April 13th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Addiction Medicine, Addiction Recovery, Addiction Therapy, Cigarettes, General Medicine, Healthcare reform, Nicotine Addiction, President Obama, Primary Care, Quitting Smoking, Smoker's Protection Act of 2010, Smokers, smoking, smoking cessation, Stop Smoking, Tobacco
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I was shopping the other day for Sam’s Club food (frozen blueberries 4 pounds for $7.50). As we checked out, I scanned the price of cigarettes behind the counter. Marlboro cigarettes were selling for just under $50 a carton. At one pack per day, that’s $150 a month. For a year, that works out to $1,800.
I once calculated how much a four-pack-a-day family could have had in the bank had they not smoked for fifty years and instead invested that money at standard returns. Six million dollars they’d have to enjoy in retirement. That’s amazing. Six million dollars. And we wouldn’t be talking about a bankrupt entitlement system. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
April 11th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Aging, Alopecia, Baldness, Cosmetic Enhancement, Depression, Dermatology, Female Pattern Baldness, General Medicine, Genes, genetic, Hair Loss, Hair Restoration, Hormones, Minoxidil, Primary Care, Scalp, Wig, Women, Women's Health
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A reader sent me this really sad story that got me thinking about hair restoration for women
:
Happy, I wanted to share with you this picture of a woman who’s lost all hope. I saw her a few years back during my psychiatry rotation. As you can see, it looks like she’s going bald, but in fact, during her fits of rage and depression she’s actually pulling out her own hair. How sad is that? Just another example of what we docs take care of on a daily basis.
Man, that’s unbelievable. I don’t know much about classic female pattern baldness. From what I’ve read it’s usually a diffuse loss of hair everywhere or a central expansion of hair loss but rarely does it encompass the entire scalp. It’s usually caused by hormones, aging and genes. In advanced age, I’ve seen more than my fair share of elderly women who have more hair on their chin then they do on their head. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
April 10th, 2010 by DaveMunger in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor, Opinion, Research, True Stories
Tags: Exercise, General Medicine, iPad, Kinesiology, Mortality Rate, Physical Activity, Primary Care, Sedentary Lifestyle, Standing Up
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If you follow me on Twitter or read my personal blog, you probably know by now that I bought myself an iPad this week. The main reason I got it is because I’m a sucker for shiny new technology, but I also wanted to see if I could use it to help myself become a little less sedentary.
As I mentioned in my first two posts about fitness this month, there’s a growing body of research suggesting that a sedentary lifestyle is harmful to your health. I was interviewed about one such study a few months ago on the PRI show “The Takeaway,” and the evidence is fairly convincing: People who spend more hours watching TV also have a higher mortality rate than those who watch it less, even after accounting for exercise. Granted, it’s only a correlation, but the evidence converges quite well with several other studies.
But what am I supposed to do about it? My job requires me to spend long hours in front of a computer screen. If exercising a 30 or 40 minutes a day can’t prevent me from getting heart disease or cancer, what will? Some researchers, including David Dunstan, the lead researcher on the TV-watching study, suggest that just standing periodically, rather than sitting all day, can help a lot. That’s where the iPad comes in. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Daily Monthly*
April 9th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, Opinion
Tags: General Medicine, Healthcare Legislation, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Reform Bill, Internal Medicine, Primary Care, Radical Moderate
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I have been asked by patients, readers, family members, and by fellow bloggers what I think about the healthcare bill passed by the House of Regurgitants Representatives. I resent this. I have tried hard to remain as neutral as possible, finding equal cause to point and sneer at both conservatives and liberals. It’s much more fun to watch the kids fight than it is to figure out which one is to blame.
But given the enormous pressure put on me by these people, as well as threatening phone calls from Oprah and Dr. Oz, I will give my “radical moderate” view of the healthcare bill.
My perspective is, of course, that of a primary care physician who will deal with the aftermath of this in a way very few talking heads on TV can understand. The business of healthcare is my business — literally. So, reluctantly, I take leave of the critic’s chair and take on the position where I will be a target for any rotten fruit thrown. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
April 9th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, News, Opinion
Tags: American Board of Internal Medicine, Board Certification, Board-Certified Specialist, Cereal Box Top, Doctors, Physicians, Specialists, Specialty Care
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Remember when you were a child and an offer to be a member of a special spy club appeared on your morning cereal box? You knew — yes, KNEW — that the offer was the real deal. All you had to do is send in 3 cereal box tops and you’d be sent all the prerequisite items. Of course, when the plastic trinkets arrived weeks later, there always seemed to be the air of buzzkill when the reality of what you received for your efforts was revealed.
This could never happen with board certification for doctors, could it?
Yesterday we learned that this year every specialist has to recertify to maintain their status as a board-certified specialist. In the past, this was a voluntary process that doctors participated in to show a jury of their peers that they had the right stuff to practice medicine at the highest level possible. It was a respected term. Doctors generally knew that a board-certified specialist meant something.
Even though doctors pay thousands of dollars to the American Board of Internal Medicine for the opportunity to study for and take the certification exam, once passed doctors were proud to hang that certificate on their wall. In effect, it is the crowning achievement of one’s career.
But what if that certificate on the wall had the value of certificate purchased from a cereal box top spy club? Doctors might be pretty upset, right? Well guess what. Although the majority of those certificates hanging on the wall are the real deal, many are not. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
