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

Latest Posts

Mental Health Support For Pregnant Women May Save Two Lives

In a recent medical study, violent deaths of pregnant women outnumber traditional causes of maternal deaths such as post partum hemorrhage or pre-eclampsia . I am not surprised. In September 2010, I wrote an article entitled 7 Reasons Why Pregnancy Becomes a Deadly Affair after an 18 year old college student almost lost her life at the hands of her football-playing boyfriend because she became pregnant. Pregnancy is not a benign act and 50% of them are unplanned.

Dr. Christie Palladino, an ob-gyn physician at the Georgia Health Sciences University and main researcher of the study, looked at data from 17 states and found 94 pregnancy-related suicides and 139 homicides from 2003-2007. Approximately 45 % of suicides occur during pregnancy, often precipitated by Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*

How Can iPhone’s Siri Aid The Medical Professional?

Next week,  it will be my turn to write our article for the Clinical Psychiatry News website.  Over there, we try to have our writing more specifically aimed at an audience of psychiatrists.  I’m going to be writing an article on Siri and the Psychiatrist….in honor of my new iPhone 4s and the “personal assistant” function named Siri.  Okay, I’m obsessed.  Everyday, I find new things it can help me with.  Today, I asked it, “What’s the meaning of life.”  What, you don’t ask your cell phone the finer existential questions?  Siri answered, “All available evidence suggests chocolate.”  Wow!  How old is Liza Minelli?  65 years, 7 months, 20 days.  Calculate a tip? No problem.  Convert Celius to Fahrenheit?  A cinch.  And she takes dictation.  “Siri, please text Patient A Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

Americans Taking More Antidepressants Than Ever

Remember when the best-selling book Listening to Prozac came out almost 20 years ago?

Now Americans aren’t just reading about Prozac. They are taking it and other antidepressants (Celexa, Effexor, Paxil, Zoloft, to name just a few) in astounding numbers.

According to a report released yesterday by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the rate of antidepressant use in this country among teens and adults (people ages 12 and older) increased by almost 400% between 1988–1994 and 2005–2008.

The federal government’s health statisticians figure that Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*

Psychiatrist Wants To Know Your Thoughts On Bipolar Disorder

I’d like to ask your help for a moment.  I’m going to write a blog post for this week’s Clinical Psychiatry News on Bipolar Disorder.  I’d like to know how you see the term used, or the symptoms that are hallmarks of the illness for you.  If you respond as my favorite commenter, “Anonymous,” could I ask that you define yourself…psychiatrist, psychologist, pediatrician, patient with bipolar disorder, friend of someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder….

Also, please just off the top of your head, I can read DSM or Google myself, and I’m more interested in Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

Secretary-General On World Mental Health Day: We Must Invest In Mental Health

U N I T E D   N A T I O N S

THE SECRETARY-GENERALMESSAGE ON WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY: 10 October 2011
There is no health without mental health.  Mental disorders are major contributors to illness and premature death, and are responsible for 13 percent of the global disease burden.  With the global economic downturn – and associated austerity measures – the risks for mental ill-health are rising around the globe.

Poverty, unemployment, conflict and war all adversely affect mental health.  In addition, the chronic, disabling nature of mental disorders often places a debilitating financial burden on individuals and households.  Furthermore, individuals with mental health problems – and their families – endure stigma, discrimination and victimization, depriving them of their political and civil rights and constraining their ability to participate in the public life of their societies.

Resources allocated for mental health by governments and civil society are Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

Latest Interviews

The Surprising Economic Burden Of ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

If you can read this you need to download a more recent browser It is estimated that as many as million U.S. adults have ADHD Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder A recent research study publication-pending suggests that the economic burden of ADHD on America could be as high as billion annually. I…

Read more »

Is The Adderall Shortage A Harbinger Of Future Drug Supply Problems?

If you can read this you need to download a more recent browser Today most- if not all- Doctor’s offices are strained by the shortage of some prescription medication or vaccine. A month ago President Obama signed his executive order directing the FDA to take steps to reduce drug shortages…

Read more »

See all interviews »

Latest Cartoon

See all cartoons »

Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: The First Step To Improve Health Care Is A Close Examination Of How It’s Delivered

My friend and former Chair of the CFAH Board of Trustees Doug Kamerow has written a book that I think you will like. Besides being a mensch and witty as heck Doug is a family doctor and a preventive medicine specialist. In his new book Dissecting American Health Care Commentaries…

Read more »

“Your Medical Mind” Explores Factors That Influence A Patient’s Medical Decisions

Recently I had a conversation with Shannon Brownlee the widely respected science journalist and acting director of the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation about whether men should continue to have access to the PSA test for prostate cancer screening despite the overwhelming evidence that it extends few…

Read more »

Book Review: Food Truths, Food Lies

Food Truths Food Lies written by family physician Eric Marcotte M.D. may be the most refreshingly evidence-based diet book of the decade. You will not find a single mention of super-foods magical berries or supplement must-haves in the entire book. What you will find is the cold hard truth about…

Read more »

See all book reviews »