August 8th, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Accuracy in Diagnosis, Baseball, Best Doctors, Brad Falchuk, Charity, Fenway Park, General Medicine, Malformed Blood Vessel, Patient Empowerment, Preventive Health, Red Sox Foundation, Spinal Cord Tumor, Wrong Diagnosis
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How often do people get the wrong diagnosis? Too often.
There are things you can do help protect yourself. Things like, asking questions, being sure everything makes sense to you, not doing anything you’re not sure about.
At Best Doctors, helping people do this is what we do every day, and so I want to tell you a story. It’s about my brother. I want to tell it to you it because it will help you understand the important work we do here, and because of something very special that happened for him this weekend. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
August 8th, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion
Tags: A Kind Nation, All Men Created Equal, Americans, Anti-inflammatory, Cardiology, Cost of Healthcare, Freedom, Gay Marriage, General Medicine, Generosity, Goodness, Heart Attack, Heart Health, Inner Peace, Kindness, Less-Sticky Platelets, Lifestyle Choices, Reduces Inflammation, Smoother Arteries, Tolerance, Treating Heart Disease
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As an American, I was proud when I heard the news. I grinned to myself. It was on my way to work, through a beautiful city park, with the sun rising over the hillside. The morning radio program reported the news that a California judge overturned their state’s ban on gay marriage.
I know what you’re thinking: A medical blog is running amuck right into a political hornet’s nest. But isn’t it true that a nation’s kindness is a defining characteristic?
America and Americans do much that is good and right. Examples of such goodness are too numerous to list. If you are a victim of a calamity, you can be sure that America will help. Ask Haiti. And it’s not just foreign countries, we help each other. There’s a flood and then there are volunteers. A power outage and there are cords across the streets. It’s not controversial to say we are a kind nation. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
August 7th, 2010 by GruntDoc in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Quackery Exposed
Tags: Contracts To Deter Doctors, Doctors Speaking Out, Doctors Who Quit, Gagging Orders For Doctors, General Medicine, Healthcare Legislation, London, Medical Errors, Medical Incompetence, Mistakes In Patient Care, Protecting Physician Whistleblowers, Taxpayers' Money, The Independent, U.S. Healthcare System, Whistleblowing Doctors
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From the article “Millions spent on doctor ‘gagging orders’ by NHS, investigation finds” in the “Health & Families” section of The Independent in London:
Hospital doctors who quit their jobs are being routinely forced to sign “gagging orders” despite legislation designed to protect NHS whistleblowers, it is revealed today.
Millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money are being spent on contracts that deter doctors from speaking out about incompetence and mistakes in patient care.
Wow. I’m not being snarky here — I really have no idea: Does this happen in the U.S?
*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*
August 7th, 2010 by Steven Roy Daviss, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, Research
Tags: Depression On The Job, Psychiatry, Psychology
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Katina from OnlineCollege.org writes to inform us of a post about 10 Professions With The Highest Levels Of Depression. What I found interesting is the assumption that these jobs cause depression. For example:
Social Workers: If you had to deal with abused children, unkind foster parents and less-than-stellar family dynamics all day, you might be depressed too. Those working in this field are three times more likely to be depressed than the general population, and many are so focused on helping others they don’t get the help that they need themselves.
There’s nothing in the post that addresses the “chicken-or-egg” question. Maybe people with depression are drawn to certain fields? Artists are listed, with the statement that those who chose to work in the field “found it depressing.”
And everyone kind of gets it: Doctors, nurses, social workers, lawyers, artists, janitors, food service people, finance folks, and nursing home and childcare workers. What’s left? What’s the depression rate among bloggers?
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
August 7th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, Research
Tags: 7-Repeat Gene, Addiction Medicine, Alcohol Abuse, Alcohol-Related Cues, Association for Psychological Science, Binge Drinking, D4 Receptor Gene, Dopamine, DRD4, Drinking Behavior, Extensive Alcohol Use, Gene Variants, Genetic Background, Genetics, Heavy-Drinking Peers, Helle Larsen, Medical News Today, Psychology, Radboud University, Social Drinking, The Netherlands
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Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, published a very interesting paper focusing on the genetic background of social drinking. Specific gene variants might increase the risk for extensive alcohol use or abuse when spending time with heavy-drinking peers. An excerpt from Medical News Today:
Drinking alcohol increases levels of dopamine –- a brain chemical that causes pleasure and makes us feel good. The dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been shown to be involved in motivation of seeking out rewards. Research has suggested that carrying a specific form (or variant) of this gene –- one that includes seven or more repeats of a certain section of the gene –- may be associated with craving caused by alcohol-related cues. Psychological scientist Helle Larsen from Radboud University in The Netherlands and her colleagues wanted to investigate if this 7-repeat gene variant plays a role in how an individual responds to alcohol-related cues.
The results showed an effect between how much the confederate drank and the gene variant on volunteers’ alcohol consumption: When the confederate was seen consuming three or four drinks, carriers of the 7-repeat form of the gene drank more than twice as many glasses of alcohol than did noncarriers of the gene variant. However, when the confederate consumed only one drink, there was no difference in alcohol consumption between carriers and noncarriers. These findings suggest that individuals carrying this form of the DRD4 gene may be more sensitive than noncarriers to other people’s drinking behavior.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
