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Looking For A Surgeon: Board Certification Is Not The First Thing To Consider

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Don’t simply look for a surgeon who is board certified.  Make sure they are trained to do the procedure you are having.  Yes, board certification is important, but the training is more so (in my humble opinion).

If you are having a breast augmentation, you don’t want a board certified maxillofacial surgeon or Ob-Gyn or neurosurgeon.  You want someone trained in plastic surgery.  It is a bonus if they are board certified.  By the same token, if you need brain surgery you don’t want a board certified plastic surgeon you want someone trained in neurosurgery.

This rant was prompted by Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*

Do Breast Implants Have An Expiration Date?

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I read someone said she had to get her implants re-done 20 or so years later. I thought that getting breast implants was a one-time thing. How long do breast implants last?

Breast implant surgery is definitely not to be considered a “one time thing.” That is one good finding that came out of the breast implant craziness of the 1990′s in the US; the time at which the FDA banned silicone gel implants and demanded studies.

Interestingly, the implants themselves are not always the problem that leads to re-operation. It can be the body’s reaction to them. Silicone gel breast implants in particular can Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*

Challenges And Opportunities Of Health Care Social Media

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I spoke on health care social media and regulatory compliance at the Health Care Compliance Association’s New England Regional Annual Conference last week.  As you may expect, the room was full of the folks who, generally speaking, are the folks who block social media sites on health care organization networks.  I sent a link to an online bio to one of the session organizers in advance, and even that site was blocked by his facility’s network.  Clearly, we have a long way to go in educating health care compliance professionals about the risks and benefits of using health care social media, and an appropriate approach to balancing these risks and benefits so as to establish an appropriate social media presence for each health care organization.

My talk was followed by a presentation by two federal prosecutors, one of whom reminded the audience that they may need to produce copies of all online postings in response to government document requests or subpoenas.  We may quibble about the scope of material that might be covered by such a production request, but the key takeaway from this comment should be Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog*

How Cancer Survivors Are Picking Themselves Up And Moving Past The Worry

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Thank God television and movie script writers are starting to “get it.” Cancer, “The Big C,” doesn’t always kill people, or maim them, or steal their dreams. Lately there have been new TV shows acknowledging cancer as part of life that many can live through. There’s a new movie coming called 50/50 about a young adult man with cancer (important to acknowledge it in this age group!). I hope he doesn’t die in the end. But from the preview, it’s clear he talks to people about it – including young women he is trying to date. It’s a comedy. On Showtime on cable TV there’s a series, The Big C, where actress Laura Linney plays a teacher with melanoma and a year to live. The good news is they had a second season!

My point is there are now nearly 12 million cancer survivors. Three of work them at Patient Power (one is me, almost 61, one is in her 50’s, one is just 18). More and more of us do not have just months or a year to live. We are true survivors. We have to start watching our cholesterol and taking baby aspirins, we have to watch our weight, plan for retirement or manage a fixed income. For the young one, it’s plan for college. We have to think about who we might vote for in the next election. We are LIVING! Maybe for a full lifespan, maybe not, but living each day with purpose.

Yes, it’s true there could be “another shoe” that drops, Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*

The Power Of Social Media Networking In Health Care

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In a recent Harvard Business Review Blog, David Armano writes about the six pillars of influence that lead to measurably favorable outcomes.

To achieve measurably better health, the pillars Armano explains can certainly be adopted.

He notes how the “social web can amplify signals, influence behavior and lead to action.”

Social networking has changed the landscape in health care.  Technology has paved the way for instant communication and feedback.

While some companies continue to question the value of social media networking, debating whether or not they should be on Twitter or Facebook, others have superseded the hesitation, and are presently into the next phase of social networking. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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