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Revolution Rounds: The Best of the Medical Expert Blogs, 1.4.08

January 5th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
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Welcome to 2008’s first edition of Revolution Rounds, my biweekly round up of the best Revolution Health expert blog posts. Not surprisingly, there’s a decidedly New Year’s theme in this collection of posts. If you’re looking to stick to a New Year’s resolution, be sure to check out the Revolution Health groups section of the site. Whether you’d like to lose weight, quit smoking, or improve your relationships – there’s a group of like minded souls out there resolving to do the same!

Health tips

Dr.
Stacy has 20 New Year’s resolutions for kids. She has even organized them
by age group for you.

New
Year’s resolutions are more likely to succeed if you follow this advice. Mira Kirshenbaum has some great tips for adults.

Would
you like to lose weight effortlessly? Sandra
Foschi suggests that good sleep habits can contribute to
weight loss.

Reading
the right blog could save your life. Dr. HJ Lenz describes how one woman
learned about certain treatment options from his colorectal cancer blog, and it
changed her life.

Would
you like to stop snoring? Dr. Steve Poceta
has some excellent tips.

The best treatment for autism may not be a drug, but human caring.

Robin Morris discusses the findings of some recent research.

Do
you struggle with jet lag? Dr. Vivian Dickerson has some suggestions for
reducing your symptoms.

Pedometers
can encourage increased exercise. Dr. Jim Herndon suggests that a pedometer
might be an excellent addition to your weight loss resolution!

In
case you need another good reason to quit smoking: Dr. Mark Perloe reminds
us that smoking a pack a day can increase the risk of erectile dysfunction by
40%.

Think
you know how to insert eye drops? Think again. Dr. Jackie Griffiths has
some special advice for those of you who need eye drops regularly.

Did you know?

San
Francisco’s mayor has proposed a soda tax. Dr. Jim Hill explains that this
money is unlikely to put a dent in the obesity epidemic.

In
some cultures childhood epilepsy is treated by burning the feet with hot coals.
Dr. Jide Williams describes this horrific practice in rural Africa.

Snowblower
injuries are still quite common even though manufacturers have been working for
over 30 years to make the machines safer. Dr. Jim Herndon explains.

It
is possible to create embryos for the purpose of treating certain diseases, not
strictly for procreation. Dr. Mark Perloe discusses some of the ethical
dilemmas associated with stem cells.

Fitness
is more important than fatness. Dr. Vivian Dickerson explains.

Excess
weight in childhood is linked to adult heart disease. Dr. Jim Hill suggests
that fitness and weight control should begin early to promote good health in
adulthood.

Many
physicians need to work on their empathy. Dr. Mike Rabow explains that
younger physicians may be more empathic than older ones.

Your
emotional state can dramatically affect your physical health. Dr. Joe Scherger discusses this mind-body connection.

Demanding
parents may cause their childrens’ teachers to burn out. Dr. Stacy Stryer
describes this unfortunate phenomenon.

Skim
milk consumption may be linked to prostate cancer. Dr. Julie Silver raises
the question of whether or not skim and low fat milk are over-rated in their
health benefits.

You
don’t need both eyes to have good depth perception. Dr. Jackie Griffiths,
Revolution Health’s ophthalmologist, explains.

Newer
isn’t automatically better. Dr. Mike Glode bemoans the fact that we have
the tendency to rush after the latest medical technology without stopping to
analyze the cost benefit ratio.

Personal Stories

One
woman had an unpleasant surprise on her 40^th birthday: a massive
stroke with left hemi-neglect! Dr. Olajide Williams describes the event
with poetic language.

Laughter
is the best medicine. Dr. Stacy Stryer describes how she puts this axiom
into practice in her family.

Dr.
Julie Silver was prompted by her daughter to become one of Charlie’s angels.
You’ll have to read the post to get the reference.

Vitamin
hawkers exaggerate their product’s benefits without recourse. Dr. Mike
Glode describes one interesting example of this phenomenon.

This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.

Healthcare Red Tape Of The Week: PQRI

January 3rd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Opinion
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How has the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) been going? Some insights are offered from an internist in the trenches, (the only 1 of 20 physicians in his practice who was able to figure out how to comply with the PQRI rules), The Happy Hospitalist:

I found out today many docs may not have qualified because of the way the government PQRI computers crunched the data (imagine that). You see, if my quality indicator was for antiplatelet use in stroke, and I submitted to CMS stroke as the 4th ICD code, along with three comorbid conditions ( like DM, COPD, CAD), unless I submitted stroke as diagnosis #1, PQRI would reject my submission. So CMS accepts your E&M code with stroke listed as the 4th diagnosis to get paid, but when that claim makes it to the PQRI folks, because stroke was diagnosis #4 and not diagnosis#1, PQRI would reject the submission and doctors all over this country were dinged for not reporting on 80% of qualified patients…

I also found out that PQRI indicator #36 calls for rehab ordered for all “intracranial” hemorrhage. During my meeting today I found out that the only ICD codes linked to this quality indicator are “intracerebral” hemorrhage. Sub dural bleeds, which are intracranial, are excluded. So are subarachnoids. They have problems even defining what they are trying to measure.

Unclutter to Lose Weight?

January 3rd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in News
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A colleague of mine asked me what I thought about the recent New York Times article correlating household clutter with weight gain. It’s an interesting connection, so I thought I’d blog about it.

I think that clutter is probably a reflection of person’s emotional state, personality type, and upbringing. Some people seem to be more orderly by nature, others don’t focus on neatness as much. Some of us were trained to make our bed every morning, a few had a parent or nanny to do that. And still others have been “whipped into shape” by their spouse. Overall I think most of us prefer some degree of order over chaos, and given the choice would like to keep a fairly orderly home.

Now, what’s interesting to me is the emotional component in all this. We each have a certain level of baseline neatness, and we stray from that when we feel anxious, depressed, or exhausted. Think about what your house looks like now – is it at your natural baseline of orderliness? If not, are you more anxious, depressed, or tired than usual? I bet there’s a connection.

Many people gain weight when they’re anxious, depressed, or sleep deprived. So in a way, household messiness can be a marker for emotional distress. And it’s the emotional distress that fuels the weight problems. When a person is ready to lose weight, they’re probably motivated because they’ve managed to rise above their emotional concerns to achieve their goal.

So my point is this: take a look at your home to get a sense for how you’re doing emotionally. Are you anxious or depressed about something? Are you having relationship problems? Are you having difficulty sleeping?

Revolution Health has expert-led groups available to help you understand your emotions and how they influence your behavior. I think you will really benefit from getting into a discussion group and sharing your stories with others like you.

Here are some examples of groups that you can join right now (click to join):

Relationship Help – Mira Kirshenbaum, Counselor

Sleep Better – Steve Poceta, MD, Neurologist

Take Charge of Your Life – Ned Hallowell, MD, Psychiatrist

Lose Weight – Val Jones, MD, Rehabilitation Medicine

A Fit Family– Stacy Stryer, MD, Pediatrician

De-stress – Brad Jacobs, MD, Internal Medicine

Quit Smoking – Joe Scherger, MD, Family Medicine

Walk Your Way Thin – Jim Hill, PhD, Psychology

Maintain Your Weight – Chris Newport, Personal Trainer

Eat Right– Sandra Foschi, Nutritionist and Physical Therapist

Why not join a group? They may really help you to look and feel your very best this New Year. Not too many websites will offer this for free as Revolution Health does.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.