October 19th, 2009 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, Quality, Questions Are The Answer, Social Media, Video
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Last night, I saw a commercial produced by the federal government. Called “Questions are the Answer,” it’s a call for patients to be engaged in their medical care, to ask questions of their doctors in order to be sure of their medical condition.
The commercial was excellent – it showed a man asking dozens of increasingly arcane questions about a cell phone he was thinking of buying. Then, it showed him in his doctor’s office, apparently after getting a diagnosis. “Do you have any questions?” the doctor asks. “Nope,” says the man.
The government agency that produced the commercial is the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. There are a series of other videos and tools that can help you be a better, more informed consumer if you get sick.
The only catch: it’s almost impossible to find any of this great material. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
October 19th, 2009 by CodeBlog in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Death, Dementia, DPA, Ethics, Geriatrics, Infectious Disease, Living Will, Nursing, Palliative Care, Power of Attorney, Psychiatry, Wishes
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He knew she was angry with him.
“Whenever I come to see her, I reach out and take her hand, but she looks away.”
Husband and wife for well over 50 years, they had been through a lot. They met in another country in another time, and to hear him tell it, it almost seemed fated that they’d end up together. Since then, they’d moved many times, raised a family, supported each other through myriad illnesses. They were growing old together.
Unfortunately, “growing old together” doesn’t always work out like we hope it will. Diseases and illnesses ravage our bodies; dementia ravages our brains. She’d long ago given up on their little garden in the backyard. It was her favorite hobby, but she couldn’t manage it anymore. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at code blog - tales of a nurse*
October 19th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Catheter, Clot, Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, Nephrology, PICC Line, Radiology, Sepsis, Venous Thrombosis
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I have a patient that comes in every so often that demands a PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter). PICC lines are convenient for patients and nurses and doctors because they can be used to obtain blood without needing to stick the patient on a daily basis. They can be kept in for weeks and weeks and weeks with proper care. They can maintain adequate IV access when old ladies and drug addicts present with poor veins. Often they save the patient during acute decompensations of their critical illness. However, they come with frequent complications. I have had my share of patients return to the hospital with sepsis from their PICC line. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at A Happy Hospitalist*
October 18th, 2009 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News
Tags: Adjuvant, Flu, H1N1, Infectious Disease, Influenza, Swine Flu, Vaccine
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In a recent post, Swine Flu: H1N1 Flu Vaccine – Who Should Get It, Who Shouldn’t Get It and Is It Safe, a Healthin30 reader, Doriorio posted a comment and questioned the safety of the H1N1 Flu Vaccine.
Doriorio writes:
“Hi. Thanks for a great post. My pediatrician expressed concern to me about potential adjuvants in the H1N1 vaccines, saying that there are six manufacturers and potentially a wide variety in the vaccines among them. I know adjuvants are used more widely in Europe, but it’s not clear if the ones that may be used in the H1N1 vaccines have been tested for side effects. I think given the groups being prioritized for this vaccine, for instance infants, we should not be taking any chances in administering anything untested via vaccine. It conjures up the smallpox vaccine fiasco in the 1970s where the government had to set aside a vaccine injury compensation program for injured parties, some of whom were permanently affected. What do you know about adjuvants being added and the safety claims being made by the CDC when testing time has obviously been nonexistent.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
October 18th, 2009 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Emergency Medicine, Flu, H1N1, Infectious Disease, Influenza, Swine Flu, Tents, Vaccines
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I walked out the back of the ER tonight to see this in the ambulance bay:
And this inside: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
