March 26th, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor
Tags: Healthcare reform, Humor, Jokes
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The only sure thing about healthcare reform is that it’s going to add to the country’s collective case of bad temper. How can we not feel down for having to go through weeks of listening to partisans of all stripes say anything imaginable to attack the other guys’ arguments?
For at least one day, then, let’s turn down the heat, and look to humor to put smiles back on our faces.
For even-handed skewing of all things Washington, see this link to the “Top Ten Healthcare Reform Jokes,” selected by Daniel Kurtzman from material provided by Jimmy Fallon, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, and others.
My favorite: “The healthcare bill was introduced yesterday. It’s 1,990 pages long and costs $894 billion dollars. Or $2.2 million per word. That makes them the most expensive words to come out of Washington since ‘Mission Accomplished.'” – Jimmy Fallon Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
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 20th, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: General Medicine, Inactivity, Inertia, Overexertion, Personal Life, Relaxation, Stress, Weariness
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Recently, my wife and I went away for a weekend. I can’t remember the last time we packed our bags and left the children with their grandparents for two whole nights. Frankly, our preference is always to do things with them when we can, because in addition to loving them, we like them! But we decided to seize the moment and take that rare opportunity to go on an extended “date.”
I know that it must have been a while since we had been away, because we couldn’t stop smiling. We laughed and shopped. We ate quiet meals together without negotiating the best restaurant for four children and two adults. We held hands, but no one else was touching us, pulling us in different directions, or asking us to find anything. It was positively, delightfully spooky. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
March 16th, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Humor
Tags: Alternative Bills, Healthcare reform, The Onion
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Alternate Health Care BillsIn response to President Obama’s call for compromise, several lawmakers have concocted their own health care reform bills. Here are some provisions of the top contenders:
- Hoyer-Larson Bill: All 45 million uninsured Americans would be guaranteed medical care, all of it provided by Dr. Tom Janicak of Houston, TX
- Melancon-Cooper Bill: Would create a low-cost government-administered health insurance plan, but would prohibit anyone from buying into it
- Griffith-Cantor Bill: Low-income families would be allowed to huddle outside hospital windows in the cold and look at wealthier families receiving care
- Hutchinson-Snowe Bill: Children insured on a cuteness scale
- Murray-Menendez Bill: Doctors only allowed to mention giving birth as a viable alternative after providing counseling on the many different ways one can have an abortion.
- Luetkemeyer-Fortenberry Bill: They just liked the way their names looked together, and this seemed like the most high-profile opportunity to put it out there
- Grayson Bill: Rep. Alan Grayson will personally punch in the face any insurance executive who turns down a valid claim
- Blookross-Feiser Bill: Although no one is exactly sure who these two shadowy congressmen are, their bill would mandate a twofold increase in insurance premiums and force patients to buy name-brand drugs
I particularly like the Melancon-Cooper bill, which actually does bear resemblance to the Public Option in its death throes.
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
March 13th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor
Tags: Cost, Finance, Healthcare System, Money, Waste
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AUTHOR’S NOTE: I am very frustrated with a system that increases cost dramatically and yet reduces what I get paid. The rest of the money is going somewhere, and since it is not improving the overall quality of care, it is mostly waste. We are enamored with MRI scans, stents, and expensive cancer treatments, with little to show for them except increased expenses and a lot of third parties getting rich off of this waste: drug and device manufacturers, medical imaging companies and other para-healthcare industries. This story, which originally appeared at Musings of Distractible Mind, is prompted by my frustration with waste and how it spurs unneeded health care delivery.
Once upon a time there was a land on the ocean. The people lived off of the food from the ocean and were very happy. But as they grew bigger, they had a problem: They made a lot of waste! Yuk! Nobody likes waste. What could they do about all of this that stuff that nobody needed? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
