November 2nd, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, True Stories
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I learned recently that Happy’s hospital was one of a growing number of hospitals nationwide banning children from entry during the pandemic H1N1 flu to protect their patients. But where is the science that says it works?
Hospitals nationwide are making up their policies as they go along.
The result? Huge variation. The large Stanford University Hospital in California on Monday barred anyone under 16 from visiting, while the small Central Vermont Hospital turned away the under-12 crowd. Other hospitals have settled on 14 or 18.
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*This blog post was originally published at A Happy Hospitalist*
November 2nd, 2009 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Quackery Exposed
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One of the most engaging and clearly-written pieces of science journalism over the last year or so was published in Wired magazine last week. Amy Wallace’s, “An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All,” is part interview with rotavirus vaccine developer, pediatric infectious disease physician, Dr Paul Offit, and description of the anti-vaccination movement in the United States.
Wallace’s work is the centerpiece a collection of smaller articles providing science-based information about vaccination that also refutes common anti-vaccination myths including “How To Win An Argument About Vaccines” and “The Misinformants: Prominent Voices in the Anti-Vaccine Crusade”.
Wired’s follow-up discussion of the issue includes, “A Short History of Vaccine Panic,” for those of us who “have a day job” and not enough time to read Paul Offit’s 2008 book, “Autism’s False Prophets.”
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*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata - PostRank (PostRank: All)*
November 2nd, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements
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I recently spoke at the first annual ePatient Connections conference in Philadelphia. I’ll be discussing the ePatient revolution (patients participating in their healthcare decision-making using Internet tools) at ABC news channel 8 live this morning with Dave Lucas. During the segment I’ll be referring to several websites that people will want to check out. For those of you who saw the segment, welcome to my website! Here are the links:
1. Doctors answer questions for free at MedHelp.org Did you know that 9 of the top 11 hospital centers in the country offer access to their physicians for free at MedHelp.org? As part of a PR effort, hospitals are volunteering their doctors’ time to make sure that ePatients can get their questions answered by a reputable source.
2. Identify those mystery pills. Thanks to David Hale at the NIH, a new pill identifier tool is now available online. It’s called “PillBox” and it will soon allow you to search its large pill database by describing the color, shape, and letter/number codes printed on the tablet. Eventually, you may even be able to take a photo of the mysterious pill and have PillBox automatically identify it for you! Today, unfortunately, photo resolution on most cell phones and cameras is not sufficient for this feature to work. Read more »
November 2nd, 2009 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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The battle between the states and federal government begins.
Yesterday, Illinois Insurance Director Michael McRaith told an audience that state insurance regulation is “under attack,” but that the states will prevail because they “do it better.”
Following a line of reasoning I highlighted last week, McRaith suggested adding federal regulation onto the existing state system would be duplicative, burdensome and fraught with the potential for conflict. McRaith said that insurance was such a uniquely local business that the states were best suited to regulate it. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
November 2nd, 2009 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Humor
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PLACE OF OCCURRENCE, HOME ICD-E849.0
6:00 AM
Alarm goes off. Hit snooze button. CIRCADIAN RHYTHM SLEEP D/O IRREG SLEEPWAKE TYPE ICD-327.33
6:30
- Alarm goes off for third time. Ready to hit snooze button, but knee in ribs from wife prevents more snooze button procrastination. CONTUSION OF CHEST WALL ICD-922.1, ADULT MALTREATMENT UNSPECIFIED NEC ICD-995.8
- Feeling tired, go to make a pot of coffee. CAFFEINE ADDICTION ICD-304.40
- Fill bowl with Lucky Charms and start eating. UNSPECIFIED NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCY ICD-269.9, HYPERGLYCEMIA ICD-790.29
6:45
- Realize that coffee pot needs to be turned on for it to make coffee. ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER, ADULT ICD-314.00, LISTLESSNESS ICD-780.79
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*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
