July 15th, 2010 by Michael Sevilla, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Medblogger Shout Outs, News, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: 2009 Fire/EMS Blog of the Year, Best Practice In Medicine, Blog Ending, Blog Retirement, Chronicles of EMS, Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Medicine, EMS, Fear Of Blogging, Forced Out Of Blogging, Health Bloggers, Healthcare Blogs, Healthcare Social Media, Lack Of Understanding, Mark Glencourse, Medbloggers, Medblogging, Medic999, Medical Blog Awards, Medical Blogosphere, Pressure To Stop Blogging, Social Media Dignity, Social Media In Medicine, Social Media Standards, Unease About Social Media, United Kingdom
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Although it happened a few weeks ago, I only recently learned of the “retirement” of the blog called “Medic999” by EMS social media superstar Mark Glencourse who works in the United Kingdom. I only learned of Mark and his blog (which was recognized as the 2009 Fire/EMS Blog of the Year) in the past few months in association with the hugely popular Chronicles of EMS project (see the first episode on video here).
In stating why he was stopping his blog, unfortunately, I find similar thoughts being shared by the medical colleagues I know about why people either stop blogging or don’t ever start in the first place:
I find it a shame that the reason for this blog ending is the general lack of understanding of blogging and social media. I feel that I have promoted best practice, shared my passion for the job that I do, and hopefully have shown all readers what it is that makes EMS and those that devote their lives to it so special.
However, there still remains a general unease about social media and blogging in the health service. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*
July 15th, 2010 by David H. Gorski, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research, True Stories
Tags: Berwickian, Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services, CMS, Dr. Don Berwick, Evidence Based Medicine, General Medicine, Healthcare Consumers, Healthcare Legislation, Healthcare reform, Information Exchange, Institute For Healthcare Improvement, Patient Empowerment, Patient-Centered Care, Patient-Centered Medicine, Patient-Centeredness, Patients As Consumers, President Obama, Primary Care, Recess Appointment, Science Based Medicine, The Patient Is Always Right, U.S. Healthcare System, Woo
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There’s been a bit of buzz in the health blogs over President Obama’s decision last week to use the mechanism of a recess appointment to be the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Recess appointments, for those who may not be aware, allow a President to put a nominee in place when Congress is in recess in order to have him in place without the messy process of having him approved by the Senate. True, the Senate still has to approve a recess appointment by the end of its term, or the seat goes vacant again, but it’s an excellent way to avoid having nasty confirmation fights during election years. Of course, both parties do it, and the reaction of pundits, bloggers, and politicians tend to fall strictly along partisan lines.
If you support the President, then a recess appointment is a way to get around the obstructionism of the other party. If you don’t support the President, it’s a horrific abuse of Presidential power. And so it goes. Either way, I don’t really care much about the politics of how such officials are appointed so much as who is being appointed.
The man who was appointed last week to head CMS is Donald Berwick, M.D., CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. His being placed in charge of CMS will likely have profound consequences not just for how the recent health care/insurance reform law is implemented, but for how the government applies science-based medicine to the administration of the this massive bill. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
July 14th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: Cialis, ED, Erectile Dysfunction, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Internal Medicine, Levitra, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Men's Health, Pharmacology, Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitors, Primary Care, Proper Drug Use, Reproductive Health, Sexual Health, Sildenafil, Viagra
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The medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings recently contained some clinical pearls that I wanted to pass on to my men readers who take medication for erectile dysfunction (ED). They reported on a healthy 67-year-old male who took two 25mg doses of Viagra (sildenafil) but still did not get erections. He was frustrated and inquired about other treatments for ED.
The article reported that patients often take Viagra and other phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (Cialis, Levitra) incorrectly. To be effective, Viagra must be taken on an empty stomach at least one hour before intercourse. Research has shown that approximately half of patients who don’t respond to Viagra will have success when they take it properly. The dose can go up to 100mg, but there is no need to increase the medication until the patient learns how to take it.
So there you have it. Take it on an empty stomach at least one hour before sex.
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
July 14th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: 1980s News Coverage, Artificial Heart, Cardiology, Gary Schwitzer, HealthNewsReview.org, Heart Disease, Jarvik-7, Organ Transplantation, Sound Health Journalism, The New York Times, Too Much Journalistic Enthusiasm
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Here we go again. And believe me, as one who’s covered the artificial heart experiments of the 1980s, I feel like I’ve been through this countless times before — but so have health news readers.
Another entrepeneurial team announces hopes for its artificial heart device and some news coverage trumpets the company’s announcement:
But this was in The New York Times! Now, granted — it’s in a “Global Business” section. But we don’t see why that removes the need for more scrutiny, for independent perspective, and for a better discussion of evidence. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
July 14th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Family Medicine, Fixing Primary Care, General Medicine, Internal Medicine, Lack of Primary Care, Medical School Students, More Primary Care Doctors, New Doctors, No Medical School Debt, Physician Recruitment, Primary Care Doctors, Primary Care Shortage, Subsidized Tuition
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There’s little question that medical school debt is rising rapidly, affecting the career choice of medical students.
It’s one of the main reasons why the disparity between the number of specialists and primary care doctors is widening. There have been a variety of proposed solutions — most recent of which are medical schools completely subsidizing their tuition. I think that’s a good step forward, but so far has only been limited to a few schools nationwide. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
