for sure, this much seems certain: Page had the seeds of white supremacism planted in his mind for decades. Read More

Data show football may not be safe for kids - Commercial Appeal

Published: August 05, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

Last fall, I went with my 12-year-old son to his middle school's opening home football game. The bleachers were lined with parents, the smell of hot dogs and nachos wafted over the field, the announcer's voice blared, and the cheerleaders jumped out of sync. Read More

Employers have clout to reduce health costs - Commercial Appeal

Businesses get results by working directly with doctors, hospitals to change care delivery and payment
Published: July 08, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

I once thought that only the federal government in Washington could effect changes that would impact the cost of health care in the United States, especially with so much attention on the recent Supreme Court decision on the 2010 health care reform law. But now I think differently. Read More

Judging 'Obamacare' depends on your situation Put politics aside and just focus on facts - Commercial Appeal

Published: July 01, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

On the day the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its historic decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, I was rounding on my hospital patients: a man on the ventilator with pneumonia who had private insurance, one elderly woman with abdominal pain going for gall bladder surgery on Medicare, and one middle aged obese woman with a skin infection without any health insurance. Read More

Family support makes transplants easier to take - Commercial Appeal

Published: June 18, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

I had not recognized the deep bonds between sisters until I saw my two daughters holding each other in a long embrace after the older one returned from college.

Thinking back, I should have recognized this bond from my two patients, twin 51-year-old sisters whose first names are separated by only one letter. Both were admitted to the hospital a few months ago. Juana Boyland is three minutes older than Tjuana Boyland, their younger brother told me at Tjuana's bedside, and Juana required a lung transplant in 1997, seven years before Tjuana. Read More

Dr. Manoj Jain: Alert wife assists on doctors' diagnosis - Commercial Appeal

Published: June 03, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

Often patients and families think their doctor is all-knowing when it comes to the causes of their illness and the plan for treatment. Yet, uncertainty underlies each diagnosis and treatment plan.

This could not have been more true in Jay Killen's case. I know this first-hand because I am one of the doctors caring for him. Read More

Meningitis - WREG

Texas just became the 4th state to pass a law requiring the meningitis vaccine for college students who plan to live in dorms.  While it’s not a law here, we wondered if it really is important enough. That it should be.  Infectious disease expert, Dr. Manoj Jain, is here with advice for your college student.

Culture change on obesity will take time - Commercial Appeal Article

Published: May 21, 2012

by Dr. Manoj Jain

"Ouch," that hurt, I said last Sunday. It was not a reaction to the Grizzlies' Game 7 loss to the Clippers, but Chris Peck's scathing must-read commentary on Memphis being the national hub for obesity and our lack of concern about it.

I will not pain you with many statistics like: one in three white women and one in two black women in Memphis are obese. Rather, I will share some stories about the Memphis culture. Read More

Cautionary tales make anti-smoking ads effective - Commercial Appeal

Published: May 14, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

As I was scrolling through the newspaper online recently, an ad kept blinking on the side of my computer screen. It read: "A Tip from a Former Smoker. After a stroke from smoking, get used to losing your independence." In the background was a middle-age woman in bed who could not move her left arm. The ad continued. "Smoking causes immediate damage to your body that causes a stroke. For Suzy, it triggered blood clots that caused a stroke." Read More

How much does it cost? Even doctor is stumped - Commercial Appeal

Published: March 19, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

Rarely do people think about medical costs when there is a medical emergency or an urgent need for a test. Recently, I was in such a situation.

A few days after a 22-hour international flight, the calf muscle in my right leg began to ache. If it were not for the recent flight, or if I were not a doctor, I would have just let it pass. Read More

Doctors in private practices are now joining hospital staffs - Washington Post

Published: March 13, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

Fifteen years ago, I proudly hung a sign outside my office with my name followed by “MD.” I had started my own business.

A small private medical practice is much like a mom-and-pop store, where the doctor has the autonomy to decide the hours, which insurance to accept, which patients to see and how much to charge.Read More

Pioneering physicians' life stories are treasures - Commerical Appeal

Published: February 27, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

Last week, I hurried through the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library to attend a forum on Asian-Americans. Afterward, Wang-Ying Glasgow, the coordinator for library services, urged me not to miss the new gallery exhibit on the history of African-American doctors in Memphis. Read More

Author Rushdie and Indian Ambassador Rao to headline India Summit | Emory University | Atlanta, GA

Acclaimed author Salman Rushdie and Indian Ambassador to the United States Nirupama Rao are among the speakers at the third annualIndia Summit on March 2-3 at Emory University. Grounded in the cross-cutting theme of innovation, the summit features panels on medical tourism, technology and privacy, creativity and the arts, public health and international business opportunities read more

White House advisors meet with Mid-South Asian American community -WMCTV

February 17, 2012

White House officials made a trip to Memphis Thursday to talk with the Asian American and Pacific islander community, one of the fastest growing communities in the Mid-South. view video

Hospitals feeling way toward greater transparency - Commercial Appeal

Published: February 13, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

A few years ago at a conference, I learned about a hospital initiative that allowed family members to be present 24/7 with their loved ones, often in the most challenging of environments, such as the intensive care unit.

I was hesitant to accept this practice. Read More

What kind of sick? Symptoms, treatment differ among cold, flu, bacterial infection - Commercial Appeal

Published: January 23, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

On a Friday afternoon last month, Niti Mehta, a second-grade teacher at Shady Grove Elementary, began to "shake like a leaf."

A week earlier, she had the sniffles and nasal congestion, but no fever or shivering. Read More

Test pattern: Doctors rethink paradigm for cancer screening - Commercial Appeal Article

Published: January 22, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain

Some years before his retirement, when my father-in-law went in for his routine physical, his doctor ordered a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, along with a cholesterol test and blood count. My father-in-law was not having any symptoms, and no one in his family had a history of prostate cancer. Read More