September 17th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Celebrity Interviews
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Many members of Phylicia Rashad’s family have had peripheral artery disease (P.A.D.), strokes, and heart attacks. In a candid interview with me, she describes how her healthy lifestyle (regular exercise, no smoking, and a Mediterranean diet) has helped her to beat the odds and avoid the disease. To listen to our conversation, please click here. Ms. Rashad begins speaking at about minute 10:30 of the podcast.
Dr. Val: I’m so sorry to hear that 8 of your relatives have suffered stokes or heart attacks. What was that like for you?
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September 17th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Expert Interviews
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Peripheral Artery (Arterial) Disease (P.A.D.) is an under-recognized and under-diagnosed condition, yet it serves as an important warning sign for those at high risk for stroke and heart attack. Even though we have an inexpensive and non-invasive test for P.A.D. very few people have the test done. I interviewed Dr. Gary Schaer, Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, about P.A.D. and also spoke with actor Phylicia Rashad about her family’s trials and tribulations with P.A.D. This post is devoted to Dr. Schaer’s insights on the medical aspects of the disease, and the next post focuses on Ms. Rashad’s personal story. To listen to the entire podcast of our interview, please click here.
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September 17th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Medblogger Shout Outs
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KevinMD pointed me to this amusing USA Today opinion piece about an imaginary want ad for physicians:
“Idealistic Generation X/Y overachievers with low- to mid-six-figure student loans to work in imploding health care system currently subject to runaway entitlement spending. Future salary to be subject to government whim and guaranteed not to keep up with inflation. Will be subject to unreasonable expectations of patients and held responsible for less-than-perfect outcomes by consumer advocates and trial lawyers. Must be able to work 70-80 hours per week, not including on-call duties, and place family obligations a distant second to career pursuits.”
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September 16th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements
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Dear Medblogger Friends – I will be hosting the historic Volume 5, edition 1 of Grand Rounds on September 23rd. Please email your submissions to: valjonesmd -at- gmail -dot- com. There is no theme (I’ll accept all submissions). Please put “Grand Rounds Submission” in the subject line of your email. Please send me your URLs by midnight, Sunday, Sept. 21. Stay tuned for some breaking news… (Blog posting will be light here for a little while).
**ABOUT GRAND ROUNDS**
“Grand Rounds unifies the health blogging community.”
Grand Rounds is a weekly summary of the best health blog posts on the Internet. Each week a different blogger takes turns hosting Grand Rounds, and summarizing the best submissions for the week. The schedule for Grand Rounds is currently available at FromMedskool.com. Both Dr. Val Jones and medical student Colin Son coordinate the schedule and identify appropriate hosts for Grand Rounds. Medscape.com features weekly interviews with new hosts of Grand Rounds, usually written by Mr. Son.
Grand Rounds was originally established by Emergency Medicine physician, Nicholas Genes in September, 2004. His concept was to highlight and capture the best medical blog posts in one place each week. The rotating nature of the hosts for Grand Rounds promotes community awareness of new bloggers, and encourages cross linkage to more content.
Grand Rounds is the oldest and most popular medical blog “carnival” on the Internet. Under the stewardship of Dr. Val Jones and Mr. Colin Son, we anticipate that Grand Rounds will remain a pillar of the health blogging community, enjoyed by healthcare professionals and patients alike.
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This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
September 14th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Policy
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I posted this at Medpolitics.com today… but it is displaying some weird code, so I decided to repost it here.
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For the first time in recent memory the Republicans and the Democrats are on the same page on a healthcare issue: the problem of chronic disease. Former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona told me that chronic disease contributes more to healthcare costs than any other single issue, and that many chronic diseases are preventable through diet and lifestyle measures. Both political parties seem to agree that America must become a “wellness” culture. However, they don’t exactly agree on how that may be achieved. The Democrats would expand the government’s role in stimulating healthy behaviors while the Republicans would use market forces and grass roots efforts to encourage personal accountability.
WHAT THE DEMOCRATS SAY ABOUT CHRONIC DISEASE:
An Emphasis on Prevention and Wellness.
Chronic diseases account for 70 percent of the nation’s overall health care spending. We need to promote healthy lifestyles and disease prevention and management especially with health promotion programs at work and physical education in schools. All Americans should be empowered to promote wellness and have access to preventive services to impede the development of costly chronic conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. Chronic-care and behavioral health management should be assured for all Americans who require care coordination. This includes assistance for those recovering from traumatic, life-altering injuries and illnesses as well as those with mental health and substance use disorders. We should promote additional tobacco and substance abuse prevention. (“Renewing America’s Promise,” pg. 10).
WHAT THE REPUBLICANS SAY ABOUT CHRONIC DISEASE:
Prevent Disease and End the “Sick Care” SystemChronic diseases — in many cases, preventable conditions — are driving health care costs, consuming three of every four health care dollars. We can reduce demand for medical care by fostering personal responsibility within a culture of wellness, while increasing access to preventive services, including improved nutrition and breakthrough medications that keep people healthy and out of the hospital. To reduce the incidence of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and stroke, we call for a national grassroots campaign against obesity, especially among children. We call for continuation of efforts to decrease use of tobacco, especially among the young. (“2008 Republican Platform,” pg. 38).
Whichever party is elected this November, one thing is certain – more emphasis will be placed on encouraging Americans to adopt healthier lifestyles. The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease is doing its part to coordinate these efforts and raise awareness of lifestyle modification programs that work. As for me, I’ve traded my car for a pedometer.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
Many members of Phylicia Rashad’s family have had peripheral artery disease (P.A.D.), strokes, and heart attacks. In a candid interview with me, she describes how her healthy lifestyle (regular exercise, no smoking, and a Mediterranean diet) has helped her to beat the odds and avoid the disease. To listen to our conversation, please click here. Ms. Rashad begins speaking at about minute 10:30 of the podcast.
