October 30th, 2009 by MotherJonesRN in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Journalism, mainstream media, Medblogging, Medicine, Nursing
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I never knew that newspapers use to hire nurses. This nurse is working in a big city at the news desk. I wonder if she had to have a journalism degree as well as a nursing license in order to write copy for a media outlet back when nurses wore their cap. There was a time when only journalists wrote the news. Now anyone with a computer, a video camera, and a website can out scoop CNN. Kim from Emergiblog told me that some bloggers and a member of the press got into a debate at BlogWorld09. I wasn’t surprised to hear this because mainstream media thinks that its the only legitimate source for news. Come on mainstream media, we both know what’s really going on here. You have blogger envy.
I’m sorry if I sound cranky, mainstream media, but I’m really tired of all your whining. I know you don’t think that citizen journalists check their facts and that we lack reliable news sources. Some of you have even said that our stories aren’t fair and balanced. Do you really want to go there, mainstream media? I’m talking to you Fox News and MSNBC. You’ve got your nerve to criticize anyone about their scruples. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Nurse Ratched's Place*
October 30th, 2009 by Berci in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Accuracy, Code, Get the code, Health On The Net, Health On The Net Foundation, HON, HON Code, Trust
3 Comments »
Health on the Net Foundation has been evaluating and rating medical websites for years and it’s sad when we find out there might be some problems and concerns around this highly-respected system.The Bradfield Resident blog published an interesting entry:
…from a review the HONcode guidelines on the Health On the Net Foundation website, it appears that the Australian Dental Association’s site, which currently displays a HONcode seal, does not respect the HONcode principles.
Details of the water fluoridation argument (and safety of mercury in fillings, etc) aside, it is apparent that the current ADA website does not respect a number of the HONcode principles – to an obvious and significant extent – and I imagine this to have been the case for a number of years, if not from the original review in January 2004. This example does not instill confidence in the credibility of the Health On the Net Foundation seal used for medical and health websites. I seek your explanation as to how a site reviewed numerous times with such glaring inconsistencies could be certified. I have not particularly listed examples of the inconsistencies since they appear on almost every page of the ADA website – if you cannot see them, I hold little hope for the HONcode’s reputation at all.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
October 30th, 2009 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Education, Emergency Medicine, Residency, Rural, South Carolina, Stereotypes, Stigma
2 Comments »
I practice in the rural, northwest corner of South Carolina, also known as “The Upstate.” It is a place of expansive lakes, white-water rivers and the mist covered foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The area includes thousands of acres of Sumter National Forest. The natural beauty is breathtaking. Sumter National Forest and our various parks are laced with hiking trails, which are lined with unique plants and trees, some found nowhere else. Fish and game abound. In fact, our wooded hospital grounds support a flock of at least 30 wild turkey. And last deer season, the only deer I saw were the three does grazing at the end of the ED driveway one night, spotlighted by two of our paramedics.
We have a lot of wonderful things here, things that are gifts of the rural life. We have good people, the salt of the earth types who care about personal morality and Southern courtesy. People who bring you a glass of sweet tea when your car breaks down. We live with a low crime rate, and minimal illicit drug use compared with more populated areas. It is a good place to raise children. It’s also a cool place to practice, where a busy summer shift can bring an acute MI, a near drowning (from inner-tubing on Class IV white water while drunk), a pit viper bite, a bull goring and many other pathologies, more or less interesting.
But, as physicians in a rural area, we pay a price. Because we have to endure a certain stigma. Read more »
October 28th, 2009 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Cancel, Discharge, Discontinue, Doctor Patient Relationship, Family Medicine, Fire, Patient, Physician, Primary Care
1 Comment »
They say that breaking up is hard to do
Now I know, I know that it’s true
Don’t say that this is the end
Instead of breaking up I wish that we were making up again
There are times that relationships need to end. Usually something happens to undermine trust; it’s hard to build trust, but it’s very easy to destroy it.
I had a discussion today with the other physicians in my practice as to when patients should be “discharged” from our practice. I have always found it somewhat ironic that we use the term “discharge” when we are basically telling patients we don’t want them to be our patients anymore. Doctors deal with discharges of various sorts – most of which are not pleasant. Here is a dictionary definition of discharge: the emission of pus, mucus, or other liquid from an orifice or from diseased tissue. True, there are other definitions of discharge that don’t cary that connotation (we discharge patients from the hospital), but if I see an appointment on my schedule with the word discharge as part of the reason for visit, I am not excited. I am praying for a no-show. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
October 28th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Chronic Disease, Diet and Exercise, Healthcare reform, Lifestyle, Personal Responsibility
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What we need is health reform, not health insurance reform. If we do nothing about health care inflation, we are all doomed. Every last one of us. Taking care of sick people is expensive. The only way to get rid of health care inflation is to stop spending money. At some point we will either have to
- decrease illness
- decrease treatment and/or
- decrease the cost of treatment
There are no alternatives. As an American which action plan would you rather see take hold? Realize that every cost action has a reaction. You can decrease disease by prevention. You can decrease treatment by bundling. And you can decrease the cost of treatment by making it more efficient or simply paying less until access becomes an issue. I am certain that keeping the financial stability of America will require all three. But the only one you as a patient have control over is #1. As a country, we can prevent 80% of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer by taking care of ourselves with lifestyle modification. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at A Happy Hospitalist*
