July 1st, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in Health Tips
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As the 4th of July approaches, I’ve begun to hear fireworks exploding in my neighborhood. It’s been dry here, so in addition to the risk of injuring a person, there is a risk of setting the fields on fire. I sure hope my neighbors are being responsible.
I hope you will all have a safe and happy July 4th. Be safe and stay out of the ER.
Please use the following tips:
- Never allow children to play with or ignite fireworks. A responsible adult should be in charge.
- Read and follow all warnings and instructions.
- Be sure other people are out-of-range before lighting fireworks. Small children should be kept a safe distance from the fireworks; older children that use fireworks need to be carefully supervised.
- Do not smoke when handling any type of “live” firecracker, rocket, or aerial display.
- Keep all fireworks away from any flammable liquids, dry grassy areas, or open bonfires.
- Keep a bucket of water or working garden hose nearby in case of a malfunction or fire.
- Take note of any sudden wind change that could cause sparks or debris to fall on a car, house, or person. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
July 1st, 2011 by DrWes in Health Tips, Opinion
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He sat in a crisp white coat, staring at a computer screen, note cards in his lap. Occasionally, I noted him jot a note to himself as he compiled his list. A nurse sat next to him, pounding feverishly on the keyboard as she recorded her nurse’s note. He tentatively moved his mouse, then clicked, still staring.
I recall my first day in clinical medicine: no computer, an ER rotation, a white board filled with names and abbreviated medical problems next to them with little magnetic color-coded labels nearby. Room 1: Head trauma. Room 2: Abscess. Room 3: UTI, Room 4: Rash.
I got room 2. It was the biggest, bad-est infected sebaceous cyst on a guy’s back a newly minted doctor had ever seen. Can you say “softball?” “See one, do one,” they told me. And off I went.
Much in medicine has changed since then, but much remains the same. Medicine is miraculous, terrifying, then rewarding all at once. Fortunately, there’s a method within the madness that can serve to preserve and protect those who first start out. Every doctor has had the fortune to learn from those who passed before them as begin their journey to refine their title of “doctor” (literally, “teacher.”)
I thought it would be interesting to put a few of the “Rules of the Road for Medicine” down on paper (with the help of friends on Twitter) for interns and residents as they embark on their own incredible journey ahead. The list is not exhaustive, but hopefully can serve as a resource for our new doctors as they head off to meet their clinical challenges ahead.
Rule #1: Treat every patient like your mother Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
July 1st, 2011 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
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The Supreme Court has sided with Big Pharma in their challenge to the Vermont Law limiting the pharmaceutical Industry’s access to physician prescribing information.
The nation’s high court handed down a verdict Thursday in the Sorrell v. IMS Health case, striking down by a 6-3 vote a 2007 Vermont law that that bans the practice of data mining — the sale and use of prescriber-identifiable information for marketing or promoting a drug, including drug detailing — unless a physician specifically gives his or her permission to use the information.
Apparently, Big Pharma’s right to “free speech” trumps my right to privacy. How getting access to my prescribing information has anything to do with free speech is beyond me. In the twisted logic of the pro-business, anti-citizen Supreme Court –
Speech in aid of pharmaceutical marketing… is a form of expression protected by the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog That Ate Manhattan*
June 30th, 2011 by DeborahSchwarzRPA in Health Tips
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Attendees of the breast cancer awareness symposium “Bridging the Gap: Promoting Breast Cancer Prevention, Screening and Wellness” were given the chance to submit questions on breast cancer in the minority community. This is the first part of these questions answered by Dr. Preya Ananthakrishnan, Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery and a host of the event.
Q: I am a 51 year old Black women, whose mother died 13 years ago from breast cancer & her sister was diagnosed last year. I had a mammography 2 weeks ago and got the dreaded come back letter. Should I get genetic counseling?
Dr. Ananthakrishnan: I would suggest that your sister with the breast cancer get tested first, and if her test result is positive then you should get tested. Furthermore, it is likely that even though you got a “call back” letter after your mammogram, it is very possible that you don’t actually have a breast cancer. I would advise you to go in as soon as possible to work up whatever abnormality was seen. If you do in fact have a breast cancer, then you should certainly undergo genetic testing yourself.
Q: What is considered “early detection” of breast cancer?
Dr. Ananthakrishnan: Early detection is finding a breast cancer before symptoms actually occur. This could be by finding it on a mammogram before actually feeling a lump in the breast, or by finding a small lump before it becomes a big lump. Early detection can sometimes allow for less aggressive treatments and improved outcomes.
Q: Is radical mastectomy surgery still performed? I hear little about it now. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Columbia University Department of Surgery Blog*
June 30th, 2011 by Stanley Feld, M.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
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The use of economic incentives to motivate behavior is neither a Democratic or Republican idea. It is human nature to be motivated by economic incentives. The concept of individual responsibility is an American idea. It has been tarnished in recent years.
There is no question in my mind that government has the responsibility to be compassionate and help the needy. It is my view that government should help individuals help themselves.
The costs associated with Medicare and traditional healthcare insurance are rising. Every stakeholder points a finger at the other stakeholders as the cause.
President Obama’s Healthcare Reform Act is raising costs higher in anticipation of cuts in the future. He is in the process of forcing individuals to be more dependent on the government rather than promoting individual responsibility.
Obamacare will fail to control costs.
All anyone has to do is look at a Rand Corp. study of 29 years ago to see what works and what doesn’t work. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*
