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EHR data is currently ill suited for clinical research

Health Technology

January 20, 2011

One of the most promising uses of Electronic Health Records (EHR) is research.

As EHRs become more and more widespread and the clinical data previously held in silos of paper charts becomes fluid, exchangeable and duly collected, large clinical repositories should emerge and be made available to those engaged in research, presumably medical research. The results of such research are expected to help us identify cost effective therapies, health care trends …

5 ways to improve your medical practice in 2011

Rosemarie Nelson

Physician

January 20, 2011

Here are five things that you should have on your 2011 To-Do list.

1. Start electronic prescribing. What have you been waiting for? The EMR/EHR? (See number 4 below.) Electronic prescribing can work in a stand-alone (no EMR/EHR) environment. Work flow can be modified, and you will benefit tremendously with additional nurse time available to you after the nurses realize how much phone time they save each day.

Ask your current practice …

Patients Google their symptoms, doctors need to deal with it

Kevin Pho, MD

KevinMD

January 20, 2011

Many doctors roll their eyes whenever patients bring in a stack of research they printed out, stemming from a Google search of their symptoms.

A piece by Zachary Meisel in TIME.com describes a familiar scenario:

The medical intern started her presentation with an eye roll. “The patient in Room 3 had some blood in the toilet bowl this morning and is …

Read more…

Patients Google their symptoms, doctors need to deal with it

How Millennial physicians will impact disease management

Jaan Sidorov, MD

Physician

January 20, 2011

Oh, those Millennials.

Also called “Generation Y,” this is the American demographic group born during and after the ’70s, that was vicariously raised by “learning is fun” Sesame Street and became accustomed to getting awarded for any effort. They don’t know about bomb shelters, walking to school, tape decks or having to get up to change a TV channel. Well, they’re now entering the workplace and their informality, disregard for rank, …

Maternity leave and infant brain development

Claudia M. Gold, MD

Patient

January 19, 2011

It is not until about eight weeks of age that an infant has a fully developed capacity for mutual gaze.

Then a baby looks directly into his mother’s eyes, while she, in turn, reflects back this loving gaze, cooing softly in response to her baby’s earliest communication. When a mother looks at a baby in a way that communicates with him, not with words but with feelings, “I understand you,” he …

Superior customer service to grow your practice

Michael D. Shapiro, MD, MBA

Physician

January 19, 2011

Can you succinctly state what your company does, where it’s headed and how you plan for it to get there?

In the April 2008 edition of Harvard Business Review, Collis and Rukstad ask an important question: “Can you say what your strategy is?”

Of course, they ask this because their research found that many firms’ CEOs cannot succinctly summarize their organization’s strategy. And if the CEO cannot do this, then it’s a …

Worsen the nursing shortage with more nurse practitioners?

Kevin

Physician

January 19, 2011

by mdstudent31

One of the hot topics occurring in the health care debate deals with figuring out appropriate leaders of the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH). With the recent report by the IOM advocating for independent practice by nurse practitioners, many physician groups, including the AAFP and AMA, have come forth with strong statements advocating against the IOM report and independent practice by CRNPs.

A recent editorial …

A laryngectomy shakes this physician to the core

Itzhak Brook, MD

Conditions and Diseases

January 19, 2011

As an infectious diseases physician with a special interest in head and neck infections, I had extensive experience in otolaryngological illnesses. However, when I was exposed to new, different, and challenging experiences as a neck cancer patient, I had to deal with these as a patient — not as a physician. I endured the consequences of radiation, repeated surgeries, and prolonged hospitalizations. I confronted medical errors in my care, discrimination …

Who benefits from computerization of patient-specific clinical information?

Adam Rothschild, MD

Health Technology

January 19, 2011

Electronic health record (EHR) systems are big news (and big money) these days.

Our government is pushing adoption and “meaningful use” of EHR systems because computerizing patient-specific clinical information can benefit our nation’s health care system. The primary focus has been on the benefit to the care of individual patients, but computerizing patient-specific clinical information can also benefit other parties in the health care system.

I believe that there are 6 major …

Fight multiple sclerosis using YouTube and other social media tools

Ted Eytan, MD

Patient

January 18, 2011

“Facebook is for the living, not the dying” – Regina Holliday

It finally happened. The day my Facebook feed included information about a friend’s illness. This is the photograph my friend Matt posted to his feed. Normally I don’t play that close attention to everything in there, but this caught my eye immediately.

When we talked on the phone, I understood that this …

How to improve patient satisfaction with electronic records

Kevin

Health Technology

January 18, 2011

by John Rossheim

To many physicians, it may appear self-evident that electronic records will improve the patient experience. After all, the doctor has speedier access to notes, labs and other patient data, and that’s got to increase the patient’s confidence in the doctor’s understanding of his health status.

But whether patient records are confined to a private-practice EMR or live in an EHR system, the usefulness of …

A historical perspective of alternative medicine

Kevin

Conditions and Diseases

January 18, 2011

by Roberta Bivins

As a historian who writes about the controversial topic of ‘alternative medicine’, I get a lot of questions about whether this or that therapy ‘works’. Sometimes, these questions are a test of my objectivity as a researcher. My questioners want to know whether I am ‘believer’, or a fan of alternative medicine, or have any stake in promoting or disdaining a given medical …

Your doctor isn’t superhuman and is allowed to call in sick

Doctor Grumpy, MD

Patient

January 18, 2011

I mentioned having a migraine this past weekend, and was somewhat surprised by how many people commented and wrote to me, surprised that a doctor, let alone a neurologist, would actually get migraines.

What’s up with that?

I know this may be hard to believe, but we get health problems too.

I see this odd view surprisingly often. People who somehow expect us to be beyond the health concerns of non-doctors.

We may be …

Is red wine really good for your heart and your brain?

Kevin

Patient

January 18, 2011

by Marie Pasinski, MD

Although much has been written about how red wine in moderation can be good for your heart and your brain, I would like you to reconsider. It’s important to understand that the studies supporting this claim are “observational.” This means they were conducted through self-reported questionnaires inquiring into the drinking habits of a large group of …

Your surgeon may be contemplating suicide

Kevin Pho, MD

KevinMD

January 18, 2011

I wrote last year in USA Today about the impact of physician burnout. Not only do doctors suffer, but so do their patients.

Burnout starts early in residency, with entering interns having a depression rate of 4%, similar to the general public. But after the first year of residency, that number balloons to 25%.

Now, another study adds fuel to this disturbing trend.

A paper published in the Archives of General Surgery …

Your blood test and the need for better designed results

Lukas Zinnagl, MD

Conditions and Diseases

January 18, 2011

Either as a patient or as a physician there’s a very high chance that you’ve ever got your hands on a simple blood test.

These range from very basic ones to complex ones with multiple pages and are substantial to any cinlical evaluation. Blood tests are probably one of the most performed tests in a clinical environment with direct patient contact. Also, if you’ve ever seen a typical blood test from …

How often to see your doctor when feeling well

Eric Van De Graaff, MD

Patient

January 17, 2011

How often do you see your doctor? Once a year? Every 6 months? Never? Most of you are pretty healthy and only show up for screening physical exams or aches and pains. Some of you may have more health problems and come more frequently.

What if you had diabetes, coronary disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea, but no symptoms to indicate any …

Individual health beliefs play a role in medical decisions

Kenneth Lin, MD

Patient

January 17, 2011

As a family physician, I’ve found that patients’ individual health beliefs often play a big role in important decisions such as starting a new medication or undergoing an invasive test or procedure.

Some patients were more willing to endure potentially risky procedures in order to learn their diagnosis quicker, for example, while others preferred “watchful waiting,” or monitoring symptoms that were unlikely to be a sign of anything serious. Unfortunately, in …

Should obesity prevention be a personal matter?

Arya M. Sharma, MD

Patient

January 17, 2011

Obesity is now increasingly recognized as the “natural” consequence of societal changes that have occurred over the past decades to foster an increasingly obesogenic environment.

Yet, rather than focus on the root causes of these societal drivers of obesity, governments apparently prefer to make obesity prevention a personal matter, with a strong emphasis on trying to get individuals to change their lifestyles.

It is clearly far easier to simply tell people to …

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