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Heart Disease Awareness And The Four Hottest Controversies In Cardiology

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heartFebruary is National Heart Disease Awareness Month, and so I invited Dr. Bill Kussmaul to make me aware of some of the hottest controversies in cardiology.  His tips and insights are invaluable to busy primary care physicians looking for the bottom line on thorny issues. Dr. Kussmaul is the Associate Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Hahneman Hospital in Philadelphia and an Associate Editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine. You can listen to our conversation or read my transcript below:

[Audio:https://getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/billkussmaul.mp3]

Controversy #1: Cholesterol and Statin Therapy

Dr. Val: Who should receive high-dose statin therapy? Read more »

Why The iPad Is Not Ready For Prime Time in Healthcare

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First off, I need to address those who think they’re being brilliantly funny comparing Apple’s new product name to a feminine hygiene product – making comments like “Does it come with wings?” and “It’s light and easy to use, but can you swim with it?” (these are the cleaner comments I’ve seen), or calling for the next generation ITampon.

Since when did the word “Pad” become unusable in public discourse? And where were these folks when IBM came out with their Think Pad? It’s stupid, 12-year old funny and just plain dumb. Grow up, ladies and gents.

Now, on to more serious matters.

Is the IPad, as some are suggesting, the next big thing in Medicine? Dana Blakenhorn at ZDNet thinks so, calling medicine the IPad’s “Sweet Spot”- Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at The Blog that Ate Manhattan*

Standing Up To Bullies: A Father Shows His Son How It’s Done

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Brad 1975009Brad asked how I think I influenced his development as a child. I think I taught him about leadership, perseverance, patience, problem solving, pattern recognition, innovative thinking, and compassion for others. The irony is I believe he taught me more than I taught him.

Mutual trust and respect must go hand and hand with the love for a child. Kids are people too. They have the same emotional responses to perceived events as we do as adults.

One of many incidents of mutual respect comes to mind. Brad was 11 years old in the 6th grade.

My accountant, at that time, was an avid stamp collector. I thought learning about the sub culture of stamp collecting would be a terrific intellectual experience for both of us. My accountant took us to several stamp shows and taught us how to value stamps. We started collecting. We accumulated a nice stamp collection. The collection had great potential to increase in value. We both learned a lot and grew together in the stamp collecting business. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*

Kitchen Spoons: Not A Great Way To Measure Medicines

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A Spoonful of Medicine:  Not a good thing

A recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that people who use a kitchen spoons to pour liquid medicine aren’t getting the right dosage. Here’s what to use to get it right.

Use your kitchen spoon for food, not to measure medicine

Measuring Precisely is Vital

Ask any pastry chef or professional baker, and they’ll tell you that using exact measurements in baking is critical for a successful end product. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*

Post-Op Tips: A Preventive Strategy For Withdrawal Symptoms In Alcohol-Dependent Patients

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It has been a while since I’ve had a patient with postoperative alcohol withdrawal.  I can still recall my first exposure to this problem as a 3rd year medical student at the Veteran’s Hospital.  It was my first clinical rotation – surgery service at the VA.

Browsing the CME articles on the JAMA website, I came across the article (full reference below):  Improved Outcomes in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer Using a Standardized Care Protocol for Postoperative Alcohol Withdrawal.  For me it was a nice review of the problem with updates on current drug use/protocol.

Their protocol is based on three distinct clusters of symptoms characterize alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Central nervous system excitation usually occurs within 12 to 48 hours after the last drink. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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