Better Health: Smart Health Commentary Better Health (TM): smart health commentary

Latest Posts

Germs, Kids, And School

Everyone knows that when it comes to germs and kids, it can sometimes be difficult to limit the spread of infection — especially in a school or daycare setting. In this video, I talked with local TV news last week about germs and kids, and about preventing infections in college students during finals week:

 

If you find this video helpful, I invite you to check out my other videos at MikeSevilla.TV. Enjoy!

*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*

Alcoholic Energy Drinks: Health Hazards And Bannings

In this video, you will see an interview I was asked to do on November 11th on local TV about alcoholic energy drinks like Four Loko that has been in the news recently. I talk about the potential harmful effects of the ingredients of a product like this. As of this posting there have been a number of states, colleges, and universities who have taken steps to ban these type of beverages.

 

At the end of the interview, I talk about how I don’t think banning a product like this is going to solve the problem. In the article “Banning Four Loko Doesn’t Solve Problems,” Alex Belz from The North Wind explains:

It seems these health officials are either unaware of or choosing to ignore the fact that combining a caffeinated beverage with an alcoholic one is a time-tested formula for a decent drink. So far, they’ve not proposed banning drinks like Jager Bombs and vodka and Red Bulls from being served in bars, but perhaps that’s just around the corner.

As of this post, it has been only hours since the ban was announced in Washington State. Since the ban does not take effect for about seven days, guess what is happening? According to The Seattle Times, a “Buying Rush Follows Washington Ban On Four Loko.” Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*

November Is American Diabetes Month

November is American Diabetes Month, and in the video below I talk with a local TV news reporter about risk factors, complications, and ways to prevent diabetes. The interview was only about two minutes and there’s much more to be covered, so check out the American Diabetes Association’s website for more information.

If you find this video helpful, I invite you to view more of my TV interviews on my YouTube channel. Happy November!

*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*

Video: We Are Family Physicians

This video was [recently] shown at the 2010 American Academy of Family Physicians annual meeting in Denver. The theme is simple: “We are here. We are listening. We are healing. We are family physicians.”

People ask me all the time “what do you do?” There’s no easy way to explain all the things that I do as a family physician. In addition, each family doc in each community is unique. That’s kind of part of the difficulty of answering the question. But I believe this video does a good job of trying to encapsulate who we are as family physicians:

*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*

AAFP’s 2011 Family Physician Of The Year

This video was recorded at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) meeting in Denver last week. Hughes Melton, M.D., was awarded the “2011 Family Physician of the Year” award. The video below shares his story. I also encourage you to read more of his story from the news article on the AAFP website.

I have always been inspired by hearing the stories of the “Family Physician of the Year.” One of my wild and crazy dreams is to achieve this award someday, but I know that I definitely have a long way to go.

Congratulations, Dr. Melton!

*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

Read more »

How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

Read more »

See all interviews »

Latest Cartoon

See all cartoons »

Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

Read more »

The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

Read more »

Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

Read more »

See all book reviews »

Commented - Most Popular Articles