March 24th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News
Tags: Cardiology, Concierge Care, Concierge Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pacific Heart Institute, Primary Care
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Concierge medicine isn’t just for internal medicine or primary care anymore. It seems the concept is starting to take hold in cardiology, too:
Starting April 1, patients at Pacific Heart Institute can choose one of four plans for care. In the first option, they pay no “participation fee.” In the second option, called “Select,” they pay $500 a year for priority appointments, warfarin adjustments, defibrillator and pacemaker follow-up, notification of non-urgent lab, and test results, according to Pacific Heart Institute.
In the third option, called “Premier,” they pay $1,800, for everything in “Select,” plus e-mail communication with their doctor, same-day visits during regular office hours, priority lab testing and scheduling of diagnostics, free attendance at speaker seminars on cardiovascular issues, and a dedicated phone line to reach an institute nurse.
In the fourth option, “Concierge,” they pay $7,500 for everything in “Premier,” plus direct 24-hour access to a cardiologist via pager, e-mail, text message, plus the patient’s PHI cardiologist’s personal cell phone, annual personalized cardiovascular wellness screening, night and weekend access to a PHI cardiologist for hospital or emergency services, (regardless of whether he or she is on call) same-day visits with the cardiologist, evening and weekend office appointments and personal calls from the cardiologist.
-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
March 23rd, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: Botox, Botulinum Toxin, Motor Disorder, Multiple Sclerosis, Neurology, Spastic Muscles, Spasticity, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury
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Until recently, the therapeutic use of non-cosmetic Botox (botulinum toxin) for adult upper extremity spasticity was considered off-label use. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved Botox to treat spasticity in the upper extremity flexor muscles in adults.
Spasticity is common after stroke, traumatic brain injury, or the progression of multiple sclerosis. Spasticity is defined as:
“a motor disorder characterized by a velocity-dependent increase in tonic stretch reflexes (muscle tone) with exaggerated tendon jerks, resulting from hyper-excitability of the stretch reflex as one component of the upper motor neuron syndrome.”
Spasticity often creates problems with mobility, self-care, and function. The spastic muscles can become stiff. Associated joints can be affected by lack decreased range-of-motion with contractures forming. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
March 23rd, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor
Tags: Bathroom, Germs, Handwashing, Infectious Disease
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So I’m at work the other day and I see this Glade bathroom air freshener sitting in a bathroom and it hits me: What’s the appropriate bathroom air freshener protocol? I know everyone should always wash their hands when they use the restroom to help control infectious disease, but having a touchable canister of bathroom air freshener instead of an automatic air freshener made me think:
Should I wash my hands before I spray the bathroom air freshener or should I spray the air freshener before I wash my hands?
You just never know what’s on the spray nozzle of these manual bathroom air fresheners. So do you wash your hands and then spray the air freshener out of common courtesy for others and not trust that others have done the same and then wash your hands again? What’s the protocol for this? Take the Bathroom Air Freshener Poll and put the controversy to rest once and for all. The world wants to know.
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
March 23rd, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
Tags: Children, General Medicine, kids, Pediatrics, Sports Injuries
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Several studies presented this week at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons reported that in spite of a dramatic rise in pediatric sports injuries, there is still a lack of education, awareness and early treatment.
More adolescents are participating in year-round sports without seasonal breaks and are playing on multiple teams simultaneously, leading to a growing number of musculoskeletal injuries – both traumatic and from chronic overuse.
Kids’ bodies are still growing and they are just as susceptible to overuse and traumatic joint and extremity injuries as adults. The rate of injury suggests that we might be pushing kids too hard and the damage could last a lifetime. Read more »
This post, Sports Injuries In Kids On The Rise, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
March 21st, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News
Tags: Breast Augmentation, Breast Implants, Double-Bubble Breast Deformity, Mastoplexy, Plastic Surgery
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Recently a Staten Island woman was awarded $3.5 million after developing a double-bubble breast deformity after a breast augmentation/mastopexy surgery — commonly known as breast implants.
I don’t know if the award was warranted, but I do know that the deformity is a known risk of breast augmentation surgery. I try very hard to tell patients about possible risks of surgery, but none of us go into surgery thinking we will be the half or one or two percent. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
