March 2nd, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Humor
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People are asking for more physical exam posts.
People asked for more Millli Vanilli too. People aren’t always smart.
But you ask, I give. I am just that kind of guy. It’s been a long time (since October) since I have done a post on this subject. So for all of you “newbies” out there (I just wanted to use that word and sound like a nerd), I want to give you a recap of what I have already done on the physical exam. That way people who have not inflicted upon themselves read the old ones can get all caught up. To be honest, this is one of my favorite series as well. Or is that “serieses?” Where’s Grammar Girl when you need her? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
February 26th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, True Stories
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“He gave me the look,” the patient said to my nurse as he walked out of the exam room.
My nurse laughed and said, “I had a feeling you’d get it today.”
What were they talking about? ”What look? I didn’t know I had a look!” I asked my nurse.
The patient tipped his chin down and looked at me over his glasses. My nurse laughed, pointing at the patient, “That one! Exactly! You give that look to me too!”
I was mystified. I don’t like lecturing people or acting like their parent. Patients do no harm to me when they gain weight, don’t take their medications, or eat a lot of Little Debbies. My job is not to get them to do everything I say, it is to give them enough information and motivation to do it for themself. I am the coach; they are the ones who have to go out on the field and play. I may be disappointed when they mess up, but it’s not my job to patronize them and wag my finger. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
February 24th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, News
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ACP Internist looks at how states are using grants to fix their primary care shortages.
Michigan launched grants for primary care doctors to repay medical school loans and is looking to tap into federal incentives to fill its needs in rural and urban shortage areas. Alaska also needs primary care doctors, so the state senate is pushing through recruiting incentives of its own. (They should show re-runs of Northern Exposure.) Rural Indiana doesn’t have a quirky ’90s hit television program to its credit, but it has nurse practitioners who are finding their niche on physicians-led teams–relieving the backlog and providing patient education. (Detroit Free Press, KTUU-TV, Journal & Courier) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
February 24th, 2010 by SteveSimmonsMD in Primary Care Wednesdays
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I don’t know if I can do it this time. A month ago, when it appeared that Congress had backed out of passing Health Care Reform legislation, I felt neither happy nor sad. I didn’t know how I felt but this past Monday, after the following triad of events had unfolded, it became clear to me that I feel weary towards the whole healthcare reform process:
- First, several states temporarily halted a rapacious rise in health insurance premiums from companies with quarterly profits last year in the billions of dollars. Seriously, don’t these companies have PR firms?
- Second, the Senate Finance Committee actually issued a drug warning and in this one act illuminated either a glaring problem with Congress or – far more concerning and unfortunately for us, more likely in this instance–some type of bias at the FDA.
- Thirdly, the President called for a televised debate on health care between ‘both sides.’ Then, within days, he posted his own plan on the White House website. It is a ten page summary I found hard to follow that left me with a troubling sense of déjà-vu.
Read more »
February 18th, 2010 by Harriet Hall, M.D. in Better Health Network, Book Reviews
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In 1925, Francis Peabody famously said “The secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient.” A new book by Norman Makous, MD, a cardiologist who has practiced for 60 years, is a cogent reminder of that principle.
In Time to Care: Personal Medicine in the Age of Technology, Dr. Makous tackles a big subject. He attempts to show how modern medicine got to where it is today, what’s wrong with it, and how to fix it. For me, the best part of the book is the abundance of anecdotes showing how medicine has changed since Dr. Makous graduated from medical school in 1947. He gives many examples of what it was like to treat patients before technology and effective medications were introduced. He describes a patient who died of ventricular fibrillation before defibrillators were invented, the first patient ever to survive endocarditis at his hospital (a survival made possible by penicillin), a polio epidemic before polio had been identified as an infectious disease, the rows of beds in the tuberculosis sanitariums that no longer exist because we have effective treatments for TB. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
People are asking for more physical exam posts.
