The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues an annual report on the state of health in the United States. The 33rd edition is out and has some surprising findings, especially about the use of procedures, tests and medical technology.
The life expectancy in the United States is now 77.9 years. Are you over that age? If so, congratulations — you beat the odds. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
This blog was written from Toronto, Ontario, where ACP’s elected Board of Governors met to provide direction on the policies to be advocated by the organization.
One issue raised by many of the governors is the enormous economic pressure on smaller internal medicine practices, and what the ACP might be able to do about it. Today, most physicians work in private practices of ten or fewer. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
Scientists at Rutgers University are studying the female orgasm using functional MRI (fMRI).
During the experiment, women masturbate with the help of a dildo inside the fMRI machine so the team can study which areas of the brain are activated by arousal.
First they map the cervix, uterus, and clitoris to regions of the brain to create a sort of sexual homunculus. Then the women get ten minutes to stimulate to an orgasm, which is signaled to the researchers by raising a hand. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA
You witness an adult collapse to the ground. What do you do? Would you just stand by and watch? Would you call 911? Would you initiate CPR?
Research reveals that bystanders have been reluctant to perform CPR on a person who drops to the ground because they’re hesitant about putting their mouth on a stranger’s mouth. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
There are many expensive and complicated treatments for migraine headaches, but a new literature review shows that a single, 1,000mg-dose of aspirin is effective for more than half of all migraine sufferers.
Compared with placebo, aspirin reduced the symptoms of nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light (photophobia) and and sound (phonophobia), and eliminated severe or moderate pain within two hours in 24 percent of people. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
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…
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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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…
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…
