May 13th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor, Medical Art, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Affected Synovium, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, CTS, DIP, Distal Interphalangial, Family Medicine, Finger Deformity, Fortune Teller, General Medicine, Hand Examination, Hand Lines, Hand Movements, Hand Puppets, Hand Shadows, Internal Medicine, Madam Linda, MCP, Metacarpal Phalange Joint, Nerve Damage, Neurology, Orthopedics, Osteoarthritis, Palm Reading, PIP, Primary Care, Proximal Interphalangial, RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Thenar Eminence
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Back to the subject at hand.
To those who are relatively new to this blog, one of the most popular…uh…tolerated series of posts has been my series on the physical exam. If you haven’t done so already, you may want to go back and read the posts to get in the proper mindset (or destroy enough brain cells).
Astute readers will note that doctors are not the only professionals to examine the hand.
Long before we knew anything about carpal tunnel syndrome or the thenar eminence, we had Madam Linda and her cohorts looking at the hand for signs of what the future will bring for the individual that happens to be connected to the hand in question. Just as stars and planets can have a peculiar interest as to whether a person will run into money, the lines on a person’s hand can foreshadow a person’s future. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
May 13th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, Medblogger Shout Outs, News, Opinion
Tags: China, Chinese, Doctors.net.uk, Dxy.cn, General Medicine, Internal Medicine, Lilac Garden Biomedical Science and Technology Network, Medical Blogosphere, Medical Media, Ozmosis.com, Pharmaceutical Industry, Pharmacology, Science And The Media, Sermo.com, Social Health Media, Social Media Platform, Social Networking
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In the medical blogosphere, we talk a lot about medical community sites such as Sermo.com, Ozmosis.com or Doctors.net.uk and we always mention these as huge communities.
While Sermo has over 110,000 physician members, the Chinese dxy.cn has over 1.4 million professionals on its site. It has a blog, a conference site, a pharmacy channel, biomedical business information platform, it covers more than a 100 specialties, and offers thousands of jobs. I tried to translate the mission statement with Google Translate:
Lilac Garden Biomedical Science and Technology Network ( DXY.CN ) was established in July 23, 2000, and since its inception has been committed for the majority of medical professionals to provide a specialized life science platform. With professionalism and strong accumulation and the deepening and development of professional exchange, Lilac Garden has grown into the largest and most popular group of pharmaceutical industry professionals to network media platforms.
Now I’m looking for Chinese doctors who would help us create a Chinese section for PeRSSonalized Medicine, the easiest medical information aggregator that features only selected resources. If you know someone, please let me know.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
May 13th, 2010 by Steve Novella, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research
Tags: Abused Science, Bind Endogenous Opiates, Biology, Bogus, Clinical Applications, Clinical Use, Cutting-Edge Science, Endorphins, Enkephalins, Evidence Based Medicine, General Medicine, Heroine, Internal Medicine, LDN, Low-Dose Naltrexone, Medical Revolution, Morphine, Narcotics, Opiate Addiction, Opiate Drugs, Opiate Receptors, Opiate Toxicity, Pharmacology, Primary Care, Pseudomedicine, Pseudoscience, Public Health, Reduce Pain, Research Claims, SBM, Science Based Medicine, Unscientific Medicine
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On SBM we have documented the many and various ways that science is abused in the pursuit of health (or making money from those who are pursuing health). One such method is to take a new, but reasonable, scientific hypothesis and run with it, long past the current state of the evidence. We see this with the many bogus stem cell therapy clinics that are popping up in parts of the world with lax regulation.
This type of medical pseudoscience is particularly challenging to deal with, because there is a scientific paper trail that seems to support many of the claims of proponents. The claims themselves may have significant plausibility, and parts of the claims may in fact be true. Efforts to educate the public about such treatments are frustrated by the mainstream media’s lazy tendency to discuss every study as if it were the definitive last word on a topic, and to site individual experts as if they represent the consensus of scientific opinion.
Recent claims made for low-dose naltrexone (LDN) fit nicely into this model –- a medical intervention with interesting research, but in a preliminary phase that does not justify clinical use. And yet proponents talk about it as if it’s a medical revolution. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
May 12th, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Children, Discontent, ED, Emergency Department, Emergency Medicine, Emergency Room, ER, Family Medicine, Frustrated Physicians, General Medicine, Hang In There, Internal Medicine, kids, Lack of Primary Care, Leave, Primary Care, Primary Care Crisis, Primary Care Shortage, quit, Stop Practicing Medicine, Struggle, Uncertainty, Unhappy Doctors
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There is discontent in the house of medicine. So many physicians struggle. They seem to wade through uncertainty every day — uncertain about diagnoses, about pain, about disposition. We find ourselves uncertain about our jobs, our futures, our finances.
The consultants we call are uncertain about their practices and whether they can remain viable in the coming years as medicine evolves into something we may find unrecognizable.
Some days, as I enter my 17th year of practice, I don’t know if I can bear to walk around our little department for 10 or 20 more years, like some gerbil on an exercise wheel. I am uncertain if I can bear the weight of more entitlements, more confabulated stories, more regulations, and manufactured drama. I wonder if I can endure decades more of circadian assaults on my brain. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
May 12th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: 10 Reasons To Be A Doctor, Doctor's Life, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Fascination, Flexibility, General Medicine, Humble, Humility, Independence, Influence, Internal Medicine, Lifestyle, Primary Care, Privilege, Respect, Reward, Teamwork, Trust, Variety, Worthwhile
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With all the negative press, the pay cuts, and the uncertainty of healthcare reform, I am approached by people who secretly whisper in my ear, “Would you have your child go into medicine?”
On first blush I am tempted to answer, “Heck no!” given the administrative hassles, the changes in the public’s perception of our profession, the frontload of education, and the long hours involved. But those observations, while real, are superficial at best.
Drilling down with more careful analysis after a challenging weekend on call, I find it worthwhile to stop and ask myself what makes medicine special for those of us crazy enough to subject ourselves to this lifestyle. I decided to put together a list of things that were important to me and would welcome additions from others. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
