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How to protect yourself from abdominal aortic aneurysms

Kevin

Conditions and Diseases

September 22, 2009

by Mark Adelman, MD

While diseases like prostate cancer and heart disease have become household concerns, abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), the 10th leading cause of death in men age 55 and older, have been overshadowed by more prominent diseases for far too long. It’s time we pull back the curtain and take a closer look at this serious disease and how it can be both detected and prevented.

An AAA, which …

Is the flu a heart attack risk factor?

MedPage Today

Conditions and Diseases

September 22, 2009

by Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Flu appears to act as a trigger for myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death, a review of the literature showed.

All observational studies included in the review found an association between times when influenza viruses were circulating and increases in cardiovascular death, according to Charlotte Warren-Gash, MBChB, of University College London, and colleagues.

There was …

Read more…

Is the flu a heart attack risk factor?

Health care reform protests and how fears and beliefs are exploited

Kevin

Health Policy

September 21, 2009

by Abraham Verghese, MD

The unfortunate politicians who have braved town hall meetings to talk about health reform seem to have been taken by surprise by the vitriol and volume of the push back. Yes, I know the audiences were marshaled and recruited to shout down the speakers but still the passion on display was genuine and not in the least surprising to me. What the President and our politicians should …

How eliminating waste and taking fewer steps can improve patient care

Donald Tex Bryant

Patient

September 21, 2009

Recently I was on a canoe trip in Ontario, Canada with a close friend. As he and I were portaging our gear and canoe between two lakes I was thinking that the uphill path was difficult and wondered how many more steps it would take. The sooner it was done the better.

I often find myself counting steps during my daily activities as I know that the fewer physical steps it …

How will the H1N1 vaccine be distributed to patients?

MedPage Today

Conditions and Diseases

September 21, 2009

by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today

A minimum of 3.4 million doses of vaccine against H1N1 pandemic flu will be available in the first week of October, the CDC said.

Those doses — all in the form of a live attenuated nasal spray vaccine — may be supplemented by some injectable vaccine, according to Jay Butler, MD, the …

How hospitals should deal with disruptive physician behavior

Kevin

Physician

September 20, 2009

by Mark N. Simon, MD

What can hospital medical staff leaders learn from University of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly? In the morning of September 4th, Kelly had an opportunity to review video tape from the conclusion of his team’s game with Boise State University the night before. What he saw was his senior running back LeGarrette Blount punch an opponent and then lose his cool with the fans …

What does bias when analyzing data have to do with slow lines?

Paul Levy

Medical Education

September 20, 2009

Here’s an excerpt from a lovely little book by John D. Barrow called One Hundred Essential Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know; Math Explains the World. This selection has a great lesson about statistical inference. The chapter is entitled, “Why does the other queue always move faster?”

You will have noticed that when you join a queue at the airport or the post office, the other queues always seem to …

Medical malpractice reform by President Obama and the White House

Emily P. Walker

Physician

September 19, 2009

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

The White House today announced details of a $25 million grant program to test alternatives to the tort system for medical liability cases.

In his Sept. 9 speech before Congress, the president announced he would direct Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services secretary, to launch pilot programs meant to cut down on physicians …

Is an efficient physician necessarily a good doctor?

Amy Tuteur, MD

Patient

September 19, 2009

What makes a good doctor?

There are two important characteristics. The first is clinical skill: the ability to find a pattern in the patient’s signs and symptoms, the ability to identify the pattern, and the judicious use of medical tests to fill in the blanks of the pattern. The second characteristic is compassion: the ability to care about the patient and empathize with his or her situation.

Many doctors have one or …

Is the obesity epidemic caused by too much exercise?

Kevin

Patient

September 18, 2009

by Monte Ladner, MD

The August 17, 2009 issue of TIME magazine ran a cover story entitled “The Myth About Exercise” with a subtitle claiming it won’t make you lose weight. The author of the article cherry picked bits of data from several scientific studies to make the case that exercise won’t help with weight loss, and might even lead to weight gain by causing people to eat more.

The TIME …

Is the public plan option supported by doctors?

Emily P. Walker

Health Policy

September 18, 2009

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

A solid majority of physicians favor creating a new public insurance option that would operate alongside existing private plans, according to a survey published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

About 63% of doctors, across a smattering of specialties and in various geographic regions, support a public insurance option. That …

Data entry in EMRs, and why doctors are slow to adopt information technology

Winslow W. Murdoch, MD

Health Technology

September 17, 2009

The Obama healthcare plan hinges on savings achieved through the implementation of electronic medical records (EMRs) and pays doctors $44,000 over 5 years for hardware and software to embrace this evolving technology. Let us not forget however, that garbage in produces garbage out, for instance, information not suitable for medical decision making.

In reality, data entry is daunting and by far the most expensive aspect of converting to electronic records. Huge …

The Patients’ Bill of Responsibilities

Kevin

Patient

September 17, 2009

by Susan H

1. I acknowledge and believe that I will die someday. Everyone I love will also die. That inevitable outcome will be factored into all my personal health care decisions.

2. I acknowledge that just because a paid professional might be found to assert that he would have performed differently under similar circumstances, doesn’t mean a doctor or nurse committed malpractice. Judges who are overturned on appeal ought to …

Read more…

The Patients’ Bill of Responsibilities

Analysis of the Max Baucus health care reform plan

MedPage Today

Health Policy

September 17, 2009

by Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today

In an important step toward moving healthcare reform legislation through Congress, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced his much-awaited bill today after months of working to gain bipartisan support.

The chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee released a summary of legislation that would not create a public insurance option and would cost $856 …

A personal health record and using the PHR on a mobile smartphone

Kevin

Health Technology

September 16, 2009

by Jeff Brandt

There is much confusion about Personal Health Record (PHR) in the market today.

PHRs are divided into three groups; Mobile SmartPhone (mPHR), Cloud Apps, and other devices such as USB and Smartcards. Each type of PHR serves a different purpose and provides a useful and needed service. I will speak to the strengths and weaknesses of each of them.

Web Apps/Cloud PHR

These are browser based systems that need to be …

Citizens, not lobbyists, must reform health care in the United States

Kevin

Health Policy

September 16, 2009

by Gary R. Gibson, MD, FACP

We can deliver better health care to every U.S. citizen at less than one-half of 2.1 trillion dollars per year with constructive reform, a system wherein people receiving and providing care would feel greater satisfaction and dignity. Through courage and perseverance, we must identify and minimize waste, eliminate corruption and modernize our system. In a competitive world economy, we must reform health care …

How long are you contagious after being infected with H1N1 influenza?

MedPage Today

Conditions and Diseases

September 16, 2009

by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today

People infected with the H1N1 pandemic flu strain continue to shed virus after the point where current recommendations say they can go back to work or school, two studies here suggested.

The question, experts said, is whether those people are still contagious and whether a longer stay-at-home period would prevent enough additional …

Cutting health care costs means reducing utilization

Kevin

Health Policy

September 15, 2009

by Mark Coyne

The core of the health care debate revolves around the perceived spiraling cost of health care in America. There are many quotes in the media, and from politicians, that health care costs are increasing by more than 10 percent a year, and consistently increasing by more than wage growth – which is unsustainable in the long term. The basic point being made is correct, the overall …

Why price transparency won’t affect health care costs

Kevin

Health Policy

September 15, 2009

by Kumud B. Jindal, MD, MPH

Many patients and self-appointed health care experts view medical services as commodities, and openly express frustration with seemingly opaque pricing for a visit to the doctor’s office. “Doctors should publish their fees so we know what we’re paying!” The idea that this matters significantly with regard to health care costs is a terrible myth, one that deserves much closer scrutiny.

The health insurance industry and …

Don’t wait for the H1N1 vaccine before you get your flu shot

MedPage Today

Conditions and Diseases

September 15, 2009

by Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Don’t wait for the pandemic H1N1 vaccine to become available before getting an inoculation for seasonal flu, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases warned.

Putting off routine flu shots in hopes of one-stop-shopping would defeat the primary line of defense against a proven threat, according to a panel representing some of the nation’s …

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