Medical malpractice deposition survival tips for doctors

Physician
May 9, 2010

An excerpt from How to Survive a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit: The Physician’s Roadmap for Success.

by Ilene R. Brenner, MD

The most important part of your case is upon you: the pretrial deposition. If you do a poor job, you can ruin your case and make a defensible lawsuit become indefensible.

So what is a deposition? It is the sworn testimony of a witness taken before trial, in a location …

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Medical malpractice deposition survival tips for doctors

Hiatal hernia in women can present with heartburn

Conditions
May 8, 2010

by David Edelman, MD

Heartburn and acid reflux disease are common problems affecting women of all ages. The problem develops when acid in the stomach backs up into the esophagus. There is a muscle known as the diaphragm that separates the chest from the abdominal cavity. When you eat or drink, the food goes from the mouth down the esophagus, through the diaphragm and into the stomach. …

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Hiatal hernia in women can present with heartburn

A pre-medical student writes to her gross anatomy cadaver

Education
May 7, 2010

A letter from a pre-medical student honoring her gross anatomy cadaver.

Letter to the other side
by Hana Low

Thank you for donating your body to science and medical education. It’s so generous to give yourself to those you will never meet. I hope you’re having a good time, up there or wherever you are.

Working with your body has made me acutely conscious of the dangers in my everyday environment. I have to …

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A pre-medical student writes to her gross anatomy cadaver

China medical school and residency training

Education
May 6, 2010

My husband and I recently traveled to Wuhan Medical School in the Hubei Province in central China.

Our medical school has partnered with Wuhan to help inform their curricular reform efforts. We spent 4 days touring the hospitals and teaching facilities, meeting students and faculty, going on rounds, and giving talks. Although the language barrier was challenging, we had incredible translators who worked to translate every slide we spoke …

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China medical school and residency training

Problem list problems with electronic medical records

Tech
May 4, 2010

In family medicine it has been common to keep a “Problem List” in patients’ paper charts. Usually placed on the left hand side, on top of the Medication List, it has given doctors like me an instant thumbnail sketch before considering the specifics of each patient’s visit for that day.

A typical Problem List would include diagnoses like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol or rheumatoid arthritis. It would list prior surgeries, like …

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Problem list problems with electronic medical records

Avoiding the ER and arranging a direct admit is not easy

Physician
May 4, 2010

Are emergency departments solely responsible for the bulk of unnecessary tests?

Most would like to believe so, but emergency physician Edwin Leap says that’s not the case.

He cites an instance involving a primary care doctor and hospitalist:

Local physician, who does not admit to the hospital, sees patient in the office. Patient has uncontrolled hypertension and is having some chest pain and shortness of breath. Local physician contacts hospitalist. …

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Avoiding the ER and arranging a direct admit is not easy

Internal medicine is dead, will concierge physicians thrive?

Physician
April 29, 2010

by Steven Knope, MD

For the last several years, writers in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association have authored doomsday editorials about the prognosis of primary care medicine. There has been much discussion about the fact that internists and family practitioners cannot keep pace with rising overheads and falling reimbursement under the traditional third-party payment system.

Paraphrasing a recent …

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Internal medicine is dead, will concierge physicians thrive?

Primary care is burdened by excessive paperwork

Physician
April 28, 2010

by Charles R. D’Agostino, MD

We’ve all seen the headlines –- “Primary Care Physicians Becoming a Scarce Breed”, “Wait Times for Appointments Increasing”, “Primary Care in Crisis” –- and have heard the pundits pontificating on the deteriorating state of primary care.

But rarely do we hear what’s happening from physicians on the front lines, those actually seeing patients. Consequently, with direct access to the primary care trenches, replete with an overworked …

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Primary care is burdened by excessive paperwork

Aneurysm as a cause of the Bret Michaels brain hemorrhage

Conditions
April 26, 2010

Bret Michaels continues to be monitored in the intensive care unit after suffering a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

bret michaels According to his road manager, “further testing this week will help locate the source of the bleeding.”

What exactly does that entail?

As I mentioned previously, aneurysms are responsible for the majority of brain bleeds. Finding that source is critical. Angiography, or …

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Aneurysm as a cause of the Bret Michaels brain hemorrhage

Alternative medicine isn’t taught to doctors in medical school

Meds
April 26, 2010

by Crystal Phend

Physicians don’t know much more about complementary and alternative medicine than their patients do, according to a new survey.

Most healthcare professionals who answered an online survey of Drug and Therapeutic Bulletin subscribers said their profession was just as poorly informed about herbal medicines (75.5%) as the general public (86.3%).

And almost half of respondents rated their own knowledge about herbal medicines as “quite” or “very” poor (36.2% and 10.4%, …

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Alternative medicine isn’t taught to doctors in medical school

Psychiatric patients detained in the ER

Physician
April 22, 2010

Our state of South Carolina is a delight. From wonderful people to beautiful landscapes, from a vibrant Southern culture to excellent food like shrimp and grits, it’s a place I’m thrilled to live. But we do lack a few things. And one of the most striking is adequate mental health care.

The state budget, like so many state budgets, has been trimming anything and everything. And of course, mental health coverage …

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Psychiatric patients detained in the ER

Patient satisfaction scores improve when doctors sit

Physician
April 22, 2010

Patient satisfaction, as I wrote previously, is being increasingly focused upon.

Doctors are often pressed for time, and appear rushed — which can potentially lead to unhappy patients.

I saw this small study showing that the simple act of sitting down while talking to patients can have a profound effect. Many doctors I know already do this, but now there’s some data to support sitting.

According to the study, performed at …

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Patient satisfaction scores improve when doctors sit

High blood pressure treatment that patients need to know

Conditions
April 21, 2010

When her gynecologist told her she had high blood pressure, Marie had a simple solution: switch doctors. After all, she had gone to him for a different problem, and this was the first time he had ever checked her blood pressure.

“He said, ‘Oh my God, you’re like a bomb waiting to explode.’ I said, ‘I didn’t come here for that, I came here for something else,’” she explained.

Two years later, …

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High blood pressure treatment that patients need to know

President Obama should have had colonoscopy without sedation

Conditions
April 19, 2010

by Michael Kirsch, MD

Does anyone out there know why President Obama underwent a virtual  ‘colonscopy’ (VC) instead of a conventional colonoscopy earlier this year?

In my gastroenterology practice, we do not offer colon cancer screening to 48-year-old individuals, unless special risk factors are present. Of course, maintaining the president’s health is in the national interest, so I understand why professional screening guidelines might not apply to him. For …

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President Obama should have had colonoscopy without sedation

Patient appointment scheduling needs flexibility

Physician
April 18, 2010

The daily appointment schedule is often a sore spot in everyone’s day:

* Patients aren’t completely satisfied because they can’t get an appointment when they want one.
* Physicians feel they’ve lost control of their day when the flow is not running smoothly and they fall behind and patients complain.
* Nurses and medical assistants are frustrated at the hodgepodge of types of appointments that get scheduled seemingly without any consideration for timing …

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Patient appointment scheduling needs flexibility

Medical conditions as seen in the movies

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 …

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Medical conditions as seen in the movies

Neosporin and other OTC drugs to avoid

Meds
April 12, 2010

Most people use non-prescription medications without giving much thought to the potential side effects or problems that may be associated with their use.

Here are 5 popular OTC meds you should avoid, and better alternatives. I bet most of you use one or more of these. Neosporin, Topical Vitamin E, Afrin nasal spray (or other short acting nasal decongestant sprays), daily headache medications, and sedating antihistamines.

1. Neosporin: Neosporin in the most …

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Neosporin and other OTC drugs to avoid

Medicine residency survival tips during pregnancy

Education
April 8, 2010

by Dr. Whoo, MD

Q. I just found out last week that I’ll be a new mom in November, making me an official mother in medicine! I’ve been reading the blog for a while, because I love hearing what all of you have to say about your lives. Here’s my question: What tips would you give for surviving residency while pregnant, especially 30-hour calls (without caffeine)?

— From a future mom and …

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Medicine residency survival tips during pregnancy

Radiology tests, and how to find their price

Conditions
March 30, 2010

I am often asked how we get the prices for the radiology imaging tests, such as MRI’s and mammograms, or ultrasounds. Most people assume that my day job as a doc gives me some sort of special access to this info. But that’s just not the case. Anyone can find out testing prices.

However, over the last year, those of us working at LesliesList.org have gotten more experienced and better at …

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Radiology tests, and how to find their price

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