Emergency medicine

2,327 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 61

Will the real hero please stand up?

December 21, 2013Dec 21, 201311

On a recent cross-country flight, I feigned sleep and overheard the following conversation between my seatmates: a radiation oncologist (I'll call her "Dr. M"), and a former firefighter/paramedic called, "Captain." Thought you'd like to listen in. DR. M: You guys…

On a recent cross-country flight, I feigned sleep and overheard the following conversation between my seatmates: a radiation oncologist (I’ll call her “Dr. M”), and a former firefighter/paramedic called, “Captain.” Thought you’d like to listen in.

DR. M: You guys have been my heroes for a long time, the way you constantly put your lives on the line.

CAPTAIN: We’re in serious danger 10% of the time, at most. Moderate danger another …

Read more…

Will the real hero please stand up?

Physician voices

The conversations can be more difficult than the procedures

Vipul Kella, MD

December 12, 2013Dec 12, 2013

When I graduated residency and started my first job, I walked around the ED confidently, chest slightly pumped up at all times. I knew I was well-trained. If there was a sick patient, I was going to resuscitate them. If there was an impossible central line that was needed – I was going to get it. Difficult intubation? No problem. There was no procedure that was too difficult for me.

Many …

Health policy

The complexity of making health care a right

Leigh Abilland, RN

November 30, 2013Nov 30, 201315

When I patronize a restaurant, I am fully aware that the restaurant staff's goal is to serve me quickly and efficiently with few (or no) mistakes. Regardless of how ravishingly starved I feel, my severe hunger pangs do not propel…

When I patronize a restaurant, I am fully aware that the restaurant staff’s goal is to serve me quickly and efficiently with few (or no) mistakes. Regardless of how ravishingly starved I feel, my severe hunger pangs do not propel me to the front of the line, nor do they make me more of a priority than another customer, no matter how much I moan and cry in agony. If …

Real physician voices, twice a week

Free, and one click to unsubscribe.

Physician voices

Emergency medicine is a public service

Angelo Falcone, MD

November 27, 2013Nov 27, 20134

I recently treated what looked like one of those unnecessary patients in one of our emergency departments. You know the ones. The ones that don’t need to be there because they should have gone somewhere else to receive care. She was a 28-year-old woman who presented with lower abdominal pain. Her pain started abruptly in her left lower abdomen. She had no nausea or vomiting or fever.

After my evaluation and …

Read more…

Emergency medicine is a public service

Physician voices

Communicating urgently without scaring patients

Abigail Schildcrout, MD

November 22, 2013Nov 22, 20132

Recently, I received a phone call in the late afternoon from someone very close to me. Please note that this someone is also a doctor. “Uh, I need you for a minute. I’m kind of freaking out. Can I talk…

She had just gone to her local optometrist to get a new prescription for glasses. The optometrist looked in her eyes, told her that both of her optic nerves …

Health policy

What is the best metric to measure a hospital?

Michael Cetta, MD

November 20, 2013Nov 20, 2013

If you had to pick a single metric to a measure a hospital, which would you choose? Of course, you can’t boil everything about a hospital down to one, single data point. Defining quality, throughput, and other factors used to…

If you had to pick a single metric to a measure a hospital, which would you choose?

Of course, you can’t boil everything about a hospital down to one, single data point. Defining quality, throughput, and other factors used to evaluate a hospital is difficult business. The Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) tracks dozens of core metrics related to both quality and process, both inpatients and outpatients. As a practicing …

Physician voices

The focus on patient satisfaction is enough to make you sick

BirdStrike, MD

November 19, 2013Nov 19, 201345

All patients should be treated with professionalism and respect. We all want our patients leaving our care happy, healthy and satisfied, if at all possible. However, sometimes patients don’t leave an emergency department very happy or satisfied. Sometimes the doctor could have prevented it, but many if not most times, such dissatisfaction has little if anything to do with what the …

Health technology

Keep your government hands off my EHR

Robert Hitchcock, MD

November 17, 2013Nov 17, 20132

Consider this scenario. Your clunker is on its last legs, and it’s time to get a new car. Most likely, you’ll search product reviews to help you decide which make and model is best -- best according to people who’ve…

Consider this scenario. Your clunker is on its last legs, and it’s time to get a new car. Most likely, you’ll search product reviews to help you decide which make and model is best — best according to people who’ve driven them and kicked the tires a bit, not based on company accolades. You’ll want to know what drivers think. Amazon.com does the same thing for books (and every other …

Read more…

Keep your government hands off my EHR

Physician voices

Boxer at Rest: A physician’s interpretation

Jeffrey M. Levine, MD

November 16, 2013Nov 16, 20134

Recently, an ancient sculptural masterpiece has been on temporary display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Greek and Roman halls. On loan from Rome’s Museo Nazionale Romano, “Boxer at Rest” depicts a battered pugilist immediately after a fight. His face bears evidence of broken nasal bones, swelling and hematoma under his right eye, and multiple lacerations and abrasions to his nose, cheeks, and forehead. One secret …

Physician voices

Michael Palmer: A doctor first, in the truest sense of the word

Miranda Fielding, MD

November 15, 2013Nov 15, 2013

I was saddened earlier this week to read, first on Facebook as posted by his son Daniel, that Michael Palmer had passed away after suffering a heart attack and then a stroke, while going through customs in New York on the way back from a trip to Africa. Many of you know Dr. Palmer as the bestselling author who wrote medical mystery thrillers like “The Sisterhood” in …

Conditions and diseases

The outrageous ER markup for a tetanus shot

Olivier Van Houtte

November 13, 2013Nov 13, 201311

In March of last year I began and quickly ended a cycling career. In my first race of the weekend I placed second, and in a moment of hubris felt emboldened to reach for more. In the second race, the…

In March of last year I began and quickly ended a cycling career. In my first race of the weekend I placed second, and in a moment of hubris felt emboldened to reach for more.

In the second race, the very next day, I signed up for a higher category. The race was tougher, and I got stuck behind the pack, which slowed immensely around turns. In an effort to advance, …

Patient voices

Physician burnout: Don’t blame the patient

Carolyn Thomas

November 12, 2013Nov 12, 201314

My daughter loves her career as a probation officer. She is very good at what she does, and finds the work both challenging and rewarding. Yet her client case load includes some of the most unsavory of individuals, found guilty by the courts of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault or worse, many of them living with added complexities like addictions or mental health issues. She’s been insulted and screamed at by …

Physician voices

Handling the delicate balance as an ER patient

Abigail Schildcrout, MD

November 8, 2013Nov 8, 201325

Sometimes it’s difficult to practice what I preach. But I try. A couple of weeks ago, I spent the evening in the emergency room with our youngest son (don’t worry – he’s fine). I hate going to the ER, but…

Sometimes it’s difficult to practice what I preach. But I try.

A couple of weeks ago, I spent the evening in the emergency room with our youngest son (don’t worry – he’s fine). I hate going to the ER, but every once in a while circumstances necessitate it. I called doctor friends in the relevant specialty, as well as our son’s pediatrician, to confirm the need for the trip. They said to …

Physician voices

Who’s my doctor? The total transparency manifesto

Leana Wen, MD

November 8, 2013Nov 8, 201358

Our health care system is broken and in dire need of reform. We all know the statistics: the U.S. spends $2.7 trillion on healthcare, 30% of which is waste in the form of unnecessary tests and unnecessary treatments. Conflicts of interest are rampant, with 94% of doctors reporting an affiliation with a pharmaceutical or device manufacturing company, and many more insidious influences including salaries being tied to productivity. Dozens of studies have shown …

Health policy

It’s hard to get a handle on the true costs of defensive medicine

Peter Ubel, MD

November 4, 2013Nov 4, 201312

Ask physicians if our messed up malpractice system causes them to practice “defensive medicine,” and most will probably say yes -- hard not to be paranoid with so many lawsuits affecting so many physicians. Some experts even contend that major…

Ask physicians if our messed up malpractice system causes them to practice “defensive medicine,” and most will probably say yes — hard not to be paranoid with so many lawsuits affecting so many physicians. Some experts even contend that major reforms of our malpractice system could go a long way towards controlling spiraling healthcare costs. On the other hand, if you ask physicians whether they ever order unnecessary tests …

Physician voices

After a lifetime in medicine, where did the time go?

Wes Fisher, MD

November 1, 2013Nov 1, 20132

He looked ahead, seeing his feet on the hearth. There was smoke rising from one of the three logs, and he marveled at the small flicker of flame that stretched up and ignited the smoke that swirled above the log,…

“You can’t say you weren’t warned,” she said.

He sat, reflecting on her words. So much years of work, so much effort, breadwinner, …

Health policy

Emergency departments will remain a safety net for decades to come

Edwin Leap, MD

October 23, 2013Oct 23, 20136

Former South Carolina Senator, and current Heritage Foundation president, Jim DeMint recently angered supporters of the Affordable Care Act by stating that uninsured patients will "get better healthcare just going to the emergency room," than they will receive through Obamacare.…

Former South Carolina Senator, and current Heritage Foundation president, Jim DeMint recently angered supporters of the Affordable Care Act by stating that uninsured patients will “get better healthcare just going to the emergency room,” than they will receive through Obamacare.

That’s a sweeping assertion. However, the ACA supporters offended by Sen. DeMint need to understand the supreme irony that without America’s emergency departments and their dedicated personnel, the ACA will fall …

Physician voices

Physicians have lost their backbone

Jordan Grumet, MD

October 21, 2013Oct 21, 201342

What ever happened to courage? Jim came through the cholecystectomy beautifully. In fact, he did so well that in no time he was back on the basketball court. Three weeks later he was in my office with a sore, swollen…

What ever happened to courage?

Jim came through the cholecystectomy beautifully. In fact, he did so well that in no time he was back on the basketball court. Three weeks later he was in my office with a sore, swollen leg. He thought it was from twisting his ankle the day before. And indeed, it had all the appearances of a sports injury. I examined the extremity carefully, and decided to get …

Read more…

Physicians have lost their backbone

Physician voices

What an old doctor taught me about palliative care

Monica Williams-Murphy, MD

October 19, 2013Oct 19, 201311

Many years ago when I was a “young” doctor, moonlighting in the ER of a tiny country town, I had an experience that challenged my training. You see, most young, new doctors often think their training and knowledge is superior to that of “old” doctors, which is often malarkey. A wise and sage old doctor in this tiny country town taught me an important lesson on where and how one …

Patient voices

Our patients are more than the sum of their parts

Anonymous

October 19, 2013Oct 19, 20138

As a nursing student, I have always enjoyed the opportunity to see firsthand new procedures, treatments, wounds, and wound care on patients. Many of the patients were older and resided in the nursing homes where we conducted our clinical rotations. It was not unusual for several of us to gather around a patient while the wound care nurse or doctor cleaned, debrided, and dressed a pressure ulcer. For us students, …

Emergency medicine

Articles, page 61

Real physician voices, twice a week

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular