Potpourri

Will Epocrates slowly become irrelevant in the iPad era?

Potpourri

October 8, 2012

When Apple launched the App Store, Epocrates had a front seat at the table, and collaborated with Apple to make sure its software would be one of the first available for iPhone users.

As medical professionals, this didn’t come as a surprise. We expected Epocrates to be “the first”. It had been the undisputed king of medical and mobile before the word “apps” became everyday vernacular. Epocrates was dominating the …

ASA: Need anesthesiology providers? Consider anesthesiologist assistants

James R. Mesrobian, MD

Potpourri

May 6, 2012

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

On March 28, 2012, Governor Scott Walker signed into law SB383, a bill to license Anesthesiologist Assistants (AA) in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants (WAAA), the Wisconsin Society of Anesthesiologists (WSA), the Wisconsin Medical Society, numerous other medical specialty societies, the Medical Examining Board, and six major hospital systems supported the bill. Since 2001, seven states …

Match Day 2012: Medical students anticipate this Friday

Perelman School of Medicine

Potpourri

March 14, 2012

Match Day marks one of the most important days in a medical student’s career. Match Day is held annually to announce the results of the National Residents Matching Program (NRMP), which places graduating medical students with residency programs throughout the country. On March 16, 2012, the wait will be over for Perelman School of Medicine students who will open their envelopes revealing the location where they will spend …

2011 KevinMD posts of the year

Admin

Potpourri

December 29, 2011

This year, nearly 4 million of you visited KevinMD.com.

Thank you.

I’m humbled that so many of you find the time during the day to visit the site and participate in the discussion that often ensues.

As our health care world dramatically changes around us, it’s important that medical professionals have a say in the process. KevinMD.com provides an influential platform for your voice, and I will continue to do my best to …

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2011 KevinMD posts of the year

Essential tips for medical journalists

Gary Schwitzer

Potpourri

September 13, 2011

We’re five years old. We’ve been doing the same thing the same way for five years and have analyzed over 1,488 stories using our ten standardized criteria on HealthNewsReview.org.

We’ve recently returned from the annual Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) conference in Philadelphia, where we led a two-hour workshop, and where we received a tremendous amount of gratifying feedback on our work and many terrific suggestions about …

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Essential tips for medical journalists

9/11 grieving in the social media era

Elias Aboujaoude, MD

Potpourri

September 11, 2011

Sunday marks the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and our keyboards, monitors and smartphones will likely play a big role as we commemorate the events. Numerous remembrance websites and videos already appear online, and people will undoubtedly take to Facebook and Twitter over the weekend to share their personal stories and express their thoughts on that tragic day.

Never before have we been so “plugged in,” and I had to …

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9/11 grieving in the social media era

Why powerful men risk their family and career

Toni Brayer, MD

Potpourri

May 17, 2011

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s revelation about his long-term affair with his household employee that involved a child being born is the latest in a string of powerful men with career ending flaws. Add to that the shocking arrest this week of powerful Dominique Strauss-Kahn for allegedly raping a hotel maid and we must ask, “What the heck is going on with these guys?”

I can’t count the number of heartfelt apologies that …

Japan earthquake and tsunami first hand physician account

Kevin

Potpourri

March 11, 2011

An international ACEP member has been giving real-time updates to the ACEP Disaster Section about the developing situation in Japan. He agreed to share the information with the emergency medicine community and will try to continue to provide updates when he can.

by Dr. Takashi Nagata

Friday, March 11, 2011 1:13 AM CST

Hello. I am Dr. Takashi Nagata, …

Posts of the year on KevinMD.com, 2010 edition

Kevin

Potpourri

December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!

I’d like to thank everyone for your continued readership.

Doctors, patients and other health care professionals need to be heard, and there’s no better place to do so than here, on social media’s leading physician voice.

This year, KevinMD.com had a regular rotation of 175 guest contributors, and surpassed 1.75 million visits, 2.95 million pageviews, 33,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, and 40,000 RSS subscribers.

I am truly …

Talk with your family about their end of life wishes

Kevin

Potpourri

November 25, 2010

by Alexandra Drane and the Engage With Grace team

For three years running now, many of us bloggers have participated in what we’ve called a “blog rally” to promote Engage With Grace – a movement aimed at making sure all of us understand, communicate, and have honored our end-of-life wishes.

The rally is timed to coincide with a weekend when most of us are with the very people with whom we should …

KevinMD.com in the New York Times and New York Post and other recent media mentions

Kevin

Potpourri

September 12, 2010

I’d like to thank various media outlets for recently citing KevinMD.com.

In her New York Times diagnosis column, The heat of the night, Lisa Sanders discusses the case where a patient live-blogged his hospital stay, crowd sourcing his diagnosis:

[Physician blogger John] Schumann was worried, too. He lived nearly a thousand miles away — too far to come and see his friend. Besides, the patient was posting all his …

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KevinMD.com in the New York Times and New York Post and other recent media mentions

3 tips to stick with an exercise program

Jeffrey Knuppel, MD

Potpourri

August 6, 2010

How many times have you started a new exercise program and been determined that this time would be different? You’d actually keep it up. You wouldn’t quit. But, a few weeks or months later, you’re back to your old ways. You’re busy, and you have lots of “legitimate” excuses for skipping a fitness routine.

I think most people who have tried to make regular exercise a part of their lives have …

Kombucha tea can be dangerous to your health

Michele R. Berman, MD

Potpourri

July 29, 2010

Celebrities are powerful role models and are important to consumers concerned with their health because of the perception that famous people have access to the best health practices and medical care. The public looks to celebrities for hope and inspiration as they struggle with their own health issues and fight disease. However the health practices that celebrities promote are often questionable and misleading.

One currently popular folk remedy, kombucha tea, is …

Can Shrek and Dora combat the junk food epidemic?

MedPage Today

Potpourri

July 21, 2010

by Michael Smith

Can Dora the Explorer help kids find a taste for carrots?

It may be possible that licensed characters such as Dora, Shrek, and Scooby-Doo can tilt the balance away from junk food and toward healthy snacks, according to Christina Roberto, MS, and colleagues at Yale University.

In a study of 40 preschoolers, the presence of a licensed character on a package influenced the children’s perception of taste and their preference …

What bored doctors can do after they retire

Michael Woo-Ming, MD

Potpourri

July 19, 2010

As the baby boom generation nears retirement, there will be a flood of doctors left wondering what to do with their time. Some doctors will continue to work in practice and, although it is certainly rewarding to work hands-on with patients and new staff, after 30, 40, or 50 years in the business many start to explore other options.

The motivation that drives one to medicine often stays with them for …

Why technology and the Internet may not be good for patients

Kent Bottles, MD

Potpourri

July 12, 2010

Paro the robot baby harp seal was the final straw.

I had vowed to myself not to think about or write about “the internet makes you smarter, the internet makes you dumber” argument. Even when some of my favorite authors (Steven B. Johnson, Clay Shirky, Nicholas Carr, and Jonah Lehrer) weighed in, I thought it best not to participate.

And then I read about Paro, either “a disturbing turn in our treatment …

What medicine was like in ancient Babylonian society

Jan Henderson, PhD

Potpourri

June 10, 2010

Each issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association includes an excerpt from an issue of exactly 100 years ago (JAMA has been published continuously since 1883).

The May 7, 1910 issue of JAMA included remarks on how much physicians were paid and, by implication, how they were regarded in 2250 B.C.

Ability to pay and malpractice

According to the famous Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (“an eye for an eye”), a physician’s …

Bartering and whether doctors should be paid with chickens

Doctor Grumpy, MD

Potpourri

May 13, 2010

Generally, I find my practice works best when I get paid in dollars. They’re convenient. They can be transmitted electronically between bank accounts. Mary and Annie like them. I can spend them by swiping a credit card.

But, in a remarkable effort to win the “Let’s See How Stupid I Can Sound” award, a Nevada candidate for U.S. Senate has proposed ditching the idea of paying doctors in money, and going …

Medical conditions as seen in the movies

Vineet Arora, MD

Potpourri

April 17, 2010

I recently went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D.

This epic creation by part genius–part disturbed director Tim Burton features the wickedly talented method actor Johnny Depp as the ‘Mad Hatter.’ As I was watching Johnny Depp’s orange hair and freakish eyes, it occurred to me that some of the most popular fiction movies over the last several years have featured some notable legends and their medical …

HIMSS 2010 Better Health social media coverage

Kevin

Potpourri

February 18, 2010

This year, the Better Health team will be offering live coverage of healthcare’s largest tech conference: HIMSS in Atlanta, March 1-4.

Three medical bloggers, Dr. Val Jones, Dr. Mike Sevilla, and Dr. Nick Genes will interview over 40 different exhibitors and stream their interviews live via UStream.

You can ask questions of the interviewees by submitting questions to @drval during …