September 21st, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
No Comments »
Some interesting items this week involving hands. The one which has gotten much news coverage is the issue of handwashing. Take a look at some of the headlines:
High five! Handwashing on rise (Chicago Sun-Times)
For Many, ‘Washroom’ Seems to Be Just a Name (The New York Times)
93% of women wash their hands vs. 77% of men (USA Today)
All the above are reporting on the same study, but the difference in presentation is amazing to me.
The study doesn’t involve handwashing in a hospital or doctor’s office setting. The JAMA article (2nd reference below) does, but this article focuses on whether public reporting of handwashing compliance is helpful or not. Do we inflate our numbers to make ourselves look better? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
August 27th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
No Comments »
Recently the [state of] New York signed a law requiring hospitals and doctors to discuss breast reconstruction options with the patient prior to her undergoing cancer surgery. It troubled me that this law was needed. Is it not the duty of the physicians and surgeons to educate the patient on the options available?
We need to make sure the patient and their family know of the treatment options which may vary depending on the diagnosis and stage: Radiation, chemotherapy, surgery (lumpectomy, mastectomy, axillary dissection) — a combination of treatments.
Even if the patient and her physicians don’t chose to do immediate reconstruction, isn’t the discussion and information part of the discussion? At least inform the patient of the option.
Do we physicians and surgeons need another law to ensure we do right by our patients? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
August 18th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
No Comments »
This article was written more for family medicine physicians, but all of us can benefit from self-assessment of potential biases that might affect our judgment. It was also written with the potential bias towards the obese patient in mind, but the article could have been written with any “fill in the blank” bias as the topic.
The article points out that bias among physicians tends to “be implicit rather than explicit because of social pressure for healthcare providers to show tolerance and cultural sensitivity.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
August 12th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Medical Art
No Comments »
Hat tip to Berci who shared this article from Power of Data Visualization about Crazy Facts About Plastic Surgery:
[Via: Medical Coding]
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
August 5th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, News, Research
No Comments »
The FDA recently (March 2010) approved Asclera (poliocanol) injection for the treatment of small spider veins (tiny varicose veins less than 1 millimeter in diameter) and reticular veins (those that are 1 to 3 millimeters in diameter).
Asclera is a detergent sclerosant and produces endothelial damage through interference with the cell’s surface lipids.and acts by damaging the cell lining of blood vessels. This causes the blood vessel to close, and it is eventually replaced by other types of tissue. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
