November 22nd, 2009 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Announcements, Better Health Network
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No matter how early I wake up, it’s always five hours later in the UK and I’m overwhelmed by the thought that I’m already behind (I won’t even get into the feeling I have when I think of our Australian readers).
So when I start the day reading my Twitter stream, it’s usually populated by midday news from England. I follow the NHS – National Health Service – “one of the largest publicly funded health services in the world,” and their superb health information site, NHS Choices.
This morning I saw this tweet about the launch of their new sexual health site:
@NHSChoices Our new sexual health hub includes advice on contraception, good sex guides, sex & young people, STIs and much more http://bit.ly/3wtJwL Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata - PostRank (PostRank: All)*
November 22nd, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Humor, True Stories
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When I initiate final hospital discharge planning, I am making a clinical judgment that the patient is safe to leave the monitored confines of the hospital system. Hospital discharge planning begins on the day of admission.
Good hospitalists are always thinking in their minds how to get the patient safely discharged in the quickest, safest and most efficient way possible.
Sometimes the patient wishes to leave against the medical advice of the physician. Sometimes they refuse to leave at the advice of the physician. And sometimes the physician and patient agree it’s time for the next level of care. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
November 21st, 2009 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, News
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Right in the middle of the national firestorm about Mammogram recommendations, the American College of Gynecologists (ACOG) has issued new guidelines for screening of cervical cancer. After 40 years of successfully convincing women to get pap smears annually, the new recommendations say women should not get their first pap test until age 21 and the intervals for testing can then be stretched out.
The new recommendations say that women should start pap screening at age 21 (not teens who are sexually active as previously recommended) and then every two years through age 29. Women age 30 and over with three negative pap smears can stretch it out for three years. Women over age 65 can stop getting pap tests if their previous tests have been negative. Women who have had a hysterectomy for non-cancer reasons never need a pap smear. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
November 21st, 2009 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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In yet another article addressing the war on cancer, The New York Times today tackles cancer prevention, focusing on alternative and mainstream Pharma products marketed to reduce the risk for cancer.
While author Gina Kolata seems to have done her homework when it comes to the failure of alternative medicine to prevent cancer, she has missed the story completely when it comes to telling why the medical profession and patients may have failed to embrace Big Pharma’s push to use their drugs to prevent breast and prostate cancer. Of course, that’s not surprising since almost exclusively, the experts she interviewed were those who conducted the clinical trials of these drugs. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog that Ate Manhattan*
November 21st, 2009 by DrCharles in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
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In my efforts to have a rational discussion about the H1N1 flu shot I have been increasingly confronted with the following fear, expressed most commonly by concerned mothers and teenagers:
Did you see that video on Youtube about the cheerleader who got the flu shot? Something called dystonia? She can’t walk unless she goes backwards. I don’t want to risk ending up like that.
Apparently Inside Edition broadcast a story featuring a woman who claims to have a movement disorder she attributes to an adverse effect of the seasonal flu shot. I had to take a look at this video along with the millions of other viewers. Here it is: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Examining Room of Dr. Charles*