KevinMD.com

July 31, 2012Jul 31, 2012

Media outlets are reporting the results of a small, but very important study regarding a new treatment for Alzheimer's Disease. Most Americans are familiar with Alzheimer's because it is so common (President Reagan had it), so devastating, and without a…

Media outlets are reporting the results of a small, but very important study regarding a new treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease. Most Americans are familiar with Alzheimer’s because it is so common (President Reagan had it), so devastating, and without a cure. This new study gives hope to people who have or are at risk for the disease.

Recently at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2012 in Vancouver, researchers presented the …

Physician voices

Doctors avoid comprehensive preventative questioning

Steven Reznick, MD

July 31, 2012Jul 31, 2012

Ralph Coates, PhD of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) described in the June 15, 2012 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that by looking back at a U.S. study done between 2007-2010 called “Use of Selected Clinical Preventive…

Ralph Coates, PhD of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) described in the June 15, 2012 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that by looking back at a U.S. study done between 2007-2010 called “Use of Selected Clinical Preventive Services among Adults,” health providers need to do a more comprehensive job of offering preventive services.

According to the report, only 47% of patients with documented heart and vascular disease were …

Physician voices

How to train more physician leaders

Kevin R. Campbell, MD

July 30, 2012Jul 30, 20126

In today’s healthcare environment, nearly half of all new physicians are salaried employees of a hospital or healthcare system. Now, more than ever, physician leadership is of paramount importance. With increasing pressure to increase care quality and simultaneously lower healthcare delivery cost, it is essential that physicians and administrators work together. Physicians must continue to grow into executive roles and lead both healthcare systems as well as manage other doctors …

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How to train more physician leaders

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Physician voices

Go ahead and let teens read x-rays

Keegan Duchicela, MD

July 30, 2012Jul 30, 201216

Costs are spiraling out of control, access is declining, and our quality of care doesn't match what other developed nations are delivering at half the cost. In the search to reduce costs and bring our ever inflating health care budget…

Costs are spiraling out of control, access is declining, and our quality of care doesn’t match what other developed nations are delivering at half the cost.

In the search to reduce costs and bring our ever inflating health care budget under control, the powers that be (insurers, government, health policy wonks (and maybe a few doctors) have looked to individuals with less formal education to perform medical services that were once …

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Go ahead and let teens read x-rays

Drugs and prescribing

Go behind the scenes of naming a drug

Suzanne Koven, MD

July 30, 2012Jul 30, 2012

One summer in college, when I couldn't think of what else to do, I lived near campus in a punishingly hot walk up apartment, held down three boring jobs, and took intensive Latin. Every morning we met in a blissfully…

One summer in college, when I couldn’t think of what else to do, I lived near campus in a punishingly hot walk up apartment, held down three boring jobs, and took intensive Latin. Every morning we met in a blissfully air-conditioned classroom–that was the upside!– to conjugate and decline: a whole year of Latin in 6 weeks. I remember nothing I learned, of course. I’m reminded of the great Woody …

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Go behind the scenes of naming a drug

Physician voices

A tragedy based on administrative decisions

Jordan Grumet, MD

July 30, 2012Jul 30, 201214

I gently rotated his arm as the beads of sweat formed on his forehead. The pain came in waves. His face contorted and relaxed in repetitive spasms. I wondered if my exam was in vain. The cancer had spread from his lungs to his liver and into his bones. Once the blood stream had been tainted, the aggressive cells took flight and landed in various organ systems.

We already had the conversation. I …

Physician voices

The circle of support in the critical moments of the cancer journey

Don S. Dizon, MD

July 29, 2012Jul 29, 2012

On a recent trip to Philadelphia, I caught up with Dan, a friend of mine since college. He is an artist in Philly, where he lives with his wife and daughter. He had asked me about being an oncologist, told…

We spent hours discussing everything—parenthood, careers, and mutual friends, and one in particular. Her …

Conditions and diseases

How to avoid Zumba injuries: 10 physician tips

Orly Avitzur, MD

July 29, 2012Jul 29, 20123

Zumba, the Latin dance-inspired fitness craze, is a great way to burn calories, up to 500 per hour. It also gives you a good cardiovascular workout without making you feel like you're exercising. This increasingly popular workout attracts a diverse…

Zumba, the Latin dance-inspired fitness craze, is a great way to burn calories, up to 500 per hour. It also gives you a good cardiovascular workout without making you feel like you’re exercising. This increasingly popular workout attracts a diverse crowd at dance studios and health clubs, including a sizable number of those 50 and up.

But for people who are out of shape, taking the first classes can be like …

Physician voices

Integrated care cannot change how we behave

Robert Provenzano, MD

July 28, 2012Jul 28, 20126

I am a patient. Yes, and a physician; a brother, father, husband, grandfather, uncle, friend, neighbor, taxpayer and concerned citizen. What healthcare reform means to you means the same to me, or more. Maybe because as a physician I focus on it a little more than the average person, I have an additional responsibility to share my perspectives? Maybe a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, as the saying goes.

I …

Health technology

Why health and medical apps should be certified

David Lee Scher, MD

July 28, 2012Jul 28, 2012

A draft of standards for a health and medical app certification program was released recently by Happtique. As a matter of disclosure I am proud to have been the Chair of the panel that drafted these standards. The standards are…

While some might say that these standards add even more barriers to the commercial adoption of these technologies, there are …

Conditions and diseases

The HIV vaccine does not promise the end of AIDS

Satyam H. Veean

July 28, 2012Jul 28, 20122

In a recent report released by the UNAIDS, the number of new HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infections has fallen by 19% since 1999. And of the 33.3 million people living with HIV, only a little over 5 million people are receiving HIV treatment. That is, roughly 15 percent of the world’s population. Ghastly, some might say, but improving, optimists would say.

According to the 2010 UNAIDS Report on the Global Aids …

Patient voices

5 questions every patient needs to ask

Alex Lickerman, MD

July 27, 2012Jul 27, 20126

I once had a patient in whom I found a small breast lump. She was only thirty-two, and the lump was soft, non-tender, and mobile. But it was new. She examined her breasts monthly and was certain that she hadn’t…

So, I asked myself, what to do? Her age—as well as the lump’s characteristics on exam—made the …

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5 questions every patient needs to ask

Medical education

Why do we teach surgery the same way we did 40 years ago?

Skeptical Scalpel, MD

July 27, 2012Jul 27, 2012

When I was a surgical residency program director, I often wondered what the establishment, you know those guys who ran surgical education, was thinking. Some may remember the rule that a resident had to see at least 50% of the patients he operated on in the clinic or the private surgeon’s office in order to claim credit for having done the case.

There was the emphasis that still exists today on …

Medical education

Reinforcing my desire to become a pediatrician

Katie Gesbeck

July 27, 2012Jul 27, 2012

One evening during my first year of medical school, I was waiting by the entrance to The Salvation Army to let another student back into the free clinic. The weekly clinic was organized by MEDiC, an organization of student-run free clinics in the Madison area. A family with four small children was returning to spend the night at the shelter, and one of the kids saw the stethoscope around my …

Physician voices

Dr. Google is currently only medical student Google

Linda Pourmassina, MD

July 27, 2012Jul 27, 2012

A few days ago, I came across an article entitled “Calling Dr. Google” by Jeff Jarvis. The writer describes his experience “Googling” his symptoms and finding that the internet brought him the correct diagnosis. He uses his personal story of…

One would hope that the argument that you cannot find any trustworthy information on the web is …

Medical education

EKG reading: It’s shocking what medical residents don’t know

Wes Fisher, MD

July 26, 2012Jul 26, 20123

"Dr. Fisher, can you teach our residents EKG lecture series?" Naively, I said "Sure!" What I didn't realize is how hard this is to do today. Much of this is not residents' fault. They only have so many hours in…

“Dr. Fisher, can you teach our residents EKG lecture series?”

Naively, I said “Sure!”

What I didn’t realize is how hard this is to do today.

Much of this is not residents’ fault. They only have so many hours in so many days to attend lectures while caring for patients. Thanks to residency work-hour restrictions, those hours have become even fewer. To make matters much worse, through the year residents are torn to …

Patient voices

Why is whole person care so difficult to attain?

Rev. George Handzo

July 26, 2012Jul 26, 20122

Recently I was privileged again to be on the faculty for the Summer Institute of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health in Washington, DC which draws participants from several health care disciplines, including medicine, chaplaincy and nursing. One…

One afternoon, we break up into interdisciplinary teams and interview patient actors as if we were a palliative care consultation team. For those who have not experienced patient actors in this context, …

Physician voices

Does our caring crush the ones for whom we care?

James C. Salwitz, MD

July 26, 2012Jul 26, 20126

When we love someone, we want for them the best. We fight for and with them. We push them to attack disease. Is it possible that our very love can cause suffering? Can we mistake our eternal love for each other with a futile fight for immortality? Does our caring crush the ones for whom we care?

In a fascinating article, the Wall Street Journal followed the terminal case of …

Physician voices

The dramatic change in the causes of death

Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

July 26, 2012Jul 26, 20126

Most of us will not have the opportunity to just die of “old age” or to simply fall to sleep one night never to wake again. Most often, we develop an illness which causes our death. These have changed markedly over the years. For the pioneers, accidents, infections, childbirth were times and causes of great likelihood of death. A century ago, infections were the leading causes of death. Today, we …

Medical education

Learning about patients as a phlebotomist

Connor Benton

July 25, 2012Jul 25, 2012

“I swear to God, if you come any closer, I will kill you,” said the 30-something year old, arms as wide as bazookas, eyes as piercing as the very needles I was about to stick him with. He was hooked up to IVs on every limb, had tubes coming out of his nose and going down his throat, but other than that, he was about as physically fit as anyone I’d …

Real physician voices, twice a week

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