January 5th, 2010 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
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Wilderness medicine professionals often discuss which medications should be carried on which trips. There’s usually a limit to the size of the medical kit, and precious space must be allotted to the most important items. The painful passage of a kidney stone as it travels down the ureter, enters the bladder, then exits the urinary tract via the urethra, is “epic” for anyone who has ever suffered this event. So, anything that might be helpful to facilitate the stone’s passage or ease the discomfort is a good thing. Tamulosin (Flomax) is a drug that is often prescribed by physicians to promote the passage of a kidney stone(s). It has not quite become “standard of care” to prescribe the drug, but it is increasing in popularity, largely because of the observations by patients and doctors that it seems to help. Read more »
This post, Can Flomax Help You Pass A Kidney Stone?, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
January 4th, 2010 by DrRich in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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One would think American health insurance companies would be caterwauling about the provisions laid out for them in the healthcare reform legislation which Harry Reid (and a few of his elves) assembled for us Americans in their secret workshop just before Christmas.
On their face, those provisions do not appear to allow insurance companies a viable business model. Insurers under Reid’s bill would be required to accept all comers, regardless of age or underlying medical conditions. They would be required to cover all manner of healthcare services, including outpatient and inpatient services, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance abuse services, rehabilitative services, lab services, preventive and wellness services, chronic disease management, prescription drugs, dental care, and eye care. They would be limited in what they can charge in the way of insurance premiums, and their profits (if by some miracle there were any), would be strictly capped. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Covert Rationing Blog*
January 4th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, Medical Art
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What happens if you combine magnetic resonance imaging with games and creativity? See the idea of Neil Fraser:
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*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
January 4th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News
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It’s sad that cardiologists have had to sue as their last resort to save their practices:
“Heart specialists on Monday filed suit against Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius in an effort to stave off steep Medicare fee cuts for routine office-based procedures such as nuclear stress tests and echocardiograms.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, charges that the government’s planned cutbacks will deal a major blow to medical care in the USA, forcing thousands of cardiologists to shutter their offices, sell diagnostic equipment and work for hospitals, which charge more for the same procedures.
Perhaps other professional organizations will be forthcoming with similar suits as private doctors and their patients pay dearly for the reform efforts underway. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
January 4th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, True Stories
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It has been proven than there is tremendous variation in the practice of medicine across the United States. The Dartmouth data (Wennberg et al) has documented the differences in how medical resources are used and how different physicians practice medicine, depending upon where they live. The Dartmouth studies are mainly focused on cost and outcomes and make the case that improved quality is often inversely related to the cost of care. More (expensive) care is not necessarily better care.
Now that I am recovering from a total joint replacement, I am amazed to see the differences in how physicians, doing the same surgery, treat the patient. Total knee replacement (TKA) is one of the most common orthopedic procedures done today. Despite this, the patient cannot expect the same post op care. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
