November 16th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
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When perusing my Twitter feed [one] morning, I stumbled onto this post directed to me:
Patients reaching me in public social spaces is becoming a regular thing. I’ve discussed this in the past, but I think it bears repeating. So here’s what I did:
I understood the mom’s needs. Patients resort to “nontraditional” means of communication when the traditional channels fail to meet their needs. Recognize that these patients (or parents in my case) are simply advocating for themselves. My specialty struggles with a shortage of physicians, so we’re dependent upon phone triage to sort out the really sick from the less-than-sick. It’s an imperfect system and consequently parents find themselves having to speak up when the gravity of their child’s condition hasn’t been properly appreciated.
I took the conversation offline. I don’t discuss patient problems in places where others can see, so my first order of business in this case was to get the conversation to a place where it can be private. I called the mom, found out what was going on, and rearranged her appointment to a time appropriate to the child’s problem. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
November 16th, 2010 by admin in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
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It was a straightforward phone message (names changed): “Hey Dr. S., this is Bobbie Jones, April Dixon’s granddaughter. I was calling to inform you that April passed away today at City Hospital. They said she was bleeding in her stomach or something. I’m not quite what sure what happened, but she got real sick. But she’s gone, so, thanks so much. You’ve been a real neat doctor, and it’s been good working with you through the years taking care of my grandmother. Take care. Bye.”
Bobbie Jones is a saint. Pure and simple. She took care of her 88-year-old grandmother with tender, loving care. I am certain if left to the vagaries of the “healthcare system” that her grandmother would have died at least three years ago, maybe earlier.
Ms. Jones will get no recognition. No income. No honors, save this blog post which she’ll never see. She will get a letter from me, expressing my condolences and appreciation for the love and care that she provided her grandma. She singlehandedly advocated for an octogenarian with advanced dementia and probable cancer (we were never able to get a definitive diagnosis of it) and gave her a quality of life that I would want were I in her grandma’s shoes. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
November 15th, 2010 by Lucy Hornstein, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
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A friend who works with the unemployed called me up the other day huffing with indignation. The local charity clinic, apparently overwhelmed, had changed its policies so that her unemployed uninsured would no longer be able to seek care there.
“Someone has to do something!”
Um, what exactly would that be? I’d love to help, but I have bills to pay (as do charity clinics) so I can hardly provide medical care without seeking payment. I understand her desperation (and that of the people she so valiantly helps) but who, exactly, is supposed to do what, precisely?
Things are going to get worse before they get better, I fear. The unemployment issue goes way beyond a devastating economic downturn. It’s a reflection of the most basic economic principle of supply and demand. Wages are the “price” of labor — prices go down when supply goes up. In the case of labor, it’s when you have large numbers of people willing to accept lower wages. Can you say “outsourcing?” Watch as the jobs flow overseas while we’re still left with all these people, but not enough jobs to support themselves. In the meantime they all still need healthcare, but can’t pay for it.
Someone has to do something!
Guess what? It just so happens that we really do have a healthcare infrastructure in this country. Between the Veterans Administration (VA) and public healthcare clinics, we have rather a good start at building a truly national healthcare system. Perhaps now is the time to expand it. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Dinosaur*
November 14th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Medical Art, News, Opinion
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The FDA will soon require new cigarette package labeling to deter smoking. So in politically-correct governmental fashion, they are asking which labels you’d like to see. (You can pick your favorites here.) My personal favorite (so far) is the one shown to the left, but its impact factor pales in comparison to this example found in England. (That, my friends, is cancer!)
Ironically, it appears the FDA isn’t too sure how forceful it should be in these warnings about the dangers of smoking. They offer a cornucopia of milquetoast labeling options, many of which contain cartoons. Might such unrealistic portrayals defy they hard-hitting message they want to project? Worse, at least one cartoon (seen here) even seems to promote cigarettes AND drug use together!
In an even more astonishing example, some images almost make me what to take up smoking so I can blow big bubbles. Since I could never do this well before, maybe I should take up smoking! Seriously, is an empowerment message what the government wants to portray?
Make these labels big, ugly, and real. Anything else is a waste of taxpayer’s money.
-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
November 14th, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
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Here is a talk I gave last week to our hospital auxiliary association, mostly made up of retired volunteers. They give us so much, and this is my tribute to them.
Capacity, utility and volunteers
Thank you for letting me speak to you tonight. It is an honor. I have today been at two different ends of the medical world . Today at lunch, I spoke to a Christian Medical Student’s association at USC in Columbia, SC. And now, I am honored to speak to you, who do so much to keep the hospital functioning by your gift of volunteerism.
Tonight I want to talk about capacity and functionality. About utility and usefulness. In preparing to do so, I began to think about how I became the way I am, and my mind wandered to ancestry. I suppose that ancestry has much to do with who we are, though I doubt it is the sole determinant. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
