Emergency Rooms Flat Lining
A The New York Times article out this week highlights a growing issue across the country: hospital rooms, particularly in urban areas, are closing at an alarming rate. In a study by The Journal of the American Medical Association, it was found that, “In 1990, there were 2,446 hospitals with emergency departments in nonrural areas. [...]
Read MorePractice Medicine the Way You Want
In a recent blog for Kevin MD, a colleague, Michelle Au, MD, excerpts from her new book, “This Won’t Hurt a Bit (and other white lies): My Education in Medicine and Motherhood.” The anesthesiologist answers a question often pondered by patients, and lately perhaps, chewed upon by physicians, some disillusioned with the state of healthcare: [...]
Read MoreBoning Up on Health News
The uninvolved and uninformed patient is making a rare appearance in physician practices these days, with eight out of ten adults seeking health information on the Internet. They bring it to their physician appointment where it forms the basis for a lively discussion. Often the subject matter is fraught with evidence both pro and con, [...]
Read MorePrimary Care Still Not Primary Choice Among Med Students
This week, the Wall Street Journal Health Blog discussed the continued disinterest medical students have in the primary care sector. In a study recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, med students were surveyed in 1990 and 2007 about their attitudes towards internal medicine careers. According the WSJ, the study “finds that while about [...]
Read MoreReducing the Margins of Medication Error
The number of people treated in U.S. hospitals for illnesses and injuries from taking medicines jumped 52 percent between 2004 and 2008 from 1.2 million to 1.9 million, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. These medication side effects and injuries resulted from taking or being given [...]
Read MoreConcierge Medicine Makes Good News and Good Sense
Last week The Boston Globe weighed in on the growth of concierge medicine, yet another local media outlet, this one major, acknowledging that many physicians want a lifestyle change—and want it now. Concierge medicine is garnering its share of headlines because it makes so much sense for both doctor and patient. With every story in [...]
Read MoreAmerica’s Physicians’ Ongoing Battle
Last Friday’s New York Times illustrated a universal problem with America’s healthcare; the one in which doctors with smaller practices are struggling to stay afloat, make ends meet and ultimately pass along their practice in order to retire. The article specifically follows one physician – Dr. Ronald Sroka of Crofton, Maryland – who has been [...]
Read MoreHow Painkillers Are Leading to Painful Statistics
Painkillers are treating more than just pain – they are becoming actual killers. A New York Times article this week mentioned that “in Ohio, fatal overdoses [from painkillers] more than quadrupled in the last decade, and by 2007 had surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death,” according to the Department of Health. [...]
Read MoreTime is on Their Side: Concierge Physicians Breathe Easier
Used to be, your doctor came to the hospital to follow you and your case, whether it was 3 a.m. or 3 p.m. Times have changed and brought with them a rise in hospitalist care. The Los Angeles Times took a hard look at the practice known as the handoff, when a doctor responsible for [...]
Read MoreThe Depressing Affects of Allergies
A Los Angeles Times article last week outlined the link between allergies and depression. Many studies have indicated that allergies may cause psychological detriment and that the “risk of depression in people with severe allergies is about twice that of those without allergies.” The theory is that severe allergies cause physical weakness, which can negatively [...]
Read MoreDoctors Put the “Health” in Healthcare Reform
America doesn’t have enough primary care physicians, and many of those in the profession face challenges they hadn’t counted on when they chose their lifetime career path. A recent story from CNNMoney.com and FORTUNE suggests that that the shortage of physicians has built an invisible moat around the castle of health care reform objectives and [...]
Read MoreYour Voice Counts: Don’t be Anonymous
“Dr. Anonymous” is no more. Anonymous, that is. He’s come out of Internet hiding to announce that he’s really Mike Sevilla, a family practice physician in Salem, Ohio, whose blog attracted 400,000 guests in five years. He took off his online mask in mid-March because, he told MedCityNews, “he decided that anonymity was limiting the [...]
Read MoreDiabetes Connected to Cancer Deaths
We are all well aware of the dangers of diabetes and the harm and inconvenience it can cause. But new data shows it can actually affect one’s chances for surviving cancer. In a newly released study conducted by researchers from the National Cancer Institute, it was found that “having diabetes was associated with an 11 [...]
Read MoreSomething to Fear Besides Fear Itself
If you haven’t met Bryan Vartabedian, M.D., it’s time to do so. He’s a pediatric gastroenterologist at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine. “I write and think about the convergence of social media and medicine,” he says at www.33charts.com. In his April 9 blog he writes, “Fear seems to be a universal theme in healthcare. [...]
Read MoreWorld Health Day
Today is World Health Day, a once a year occurrence deemed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The annual happening helps bring awareness to specific health-related issues. This year’s theme is the growing concern of antibiotic resistance. According to EU Commissioners John Dalli and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the misuse and overuse of antibiotics is a problem [...]
Read MoreThe Priceless Cost of Being a Personalized Doctor
It is a well-known fact that doctors are among the highest paid professionals. However, that is changing. A recent and detailed blog post entitled, “The Deceptive Income of Physicians”, by Ben Brown, MD shows some valid statistics that indicate doctors make a very modest income after taking into consideration student debts, overhead costs, taxes, and [...]
Read MoreGet a Life
No matter who’s saying it, the message is basically the same and it can’t get any louder. The New York Times’ take on the current state of medicine speaks volumes as “More Physicians Say No to Endless Work Days.” The article notes that young doctors who want more control over their lives “are taking salaried [...]
Read MorePower to the In-Person Appointment
Last week’s Capstrat-Public Policy Polling survey reinforced in-person doctor-patient interface as the preferred option of American consumers. “Survey said” only 11 percent of respondents would take advantage of social media such as Twitter or Facebook to communicate with their doctor and 20 percent said they would use chat or instant message. Respondents were, however, more [...]
Read MoreHappy Doctor’s Day
In 1935 the Southern Medical Association (SMA) initiated the celebration of Doctor’s Day, an observance that culminated in the 1990 proclamation by President George Bush of March 30 as National Doctors’ Day. SMA continues to encourage its members to promote the observance through community projects. These projects pay tribute to physicians, remind the public of [...]
Read MoreTreating the Nurse Epidemic
Today’s Los Angeles Times highlights an interesting phenomenon in the healthcare industry, in which nurses are playing a larger role as primary care providers. There are now 23 states that allow nurse practitioners to act as primary care providers without a doctor’s supervision, including California. This growing trend is a result of physician shortages and [...]
Read MoreYour Voice Can Be Credible
If you don’t know the writing of pediatric gastroenterologist Bryan Vartabedian, MD, of Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine at his blog www.33charts.com, you probably should. This acknowledged social media guru among doctors believes that if you think change is coming in many facets of healthcare, you’re behind the curve. In a memorable post last [...]
Read MoreThe New Inconvenience of Internal Medicine
I spoke to my friend Karen the other day, who recently visited her internal medicine physician for her annual physical. When she arrived at her appointment to see her doctor of more than 15 years, there was a sign that read, “Due to new insurance policies, you will need to make a separate appointment to [...]
Read MoreNot “All By Myself”
As a physician, you probably don’t dispute the statistic that approximately 80% of your patient visits are due to stress. You may also be experiencing consistent stress if you’re currently operating on “overload.” It’s causing you to lose sleep, focus, energy and sight of why you became a doctor. You’re concerned, and rightly so, that [...]
Read MoreThe Reality of Radiation Exposure
Radiation is a complex substance; we know its particles can kill cancer cells and yet, in high levels of exposure it is also is a matter that can poison, and ultimately, kill us. With the devastating 8.9 earthquake that struck Japan last Friday, new fears about radiation’s danger are making this typically mysterious substance a [...]
Read MoreMagnitude 7.HELP
A seismic shift is occurring in healthcare. Many primary care physicians are scrambling to decide what—if any—their next move should be, while others remain frozen in place, unsure and unable to chart a course, hoping and praying that “this too shall pass.” Problem is, waiting and hoping may lead to nowhere, when in fact, viable [...]
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