October 22nd, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: Adequate Vaccine Training For Doctors, Anti-Vaccine Movement, Anti-Vaccine Quackery, Autism, Children's Vaccinations, Community Health, Dangers of Not Vaccinating, Dr. Kevin Pho, Dr. Rahul Parikh, Dr. Robert Sears, Family Medicine, General Medicine, immunizations, Immunology, Internal Medicine, Journal of Pediatrics, KevinMD, Misrepresentation of Vaccine Science, More Time With Patients, Overuse of Antibiotics, Patients' False Beliefs, Paul Offit, Pediatric Diseases, Pediatric Medicine, Pediatricians, Primary Care, Public Health Fears, The Vaccine Book, Unvaccinated Children, Vaccine Controversy, Vaccine Development, Vaccine Education, Vaccine-Averse Parents
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Dr. Robert Sears’ The Vaccine Book, is, as Dr. Rahul Parikh puts it, “a nightmare for pediatricians like me.”
In a piece from Salon, Dr. Parikh brings his issues to the author. The controversy of the book is the so-called “alternative vaccine schedule,” which, as vaccine developer Paul Offit puts it:
…is “misrepresentation of vaccine science” that “misinforms parents trying to make the right decision for their children” in the Journal of Pediatrics. And yet, as a pediatrician myself, I have seen an increasing number of caring, reasonable parents hold it up like a bible in my practice (and that of my colleagues).
This post, however, isn’t about the vaccine controversy — I’ll leave you to read Dr. Parikh’s excellent piece for yourself.
What I found interesting was a passage discussing the public health fears stemming from an increasing number of unvaccinated children. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
October 22nd, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor, News, Opinion
Tags: Doctor's Office Waiting Room, Dr. John Mandrola, General Medicine, Healthcare Crisis, Long Waits for Patients, Medical Complexity, Medical Humor, Practicing Quality Medicine, Time With The Patient, Wait Times, Waiting In Doctor's Office, Waiting Too Long, Wall Street Journal
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I have an easy solution to a vexing problem in today’s healthcare crisis. A problem so widespread that it’s worth hundreds of words in the Wall Street Journal: Long wait times at the doctor’s office.
But first, before I give my simple, pragmatic, master-of-the-obvious solution, let me say something truthful: I try. I try really hard — to run on time, that is.
I’ve been there myself — a patient in a gown, in a cold room with only big pharma-sponsored propaganda on the walls to stare at.
At the risk of a sounding like a…blogger, let it be said that practicing quality medicine in the current luxury of technology is much more complicated than it used to be. Such complexity devours our most precious treasure: Time with the patient. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
October 22nd, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Dr. Wes Fisher, EHRs, Electronic Health Records, Electronic Medical Records, EMRs, Health Disparities, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Healthcare's Facebook, HIPAA, Invasion Of Privacy, Online Personal Information, Patient Privacy Laws, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, PPACA, Privacy Breech, Privacy Policy, PSQIA, Social Media Privacy, Wall Street Journal, WesMusings
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[Recently] the Wall Street Journal‘s front page story exposed a significant privacy breech of online personal information via the world’s most popular social networking site, Facebook:
Many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information—in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
The issue affects tens of millions of Facebook app users, including people who set their profiles to Facebook’s strictest privacy settings. The practice breaks Facebook’s rules, and renews questions about its ability to keep identifiable information about its users’ activities secure.
How could they? Imagine the nerve of marketers using Facebook ID’s to develop profiles on people using little socializing games! Facebook has a privacy policy! I was assured that if I set my privacy settings to “maximum,” this would never happen! To which I say: “Duh!” When it comes to money, people get awfully creative.
So while Facebook grapples with its latest public relations nightmare, we should realize our electronic medical record app vendors are doing exactly the same thing. Worse, it’s perfectly legal, even though each of use has been assured our privacy settings are set to “maximum” through the reassurances of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA). Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
October 22nd, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Research
Tags: ACP Internist, American College Of Physicians, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, ASIPP, CDC, Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, Drug Overdose, Drug Safety, Drug Side Effects, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Increased Training for Prescribers, Medication Side Effects, Motor Vehicle Accidents, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, Older Adults, Opioid Analgesics, Opioid Dependence, Opioids, Patient Safety, Prescribing Guidelines, Prescription Drug Abuse, Prescription Drug Spending, Prescription Drug Use, Public Awareness, Public Health, Ryan DuBosar, Unused Prescription Medications, Young People
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Eighty eight percent of Americans 60 years or older take at least one prescription drug and more than two-thirds of this age group take five or more, according to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics. Spending for prescription drugs totaled $234.1 billion in 2008 — more than double what was spent in 1999.
The National Center for Health Statistics excerpted elements of its National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to prepare the report:
Other key findings include:
— Over the last 10 years, the percentage of Americans who took at least one prescription drug in the past month increased from 44 percent to 48 percent. The use of two or more drugs increased from 25 percent to 31 percent. The use of five or more drugs increased from 6 percent to 11 percent. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
October 22nd, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Medical Art, Research
Tags: Blood Collection, Blood Donation, Designer Blood Bags, Glam Pack For Blood, Haute Couture Blood Bags, Jihye Lee, Medgadget, Medical Art, Sweet Donation Bag, Yanko Design
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Designer Jihye Lee proposes a different look for blood collection bags featuring a more solid construction, large labeling of blood type, and a look as though it’s meant for sale on 5th Avenue.
From Yanko Design:
The Sweet Donation Bag is an attempt to redesign the blood collection pouch. It features a sleeve with large cut-outs indicating the blood type (A, B, AB & O). The overall design is much more refined than the current bags in use and the packaging looks sturdy.
Link: Glam Pack For Blood…
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
