March 9th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, News
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Doctors at the University of Florida invented a device that sniffs employees’ hands for soap residue to check whether they’ve washed them enough.
After employees wash their hands, they pass them under the sniffer and their badge activates. When they later approach a patient, a bed-side monitor reads the badge and flashes green if the person has clean hands. If the person didn’t wash or too much time has passed since they have, the badge vibrates to remind the employee.
We’d already covered bathing hands with plasma instead of soap. Don’t get those near the sniffer.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Hospitalist*
February 21st, 2010 by DrEdwinLeap in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Paging Dr. Mortis, Dr. Rigor Mortis!
This is a sample section from a new book I’m writing on the transition from residency to practice.
When you die:
A) The house of medicine will collapse, and only recover by remembering your compassion and sacrifice.
B) Patients and staff will wail in sack-cloth and ashes
C) Someone may name a procedure or drug in your honor
D) People will walk over your dead body, take your vacant day-shifts and go through your pockets for change.
The answer is D. Although I’m using some hyperbole, the point is that when you die, some people will be sad; your loved ones will miss you. But life will go on. The hospital will not close, and the sick will not stop being sick. So conduct your life with this in mind. Medicine, for all it’s wonder and value, must not be a rock on which you wreck yourself. Let it enhance, not overwhelm, your life. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
February 16th, 2010 by DaveMunger in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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Last November, the National Football League devoted the entire month to breast cancer awareness. Players like Reggie Bush wore pink gloves, armbands, even shoes, to promote efforts to fight the disease.
There were some heartwarming moments. Players brought their mothers, grandmothers, and other women who’d battled breast cancer to the games, all of them wearing attractive pink game-day jerseys. Announcers told their own stories of “courageous” battles against the disease waged by friends and family members.
It’s powerful and inspiring, these overpaid hulks of manhood showing they’re secure enough in their masculinity to don feminine-ish garb to support their sisters and mothers.
But try to imagine the NFL — or any sports league — launching a similar campaign to fight HIV and AIDS. Which player would trot out a brother, sister, or father who’s HIV positive? Which television announcer would proudly point to the afflicted and speak of their “inspirational” battle with HIV?
In an NPR interview last week, Theresa Skipper talked about why she concealed her HIV diagnosis for 19 years: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Daily Monthly*
February 9th, 2010 by DrRichardCooper in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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Commenting on the President’s budget, an editorial in the Times on Feb 2nd juxtaposed three of our nation’s dilemmas: the deficit, jobs and health care.
“President Obama got his priorities mostly right. The deficit, compared with what it could have been, is $120B. That’s a lot of money. But it’s not too much at a time of economic weakness, when deficit spending is needed to put Americans back to work.”
“Medicare and Medicaid will cost $788B; that should be another reminder of why the country needs health care reform.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at PHYSICIANS and HEALTH CARE REFORM Commentaries and Controversies*
February 6th, 2010 by drval in Health Policy, Opinion
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Dr. Rich recently posted a 3-part series on the shortcomings of medicine’s new ethics. While I personally find Dr. Rich’s writing style both nuanced and entertaining, there is no doubt that his posts require some focused attention. And so I thought I’d provide a “Cliff’s Notes” version for my regular readers (since Google analytics tells me they are unlikely to spend more than 2 minutes here at a time). 
Advances in science and technology have provided us with valuable new treatment options for many diseases and conditions. Unfortunately, these new drugs, devices, and procedures are so expensive that we cannot (as a country) afford to make them accessible to everyone who could benefit from them. Medical technology has outpaced our ability to pay for it. This leaves us with an ethical dilemma: how do we ration access to modern medicine? Read more »
February 6th, 2010 by DrRich in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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A few days ago Mr. Doherty (who is also the ACP’s Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy), graciously agreed to engage in this discussion, and promised to do so after consulting with the ACP’s Committee on Ethics, Professionalism, and Human Rights.
DrRich had hoped that Mr. Doherty would reply with a post on his ACP blog, which (since it likely has a vastly greater readership than the CRB), would more effectively give this topic some much-needed airing - and in particular, might engage some of the ACP’s membership (specialists in internal medicine) in this important discussion. DrRich was disappointed, then, when the reply came today in the form of a comment, which was tacked on to a long queue of reader’s comments at the end of DrRich’s posting.
DrRich was also very disappointed by the content of the reply which, fundamentally, was: This is a non-issue, and even if it was an issue, it’s now a settled issue. (So go away.) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
February 2nd, 2010 by DrPeggyPolaneczky in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion
1 Comment »
First off, I need to address those who think they’re being brilliantly funny comparing Apple’s new product name to a feminine hygiene product - making comments like “Does it come with wings?” and “It’s light and easy to use, but can you swim with it?” (these are the cleaner comments I’ve seen), or calling for the next generation ITampon.
Since when did the word “Pad” become unusable in public discourse? And where were these folks when IBM came out with their Think Pad? It’s stupid, 12-year old funny and just plain dumb. Grow up, ladies and gents.
Now, on to more serious matters.
Is the IPad, as some are suggesting, the next big thing in Medicine? Dana Blakenhorn at ZDNet thinks so, calling medicine the IPad’s “Sweet Spot”- Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog that Ate Manhattan*
February 1st, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
3 Comments »
Now that the health care bill has been soundly defeated by the election of a single individual to the Senate, the Democratic party is fleeing the House and Senate health care overhaul bills like rats from a burning ship. Sadly Republicans, too, are staying silent with (so far) few rushing forth with their alternative solution to counteract the impasse:
Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, said Democrats were assessing their options on health care. “It’s a timeout,” she said. “The leadership is re-evaluating. They asked us to keep our powder dry.”
Mrs. Feinstein said Congressional leaders should simplify the gigantic health care bill and try to pass parts of it that would be understandable to the public. But she also acknowledged that the odds were long for a far-reaching measure. “I think big, comprehensive bills are very difficult to do in this environment,” she said. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
January 27th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
1 Comment »
Have you ever stopped bothering to care about a patient? A doctor sent me his own personal account of the smoking Mr Jones:
Dear Happy. I read your article on bounce backs with great interest, and was astonished by some of the vitriol it elicited. I remember having one COPDer bounce back to me three times within a month at the VA when I was a medicine resident. He would leave, smoke and drink, and then come back and be readmitted to my service with exactly the same course each time. It was like Groundhog Day.
Finally I had a little talk with him and said: “Mr. Jones, each time you come in, you’re on death’s door. So I come down to the ER, stay up with you all night and save your life. But you know, I’m really getting tired of having you come in after drinking and smoking and then working like a dog to save your life. So let me tell you, if you don’t quit smoking, the next time you do this there’s a good chance that I’m not going to bother. Why should I? It doesn’t seem to be doing either of us any good.”
To my complete astonishment, he actually quit smoking and stayed quit for about a year. Then he fell off the wagon, deteriorated too far before getting to the hospital and died. I was frankly proud of him for the effort, but somehow suspect that I’d be shot in a drive-by if I ever told that story in public. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist Blog*
January 18th, 2010 by drval in Audio, Expert Interviews
1 Comment »
Thanks to my friends at #HCSM (a Twitter group created to spark discussion about healthcare and social media) for inviting me as a guest speaker on their 1 year anniversary. We had a special Blog Talk Radio event, moderated by Lee Aase (Mayo Clinic’s social media guru) and Dana Lewis. Tom Stitt and Meredith Gould were also critical in coordinating programming and technical arrangements.
The goal of the show was to discuss how social media and healthcare intersect - with a diverse group of 8 speakers (from patients, to physicians, to industry and insurance stakeholders). I’ve edited my clip for your listening pleasure (please excuse the technical glitch near the end - you’ll know it when you hear it). The full 2 hour show may be downloaded from Blog Talk Radio.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
For more information about my practice, check out DocTalker.com Read more »
