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Caregiver burnout is just a fancy term for exhaustion

Patient

August 11, 2011

Are there moments when caregiving makes you want to scream?

Any number of things related to caring for your aging parent can cause you to feel like you’re at the end of the proverbial rope including:

your relationship with your parent
elements of your work life/family life which are separate from, but inextricably linked to, your caregiving
the myriad experiences inside the elder care maze

But here’s where things get a bit dicey: While …

How to choose a better health app

Alexander V. Prokhorov, MD, PhD

Health Technology

August 11, 2011

From helping you wake up rested to getting couch potatoes ready for a 5K, there really is an app for everything.

But when it comes to health apps, many don’t get the job done.

Companies are often in such a hurry to sell their app that they don’t conduct a study to see if users will adopt real, lasting change. And, app stores don’t have medical reviewers who make sure health …

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How to choose a better health app

The problem with I Heart Boobies bracelets worn by middle school students

Ann Silberman

Patient

August 11, 2011

Many of you know that a judge in Pennsylvania has determined that the popular “I Heart Boobies” bracelets worn by middle school students are a form of free speech intended to raise awareness of breast cancer and cannot be restricted by schools.

As much as I love a good double-entrendre, I find the entire situation to be sad, particularly the misinformed comments I’ve seen made by parents of …

Health reform and the iron triangle of health care

Aaron E. Carroll, MD

Health Policy

August 11, 2011

When I was in medical school, we had a class on health economics taught by William Kissick. I didn’t pay as close attention as I should have (especially given what I do now). But I remember one thing he stressed. It involved the iron triangle of health care.

There are three aspects of health care systems that are essential: quality, cost, and access (thus the triangle). The problem …

Fever in children: 5 facts you must know

Natasha Burgert, MD

Conditions and Diseases

August 11, 2011

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A recent issue of Pediatrics includes a new report detailing the need for doctors to improve patient teaching about fever and fever-reducing drugs.

Many parents fear their child getting a fever or have “fever phobia.” I certainly can understand why. Kids can do crazy things when they get fevers. They don’t sleep well, eat poorly, and behave strangely. Some children …

Why work hour restrictions won’t improve patient safety

Kevin Pho, MD

KevinMD

August 11, 2011

Darshak Sanghavi recently wrote an excellent piece in the New York Times summarizing the controversy over resident work hours.

The topic has been discussed here frequently, with ramifications ranging from the fact that errors arising from patient handoffs negate any benefit gained from restricting work hours, to surgeons not accumulating enough experience during their work hour-restricted training.

I’ve often …

Google gave up on electronic personal health records, but we shouldn’t

Ross Koppel, PhD

Health Technology

August 11, 2011

Which will improve a person’s health more? Running around the block for 20 minutes or sitting at a computer entering their cholesterol and blood pressure readings?

The answer is one reason why Google’s decision to end its electronic personal health record (PHR) service offers important lessons about health IT and will affect the way patients get their health information and the way physicians communicate with their patients.

A recent survey …

Explaining an abnormal pap smear is no longer simple

Nicholas Fogelson, MD

Patient

August 10, 2011

As I look back over my 10 year career in obstetrics and gynecology, I am sometimes struck at how many things have been discovered in this time period.

When I started the origin of pre-eclampsia was unknown, and now we know that it likely originates in an overabundance of a molecule called Soluble FMS-Like Tyrosine Kinase, a competitive inhibitor to natural angiogenesis in the placenta. Ten years ago the origins of …

Why the third year is the greatest year of medical school

Robert Centor, MD

Medical Education

August 10, 2011

This post is dedicated to the many 3rd year students whom I have had the privilege to teach over the past 35 years. They continue to inspire me to help them become great physicians. They care.

The third year of medical school is wonderful, but it is a year of great change. Those readers who are physicians will completely understand, and I will try to explain to the non-physicians.

During the third …

Why don’t simple messages convince people to take action?

Christina Zarcadoolas, PhD

Patient

August 10, 2011

It’s hard to find anyone who would argue against keeping things “plain and simple.” Or would they?

Is it possible that the imperative to create simple health information has over-promised – hasn’t lived up to its billing? What if the complexity of health, science and technology information in the first half of the 21st century requires more than simple simplicity?

Think back to swine flu.

Dateline November 2009: We were awash in …

Every new scientific finding to be nothing more than a first draft

Dave deBronkart

Patient

August 10, 2011

A recurring theme on e_Patients.net is the need for empowered, engaged patients to understand what they read about science. It’s true when researching treatments for one’s condition, it’s true when considering government policy proposals, it’s true when reading advice based on statistics. If you take any journal article at face value, you may get severely misled; you need to think critically.

Sometimes there’s corruption (e.g. the fraudulent vaccine/autism data reported …

What the death penalty has to do with medical errors

angienadia, MD

Patient

August 10, 2011

A fascinating, beautifully-written article on a death penalty granted to a most likely innocent man, with interesting details on fire dynamics and the history of the judicial system pertaining to the death penalty.

Reading about the system in place that should prevent an innocent man from being wrongfully executed reminds me of the supposed system that prevents medical errors from occurring – both are imperfect, with innocent victims falling through …

Why you would want a younger doctor in the hospital

Maxwell S. Kennerly

Physician

August 10, 2011

Recently, the American Journal of Medicine published a study with the unexpected conclusion that hospitalized patients were more likely to die or stay long in the care of an experienced physician than in the care of a recent graduate from residency: “When doctors weren’t very busy, they kept patients in the hospital for roughly the same average time no matter how many years of experience they had. But when they did have a …

The problem of hospice in nursing homes

Alan Cato, MD

Physician

August 10, 2011

As I point out in The Medical Profession Is Dead and the Doctor Is “Critically Ill!“, more factions are able to charge for and be reimbursed for healthcare delivery than ever before. This has come about through creating boutique health care niches. The demand for boutique care is being driven by entrepreneurial interests, and, once brought to fruition, then being managed with corporation business tactics — i.e., for profit.

One of the …

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The problem of hospice in nursing homes

Doctors face difficult choices to save Medicare

Nick Dawson

Health Policy

August 10, 2011

So, here we are, between a Medicare rock and budget hard place.

Costs are clearly a problem. Our healthcare system is the most expensive in the world. Take a look at the 2003 figures from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Per capita costs, in 2003, in the US were $3,394 above those of the UK.

We need to work on the costs. That’s clear.

But …

Being a doctor takes a toll

Jordan Grumet, MD

Physician

August 9, 2011

It takes its toll on me, being a doctor.

I think as I wait in the Indian restaurant buffet. My son is curled on my lap. Uncharacteristically tired. Later he will develop a fever and I will realize why he is so warn out.

It takes it toll on me. I wouldn’t say I am a stressed out person but I certainly live with stress. Most of it is self inflicted.

It’s …

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Being a doctor takes a toll

Wireless devices will dramatically change how medicine is practiced

Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

Health Technology

August 9, 2011

I interviewed about 150 medical leaders just a few years ago for my book The Future of Medicine – Megatrends in Healthcare. Not one mentioned wireless devices as a coming megatrend. How fast the world changes! Nowadays everyone has a cell phone and we rarely stop to think that just two decades ago almost no one had them. We have a laptop or tablet computer that can access information from the web …

Unintended consequences of patient portals

Steve Wilkins, MPH

Health Technology

August 9, 2011

There seems to be an inverse relationship between the amount of spin one hears about “the next big thing” and reality. First it was EMRs and virtual e-visits, then social media, and now patient portals seem poised to be next big thing. The drumbeat of vendors and pundits is unmistakable: physician that don’t adapt will be toast. It can all sound pretty convincing until you ask to see the evidence. …

What to consider when adding the Apple iPad to your medical practice

Peter J. Polack, MD

Health Technology

August 9, 2011

The variety of new technology coming into the market can sometime make one’s head spin. Physicians are especially vulnerable to the call of the latest, greatest gadget. The Apple iPad certainly fits the bill when it comes to the consumer – entertainment, apps, great design. But can that translate to the environment of the medical practice? A lot of experts seem to think so, although none of them are actually …

The public’s values of fairness in health inequalities

Brad Wright, PhD

Health Policy

August 9, 2011

There are two camps in America: those who think that health care is a right and those who think that it’s a privilege. Well, perhaps that’s a bit of an oversimplification, but bear with me. Given these two respective positions, what are we to make of the health inequalities that are well documented in the United States? First, we must acknowledge that health is the product of multiple factors …

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