Car mechanics and medicine:
"Every time you go to the dealership for an oil change, it seems, the car ends up needing some other service as well." . . .
. . . Suddenly, I could envision a scene in which the roles were reversed. A 50-year-old mechanic comes to see his family physician. Active and apparently fit, this patient rarely visits the office, but, on this day, he'd ...
Now growing evidence suggests that a small percentage of patients--perhaps 4,000 people a year, by one doctor's estimate--may be dying because of Advair or its Serevent component. This highlights a tough dilemma in drug safety: what to do about drugs that help many but harm a few. It could mark the start of the next great drug-liability war, and already the drama seems all ...
Overlawyered with a "wrongful birth" roundup.
Ironic: By covering certain cancer drugs in Medical Part D, it has made them more expensive for patients.
Despite the uselessness of the annual physical, we still have to do them:
True, the very notion of a requisite annual physical is controversial. However, patients appreciate doctors who are meticulous, and patients (and jurors) don't read medical journal articles advising against physicals. I use the annual physical as a preventive review for my patients to make sure they're up to date on mammo, Pap, DEXA, PSA, urinalysis, guaiac ...
The Australian Medical Association wants to ban boxing from the Olympics:
"A competition in which the winner is determined either by delivering a greater number of blows to his opponent or by literally knocking his opponent senseless is no sport," Dr Haikerwal says.
Why EHRs fail:
EHRs that fail, limp along, or are only partially implemented aren't a problem limited to systems sold by NextGen. Physicians and group administrators told us about difficulties with several other programs, including some that are considered industry leaders. Nor are implementation problems always the fault of the EHR or its vendor. In many cases, these problems occurred because doctors purchased something that was inappropriate for their practices, ...
ICD-9 code 939.0: RangelMD gives us a case that has to be read to be believed.
Illinois - tort reform = lower malpractice premiums:
Illinois' largest medical malpractice insurer announced Wednesday it would reduce its physician policy holders' average premiums by 5.2 percent for the upcoming policy year.
ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company officials credited recent litigation reforms for "modest" reductions in claims frequency and a relatively flat number of claims.
Is there ever a good time for therapeutic lying?
The benefits of deceit might flow less to a patient than to the nurses. It can be tough to care for someone who holds no hope, and such lies can encourage an otherwise reluctant patient to participate in physical therapy.
But the short-term benefit of jollying a patient along with false hope does not offset the long-term peril of lying. ...
Copes' online resume says he once worked as a doctor's assistant in Gonzales, Louisiana. He fails to mention the doctor was a veterinarian and that Copes helped treat animals, not humans.
He also lists a Ph.D. and a bachelor's degree from Columbia Pacific University, a school that was shut down after Copes attended because of questions about its degree-issuing policies. A California judge said the school ...
A demented patient dies after an ambulance crew drops her off at the wrong house:
Mrs Purnell, who suffered from dementia and chronic lymphatic leukaemia would attend a day unit at Barry Hospital in South Wales, operated for elderly and mentally infirm clients.
She would be collected at the end of the day by an ambulance crew.
But instead of being taken to her home in Penarth ...
No refunds - a patient is unhappy with his penis enlargement surgery:
A man pleaded guilty to weapons of mass destruction charges for sending a mail bomb to a Chicago surgeon he said botched his penile enlargement surgery, though his attorney questioned whether the charges fit the offense.
Brett R. Steidler, 25, of Reamstown, Pa., mailed the explosive device in February 2005 because he was "extremely unhappy with ...
Don't alter your records in a malpractice case.
The news and blogs feeds page has been updated. Took some out, put some in. Check it out.
Even the ivory tower needs revenue: Johns Hopkins sponsors a cosmetic line. (via Health Care Renewal)
Another roundup of UHC in MA. (via The Health Care Blog)
The most comprehensive report on the state of healthcare blogging today (fee only). From the press release:
Readers of this report will learn:
- Who is blogging about healthcare and why they are doing it.
- Who the most prominent and prolific healthcare bloggers are.
- How healthcare blogs may impact the physician-patient relationship, treatment practices, consumer-driven healthcare, communications ...
You still want a single-payer system? Think again:
Patients are being denied appointments with consultants in a systematic attempt to ration care and save the NHS money, The Times has learnt.
Leaked documents passed to The Times show that while ministers promise patients choice, a series of barriers are being erected limiting GPs' rights to refer people to consultants . . .
. . . Consultant-to-consultant referrals ...
Vancouver General's ER care is subpar. The staff knows it:
Emergency patients at Vancouver General Hospital are being told by their physicians that they can no longer guarantee "safe, timely and appropriate emergency care."
The blunt warning is contained in unsigned letters being handed out to patients this week, and is said to represent the views of "a majority of the emergency physicians working at [VGH]."
A version of this column was published on April 24, 2012 in USA Today. There has been a recent uptick of elderly men...
The following column was published on April 1, 2012 in USA Today. I recently saw a middle-age man in my primary care clinic...
The following column was published on March 25, 2012 in the Nashua Telegraph. Medical malpractice historically has been a contentious issue. Doctors...
The following column was published on April 11, 2012 in CNN. When you visit the doctor, chances are you are given a...
As a cardiac electrophysiologist, I have had to discuss bad news with patients and families more times than I would like during...
He looked dead. The paramedics brought him down the hall toward one of my critical care beds, and for a moment I...
I was recently appointed the Assistant Director of the Yale Cancer Center with the portfolio of Diversity/Disparities. While I’m not sure I’m...
How do you define a “good” doc? I was reading the patient responses to an article here on KevinMD.com and was saddened...
I was honored to be part of a beautiful experience in late January of 2011. It was the death of my mother-in-law...
Theirs is a lonely journey; to be moving towards the separation and end of all things known and loved. Being with a...
As a patient who was asked to speak at the Association of Health Care Journalists 2012 conference, I felt a bit covert....
Nothing will force you to live life on your own terms faster than almost losing it. In 2008, I was on fire....
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..." So begins a story called A Tale of Two...
The nation’s “safety net” hospitals are designed to ensure that uninsured, lower income and indigent populations receive adequate medical care – a...
Technology to lower costs rather than accelerate them. Smart phones to increase physician and other providers’ productivity. Fewer primary care physicians but...
It is both conventional wisdom and factual truth that, unimpeded, American healthcare cost inflation will bankrupt the United States economically, educationally, socially,...
Every month, hundreds of thousands of people look for a doctor on Google. As an amazing practitioner, your site deserves to be...
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the physician’s office were the tall cabinets filled with manila folders, tabbed with...
This example of a disaster waiting to happen, in the form of an error-promoting CPOE, is a poster example of why the...
A guest column by the American Medical Association, exclusive to KevinMD.com. Continuing our efforts to move medicine forward while prioritizing patient care and minimizing...
Prior to 1794, farms across the world could only pick cotton as fast as humanly possible. In the late 18th century, Eli Whitney...
Social media in healthcare is all the rage these days. You can’t visit even one physician-oriented website without someone breathlessly advising you...
Want to understand social media? Physicians wanting to learn about social media must learn transparency. We must learn transparency on a personal...
It was my first ER shift in charge of the resuscitation area. Needless to say, my adrenaline and nerves were firing like...
