December 7th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Humor, Medblogger Shout Outs
Tags: 2008, Dr. Rob, Dr. Rob Lamberts, Dr. Val Jones, Musings of a Distractible Mind, Santa Claus
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The blogosphere is not immune to “one-upmanship” – and a good example can be found on Dr. Rob’s blog. He claims to be “jealous” of the interviews I’ve been doing with hospital executives and celebrity spokespeople. So in order to keep up with this Jones, Dr. Rob landed the biggest interview of the season: one with Santa Claus himself.
Dr. Rob has some interesting ideas about healthcare reform for Santa, so whether you’ve been naughty or nice, head on over to Musings of a Distractible Mind for the scoop.
December 1st, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, Medblogger Shout Outs
Tags: Dr. Anonymous, Emergiblog, Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, Kim McCallister, Starbucks, World AIDS Day
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This is one awareness day where your coffee habit can make a difference. Starbucks is donating 5¢ to the Global Fund for every Starbucks beverage sold on December 1, 2008 at participating US and Canada locations.
h/t Emergiblog
And Dr. Anonymous has a nice post about World AIDS Day, citing this letter from a survivor:
(This is an excerpt from a letter to the editor from the Cleveland Plain Dealer from November 30, 2008):
I am a 20-year survivor living with AIDS, and another World AIDS Day (Monday) is fast approaching. Food trays once left at hospital room doors of those dying from AIDS are now being served. The preventative measure of “gown ing-up” has come and gone. However, the stigma of AIDS has stayed unchanged. Sadly, there are conflicting AIDS transmission fears and infection rates spiraling out of control.
I am blessed in that I am still here, with thinning hair, bifocals and my AARP card in hand. I am living proof of the incredible medical strides made in managing HIV/AIDS. I am blessed in living to see nieces and nephews come into my world and bring forth great-nieces and great-nephews. I am blessed in that I continue to continue. I still grieve for the many friends I’ve lost to AIDS.
This year, another 56,000-plus Americans will become needlessly infected with HIV/AIDS. We know how to prevent HIV infection. We need to wage a War on AIDS in America. We know how to win it.
Robert W. Toth — Cleveland, OH
November 30th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Humor, Medblogger Shout Outs
Tags: Christmas, Dog House, Faux Pas, Gift, JC Penny, Men, Relationships, Video
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Men in Dog House
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SecVCh9dg4I
h/t to Dr. Wes
Bonus: try to hear the “messages” being voiced in the background.
November 30th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Humor, Medblogger Shout Outs
Tags: Dog Bite, Dogs, Emergency Medicine, Humor, Quote of the day
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Dogs, as a general rule, do not like to be kissed on the mouth by drunk people.
– Edwin Leap, MD
h/t to Grunt Doc .
November 9th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Medblogger Shout Outs, Opinion
Tags: CMS, Criteria, Delirium, Dr. Val Jones, Falls, Family Medicine, Geriatrics, Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, Never Event
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As many of you know, I’ve been pretty upset about the “never events” policy put forward by CMS. That’s because they took a theoretically reasonable punitive rule (Medicare will not pay hospitals for patient care related to gross medical errors, aka “never events,” like wrong-side surgery) and made it far too general (never events include delirium, falls, and any infection – even a cold). It is absolutely impossible to prevent these sorts of things 100% of the time. So how should “never events” be defined?
The Happy Hospitalist nails it:
Can the never event happen at home? If the answer is yes, it cannot be a never event. It is a natural event. Even the criminal events that nobody can foresee are considered never events. Tell me how a hospital can prevent a random crazy family member or hospital guest from going berserk and assaulting an employee or patient. It’s impossible to predict or prevent.
