November 24th, 2009 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Research
Tags: Contact Lenses, Eyes, Lenses, Light, Ophthalmology, Technology, Transitions
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Researchers have been trying to coat contact lenses with light sensitive dyes to have them turn dark during bright lighting conditions. Glasses with this property have existed for decades, but the same coating methods are not applicable to contacts.
Technology Review reports on work by the Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in Singapore to use the entire volume of the lens to contain the dye: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
November 24th, 2009 by DrRob in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Dermatology, Doctor Patient Relationship, Internal Medicine, Lesion, melanoma, Mole, Oncology, Physical Exam, Suspicious
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It’s that part of the job that I’ve never gotten used to. I hope I never do.
I saw a man recently with an unexpected finding on his exam – a “lesion” that should not have been there. I was seeing him for his diabetes and blood pressure, and was doing my “ritual” physical exam, when the “lesion” blared into my vision.
I say “ritual” exam because the exam itself had little to do with his medical problems. It is just my practice to do a cursory exam of the head, neck, chest, and lungs of most everyone who comes to the office. I guess it’s the “laying on of hands” part of the practice of medicine that makes me do this; there is something about the human touch that makes a doctor’s visit different from a visit to the accountant. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
November 23rd, 2009 by Berci in Better Health Network, Humor
Tags: Fun, Lego, MRI, Pediatrics, Radiology
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The picture of the day award goes to the Voxel123 Flickr user who posted images of a Lego MRI scan.
And the original one:
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
November 23rd, 2009 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Adverse Event, Connecticut, Cover Up, Disclose, Hide, Hospital Errors, Legislature, Medical Errors, Medical Mistakes, Reporting
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There is a disturbing story in the Hartford Courant (via the WSJ Health Blog) on how Connecticut state lawmakers have helped hospitals keep medical mistakes secret from the public. It’s true:
The legislature in 2002 ordered hospitals to disclose all serious patient injuries “associated with medical management.” But after the first reports were made public, hospital lobbyists persuaded lawmakers to rewrite the statute in 2004, limiting the kinds of adverse events that must be divulged, and promising to keep reports secret unless they led to an investigation.
What happened next is predictable. According to the Courant, public access to data about hospital adverse events dropped by 90%. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
November 23rd, 2009 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Medicare, Nocturnists, On-Call, Pay Cuts, Salary, Shift Work
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Should there be a premium added to physician compensation for on-call coverage after hours, or are Medicare rates enough?
This appears to be the central question between two competing hospitals in Longview, Texas where a $300,000 stipend was paid to a cardiology group by one hospital and not the other for cardiology on-call coverage.
Guess which one the doctors are promoting now? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
