July 25th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
Tags: Abdominal Skin, Abdominoplasty, Angle of the Mouth, Cosmetic Surgery, Dunlop, Facial Muscle, Male Anatomy, Medical Humor, Medical Terminology, Medical Vocabulary, Plastic Surgery, Pockets Of Fat, Risorius, Scrotum, Smile, Spare Tire, Speedo Sag, Tummy Tuck
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This past week I learned several new words and phrases. Allow me to share a few with you.
“Speedo sag” –- I learned of this phrase from a tweet from @BAAPSMedia:
Have just seen a cosmetic surgery press release about so-called “Speedo Sag”….Eww.
My first thought was the same as my OR crew, whom I polled. We all thought it had to have something to do with the parts of the male anatomy which should be covered by the Speedo, such as perhaps the scrotum. It doesn’t. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
July 24th, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Cardiac Electrophysiology, Cardiovascular Disease, Clues To Longevity, Everyman, Good For The Heart, Happily Married, Healthy Aging, Healthy Communication, Healthy Relationships, Heart Disease, Holding Hands, How To Live Longer, Intimacy, Life Choice, Life's Inflammation, Like Each Other, Marriage and Family, Philip Roth, Quality of Life, Real Companionship, Successful Aging, Talk To Each Other, Trained Observer, Unconditional Love, Walking Hand-In-Hand
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A trained observer is what most electrophysiologists are. And being a trained observer carries over into real life, as would the handiness of a plumber, or the strength of a brick layer, or the wordsmithing of a journalist.
Will and I drive past our house.
“Where are we going now,” he asks in the exasperated tone of a 13 year old.
I need to take a picture.
Why?
Because middle-aged patients who’ve recently realized that their life is half over often seek clues to longevity.
Let’s take stressed-out, middle-aged patients who’ve somehow been rendered free of AF (maybe by a skillful ablation, or more likely just happenstance). Let’s also say they don’t smoke, drink excessively, have normal blood pressure, normal blood sugar, and aren’t obese. Is there anything else they can do to live longer, they often ask? Yes, I believe there is. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
July 24th, 2010 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Childhood Diabetes, Concerned Moms, Endocrinology, New Mothers, Parenting Behavior, Pediatrics, Type 1 Diabetes
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It wasn’t until yesterday that I thought “The Thought” for the first time.
She had a very wet diaper in the afternoon. And even though she had nursed for a long time and even though she seemed (and is) healthy and very strong, I still thought about taking out my meter and pricking her heel myself. Just thought it for a second.
I didn’t follow through, though. I didn’t let “The Thought” stay for more than a flicker, as I immediately finished changing her diaper and started singing her a song about the power of tiny spoons. (Don’t ask — my songs never make any sense.) I shook “The Thought” off the same way I shake off the thought every time I wonder if my niece or nephew might have dipped into my autoimmune grab bag. I don’t allow my brain to go there. It’s not denial, but feels more like a protective measure taken by my mind, protecting my psyche from letting “The Thought” permeate my daily life. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
July 23rd, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Doctors on the Internet, Doctors Online, General Medicine, Healthcare Social Media, Internet and Medical Practice, Physician Social Networks, Social Media In Medicine, Social Media Standards
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Last week I invited a local pediatrician to connect with me on a physician social network. I thought it would be cool to see how it might improve our ability to stay in touch and share information. In a return email she was enthusiastic, but qualified it by saying that she wouldn’t want to be held liable for anything she said.
It raises an interesting concern: Can a physician be held accountable for rendering an opinion in a clinical scenario casually presented in a physician network?
Water Cooler Risk
The question of liability for casual dialog is interesting, but not a new question. Doctors have been talking for years. At lunch conferences, in hallways, and in surgical lounges -– the curbside is a way of life for all of us. Good physicians, after all, almost never work alone. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
July 21st, 2010 by AlanDappenMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Primary Care Wednesdays, Research, True Stories
Tags: Accessibility, Affordability, Case Report, Convenience, Cost Less, Direct Pay, DocTalker Family Medicine, Dr. Alan Dappen, Empowerment, Fixing American Healthcare, General Medicine, Got It, I Get It Moment, Internal Medicine, Just A Phone Call Away, Medical Practice Mission, Price Transparency, Primary Care, Quality, Trust
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After seven years, my wife has finally stopped asking me for “The Power of DocTalker” story of the day. Now when I start with the details of the latest case report justifying the model, she stops me with “I get it, I get it! Go write the case report up and post it on your website for others to ‘get it,’ too.”
Case reports center on the mission of our medical practice, with points regarding care that include quality, accessibility, convenience, affordability, empowerment, trust, and price transparency. Because our patients pay us directly for the service and don’t necessarily expect any insurance “reimbursement,” we are a very unique practice. We adhere to the points in our mission and also outperform all our local competition — i.e. medical offices that accept insurance payment for service in order to survive as a business.
To the patient, our services cost a lot less than services available via the insurance model. About 40 percent of our clientele have no insurance, and the other 60 percent have insurance yet chose to use our services because they believe it’s worth paying directly in order to assume control of their care. (As a quick aside — my favorite clients in this group are health insurance executives and CEOs of large companies, who have the best health insurance in the country.) Read more »
