November 21st, 2010 by Michael Kirsch, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Barack Obama, Big Tobacco, Cardiopulmonology, Cigarette Labels, Cigarette Warnings, Dr. Michael Kirsch, General Medicine, Government Control, Government Scapegoat, Health Risks Of Smoking, Horror Show, John Boehner, MD Whistleblower, Nicotine Addiction, Public Health, Public Service Announcement, Scary Warning Labels, Smokers, Tobacco Companies, Tobacco Industry, Tobacco Users
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Smokers of the world unite! It’s strange for a physician to be sympathizing with the tobacco companies, purveyors of the opium of the people. Am I a stealth nicotine addict, an apologist for Big Tobacco who supplies me with my daily fix? This scurrilous allegation can be vaporized in a one-question quiz:
Q: Identify which two of the three individuals listed below are cigarette smokers:
– John Boehner, newly elected Speaker of the House , 3rd in line to the presidency
– Barack Obama, Commander-in-Chief and leader of the free world
– Michael Kirsch, Hemorrhoid Examiner
I’ve never smoked and I detest the habit. It kills people and separates lower income Americans from money that could likely be devoted to more worthwhile endeavors. I remember caring for folks with end-stage emphysema as a medical resident and thinking that this disease was worse than cancer. I haven’t changed my mind.
Yet I have felt for years that Big Tobacco is demonized by the press and the government as Big Scapegoat, and this blame shift has always troubled me. I am well aware that the tobacco companies are guilty of many offenses. They have lied about their corporate practices, advertising strategies and manipulation of nicotine content. These companies — like any individual or business — should be held accountable with available legal remedies. If crimes were committed, then I’m sure this nation has a few idle and altruistic attorneys who can fight them in the courts. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at MD Whistleblower*
November 20th, 2010 by PhilBaumannRN in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Medical Art
Tags: Doctors and Social Media, EHR, Electronic Health Records, Electronic Medical Records, Health Is Social, Healthcare Social Media, Medical Charting, Patient Information, Phil Baumann RN, Review Patient's Chart, sEMR, Social EMR, Social Media In Medicine, Teh Three Internets
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There are three Internets. Here’s some Venn goodness (note that “The” was spelled “Teh” on purpose):

When it comes to “sEMR” (Social EMR), we are somewhere in the middle of the Web of “People” and the Web of “Things,” in case you’ve been wondering. Read the rest of the story over on Health Is Social.
*This blog post was originally published at Phil Baumann*
November 20th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Humor, Medical Art, News
Tags: Clinical Case Studies, General Medicine, iPad App, iPhone App, Medgadget, Medical Art, Medical Cartoon, Medical Case Studies, Medical Games, Medical Humor, Medical Students, Prognosis: Your Diagnosis, Simulation Game
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A new iPhone/iPad game called “Prognosis: Your Diagnosis” looks like a decent attempt at making clinical case studies into a fun activity. Though it’s not clear how accurate and educational the game really is, the interface and goofy screenshots can certainly provide the foundation on which to deliver great content.


iTunes: Prognosis: Your Diagnosis…
Hat tip: ScienceRoll
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
November 20th, 2010 by DrRich in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: AHA, American Heart Association, Cardiovascular Risk, Covert Rationing Blog, Dr. Rich Fogoros, DrRich, Fad Diets, Fatness, Heart Disease, Low-Fat Diet, Mortgage Crisis, Obesity Crisis, Overweight, Public Health
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Q. What’s the difference between a public health expert and an incompetent doctor?
A. An incompetent doctor tends to kill only one person at a time.
The deep recession and jobless “recovery” which we have enjoyed in the U.S. for going on three years now was triggered by the bursting of the housing bubble. The housing bubble was created by lending practices that awarded “subprime” mortgages to people with bad credit ratings, and offered to people with good credit ratings adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) that enticed them to purchase more expensive homes than they could afford.
Traditionally, banks were always reluctant to award mortgages, of any flavor, to people who obviously could not afford them, since doing so would wreck their businesses. The reason the banks began making bad loans in the 1990s is that new government policies, chiefly the Community Reinvestment Act, strongly “encouraged” them to.
The banks, being businesses, reacted logically to the new regulatory climate, to threats by ACORN and other activist groups, and to the escape hatch opened for them by the government which allowed them to turn over their toxic mortgages immediately to Fanny and Freddie. Banks quickly began turning out as many questionable mortgages as they could write, to as many uncreditworthy individuals as they could find. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
November 20th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Research
Tags: Admitted To The Hospital, Annals of Applied Statistics, Doctor Patient Relationship, Dr. Kevin Pho, Dr. Pauline Chen, Fear of Contagion, General Medicine, Healthcare-Acquired Infections, Hospital Medicine, Hospital Patients, Hospital Stay, Iatrogenic Infections, Infection Control, Infectious Disease, KevinMD, New York Times, Noninfectious Complications, Patient Experience, Primary Care, Quality of Care Compromised
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Hospitals have recently been stepping up their infection control procedures, in the wake of news about iatrogenic infections afflicting patients when they are admitted. Doctors are increasingly wearing a variety of protective garb — gowns, gloves, and masks — while seeing patients.
In an interesting New York Times column, Pauline Chen wonders how this affects the doctor-patient relationship. She cites a study from the Annals of Family Medicine, which concluded that,
fear of contagion among physicians, studies have shown, can compromise the quality of care delivered. When compared with patients not in isolation, those individuals on contact precautions have fewer interactions with clinicians, more delays in care, decreased satisfaction and greater incidences of depression and anxiety. These differences translate into more noninfectious complications like falls and pressure ulcers and an increase of as much at 100 percent in the overall incidence of adverse events.
Hospitals are in a no-win situation here. On one hand, they have to do all they can to minimize the risk of healthcare-acquired infections, but on the other, doctors need to strive for a closer bond with patients — which protective garb sometimes can impede. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*