April 4th, 2010 by Bongi in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, True Stories
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This isn’t really my story, but in a sense it belongs to all South Africans. It’s our shame and may be part of our downfall.
We are a people at war. We war against ourselves and we war against peace. Each fights for himself and bugger the rest. But who heals the fallen? It seems in South Africa that quite soon it may be no one.
Recently a story made the news. It was shocking, but it actually gives an inclination of how morally decayed South African society has become. An ambulance was despatched to some informal settlement after a household fire burned a child. The caretakers of the child brought the child to an intersection that the ambulance would actually be able to find. quite soon the paramedics were hard at work stabilising the screaming child. At about this stage, two armed thugs turned up. They threatened the child’s caretakers with their lives and forced them to flee. Then, while the child continued to scream in pain, they raped the female paramedic. They were not caught. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at other things amanzi*
April 4th, 2010 by GruntDoc in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, True Stories
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There’s a nice WSJ article on how forward treatment of combat casualties has become possible. Kudos to these deployed doctors, and to the military that invests the time, money and effort to make things like this happen:
Dr. York, an interventional radiologist who usually performs surgery at the U.S. Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va., is especially skilled at treating internal injuries. His type of surgery—using X-rays and imaging equipment to guide catheters through veins to perform micro-operations—is comparatively rare in emergency rooms. But in the cramped Kandahar hospital, it is critical to saving lives.
via Wounded Soldiers Have Increased Odds of Survival – WSJ.com.
Probably the world’s only front-line (literally) interventional radiologist.
HT: He who shall not be named.
*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*
April 4th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, News, True Stories
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…and he lived (video) to talk about it:
The man’s heart was pierced as he was nailing boards with a co-worker at a carpentry shop. The shop’s owner said the men were working together, when suddenly, they ran into each other resulting in the nail gun going off.
Oops.
-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
April 3rd, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
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The April issue of U.S. News & World Report will carry a story about the best states for teen drivers as part of a campaign to raise awareness for teen driver safety. The ratings are based on state driving laws and road conditions to determine how much a state is doing to promote safe roads, as well as government statistics on teen driving.
The best states for teen drivers are lead by these top ten (I feel like Letterman):
District of Columbia, California, Colorado, Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota, Utah, and Washington.
Car crashes kill more teens each year than anything else. Read more »
This post, The Best States For Teen Drivers, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
April 2nd, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, Opinion
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Name: “21” (% to be cut from Medicare)
Protagonist: Dr. Rob and a cast of thousands of physicians (Kiefer Sutherland wouldn’t work for such small payment.)
Villain: Evil SGR (Sustainable Growth Rate) conspiracy to cut Medicare by 21% across the board.
Victim: The elderly population depending on Medicare for payment of their medical care.
Plot: A follow-up to the popular drama “Lost” where members of congress were stranded in Washington D.C. with the task of reforming healthcare without any contact or communication from doctors and patients. This new drama “21″ tells the tragic tale of an industry under siege and a population facing possible disaster.
Already stretched to the limit by the paltry reimbursement from Medicare for primary care office visits, Dr. Rob and his band of physicians is hit by the evil conspiracy of SGR, a secret society whose goal is to harm the elderly people in the country by driving away all people willing to give them care. The congress, tired out from haggling over the healthcare reform bill, allows evil SGR to exert its power in the name of “fiscal responsibility.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
