November 23rd, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Health Tips
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About ten years ago plastic surgery had a nice little advance- the advent of the disposable pain pump. Breakthroughs in medicine are far fewer than advertising copy would have you believe, but this one is real. Unfortunately some practices use them like a marketing ploy in all cases and really don’t spend the time to make them work well or minimize their risk. Others don’t see the benefit and don’t use them at all.
Pain pumps are quite useful in some cases when used correctly. Plastic surgery is a technical specialty and some surgeons are more adept at making things work than others. There are risks with them and cases in which the benefit is harder to measure.
How Does a Pain Pump Work? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
November 22nd, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in Research
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Alarm fatigue is the most dangerous of health care technology hazards, topping even radiation exposure and medication errors from infusion pumps, according to the updated Top 10 list offered by ECRI Institute.
It’s not surprising that alarm fatigue rang in at #1. There can be as many as 40 alarms an hour in some units. Staff modify alarm setting outside of safe parameters, can’t tell the alarm’s importance (or even which device is issuing it) or the alarm isn’t relayed to the paging system, according to ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization focusing on patient-safety and cost-effectiveness in health care. Its report (registration required) is online. The report includes recommendations and resources for each of the 10 top hazards.
Staff may turn alarms off or down to reduce alarm fatigue, as well as reduce stress on the patient and family, the report notes. And properly setting alarms is complex to begin with, so ECRI offers best practices to reduce alarm fatigue while maintaining patient safety: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Hospitalist*
November 22nd, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in True Stories
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A month ago during a storm with significant straight line winds we had a tree near the house loss it’s top half.
Upon inspection, it turned out the pine tree was infested with pine beetles. We were encouraged to burn the debris to help protect the other trees from the beetles.
This past week my husband cut up the felled tree (we still need to get a tree cutter out to cut down the 2/3s of the tree still standing) and carried it to an area of the front property. Yesterday morning after a light rain, he decided it was a good time to set it afire and burn it. Note the red container under the tree to the left. It contains gasoline. [Even though he told me he wouldn’t use an accelerant.] He did run a water hose down from the house which is barely visible in the forefront of the photo.
Medscape has a really nice article with video by Kenneth L. Silverstein, MD; Stephanie Josephon — Surgical Fires: How They Start and How to Prevent Them: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
November 22nd, 2011 by DrWes in News, Opinion
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From Medgadget via The Medical Quack:
EBR Systems, a start-up out of Sunnyvale California, and Cambridge Consultants, the technology design and development firm, have developed a leadless pacemaker system for patients with advanced heart failure. The Wireless Cardiac Stimulation System (WiCS) comprises two units, an implantable electrode and an external control unit. The electrode incorporates an ultrasonic, wireless receiver and delivers an electrical stimulus to the heart based on triggering signals from the external control unit.
In its current iteration the WiCS system is designed to work with conventional pacemakers/defibrillators pacing the right ventricle of patients requiring biventricular pacing. The WiCS external control unit senses the pacing stimulus delivered to the right ventricle and initiates a burst of stimulus from the electrode implanted in the left ventricle. According to the company, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
November 22nd, 2011 by Michael Kirsch, M.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
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When lawyers talk, I listen. Two attorneys penned a piece on medical malpractice reform in the April 21st issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, the most prestigious medical journal on the planet. Here is an excerpt from their article, New Directions in Medical Liability Reform.
The best estimates are that only 2 to 3% of patients injured by negligence file claims, only about half of claimants recover money, and litigation is resolved discordantly with the merit of the claim (i.e., money is awarded in nonmeritorious cases or no money is awarded in meritorious cases) about a quarter of the time.
This is not self-serving drivel spewed forth by greedy, bitter doctors, but a view offered by attorneys, esteemed officers of the court. Apply the statistics in their quote to your profession. Would you be satisfied if your efforts were benefiting 2-3% of your customers or clients? Would this performance level give me bragging rights as a gastroenterologist? Perhaps, I should attach a new slogan to my business card.
Michael Kirsch, MD
Gastroenterologist
Correct Diagnosis and Treatment in 2-3% of Cases
We would have to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at MD Whistleblower*
