January 5th, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
No Comments »
My genius partner, RKM, was lately confronted by a patient seeking pain medication. Due to a very nice system instituted by the state of SC, providers can search for their patients’ prescription histories. Turns out this individual had received multiple narcotic prescriptions from multiple providers all over the state, and had done it using at least three separate addresses.
Ever the resourceful doc, my partner confronted this patient with the following information:
‘Sir, it appears that you have been the victim of identity theft! Fortunately, we were able to discover that someone has used your information to obtain narcotics under false pretense! But rest assured, we have contacted the authorities and we’ll catch the SOB who did this to you!’
He was met, I am told, by wide-eyed, open-mouthed silence.
No prescriptions were dispensed. Though it is entirely possible the patient will be needing a big bottle of Jim Beam for his nerves, and adult diapers for irritable bowel, for the next several weeks.
Bless you, RKM, for the theatrical, perfectly passive-aggressive genius you are!
Edwin
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
December 31st, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
1 Comment »
Whenever drugs are involved in a patient’s admission, the outcome is either craziness or comedy. Methamphetamines and cocaine seem to be the popular drugs of choice requiring admission. These people are usually angry and agitated. However, it seems like pot humor always adds a little touch of the unexpected to an otherwise boring admission.
Take for example the 27 year old truck driver who was brought in by his roommate for “acting weird’. What happens when you mix a little marijuana and a little alcohol? You get Happy’s pot humor post of the day. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist Blog*
December 26th, 2009 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
No Comments »
I was recently asked to review a new textbook on Nicotine Psychopharmacology, containing 18 very thorough chapters describing the latest evidence on the effects of smoking and nicotine on the brain and behavior. Much of it, though interesting, was a very heavy read. But it occurred to me that it might be useful to try to summarize what the 544 pages in this new book suggests about the effects of nicotine and the reasons smokers get addicted. So here is an attempt to describe how nicotine addiction works, in simplified terms.
When a smoker inhales nicotine from a cigarette, the drug is carried to the brain in highly concentrated form within around 10-15 seconds. The drug then Read more »
This post, How Cigarette Nicotine Affects The Brain, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
December 23rd, 2009 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
No Comments »
As we approach the beginning of the new year, many of us are considering our New Year resolutions for 2010. For many smokers, quitting will be near the top of the list. Particularly in these tough financial times, many smokers are deciding it doesn’t make financial sense to keep smoking. When it comes to new year resolutions, it’s not essential that the change start immediately from midnight on December 31st, but if there isn’t a plan to get started pretty soon afterwards there’s a real risk that the planned change never happens. Read more »
This post, New Years Resolutions And Tips To Help You Quit Smoking, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
December 10th, 2009 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News, Research
No Comments »
Across the country health insurance coverage for smoking cessation treatment – both counseling and medications – has been extremely patchy. For example, we ask all the new patients attending our smoking cessation clinic in New Jersey if their insurance covers smoking cessation treatment, and the vast majority have no idea. Typically its also not easy for either the patient or provider to find out either. It doesn’t just depend on the insurer, but on the plan, the type of service, what they’ve already had in terms of preventive care. We’ve had many occasions where we call the insurer twice on the same day and get a different answer. And New Jersey is a state that is supposed to have relatively good insurance coverage for tobacco cessation! So it’s a mess nationwide, and the net result is that fewer patients get the treatment they need because they are put of by the uncertainty about the cost and difficulty finding out how much it is. Read more »
This post, Massachusetts Leads The Way In Smoking Cessation, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
