Yes, I get it - primary care isn't glamorous. Maybe that's why medical students are avoiding the field:
As a patient's entry point into medical care, primary-care physicians have a far less glamorous job than doctors in other specialties, Leominster pediatrician Terry Callahan said Thursday.
"You're the one getting called in the middle of the night about the right dosage for Tylenol," she said. "You get used ...
It's a myth that seeds and nuts leads to diverticulitis, perpetuated by this doctor in an article here:
Maddox said that before the attack, Kilpatrick ate a large bag of peanuts, popcorn and sunflower seeds, all of which could have contributed to the flare-up.UptoDate says otherwise:
Patients with diverticular disease have historically been advised to avoid whole pieces of fiber (such as seeds, corn, and nuts) because of ...
After reading this physician's rant, her summary points at the end ring true, especially this one:
The American public must "get real." Not every medication is perfect, nor every doctor, nor every procedure. "Yet people want perfection, and when they don't get it, the first thing they want to do is sue somebody."
This doctor-as-patient doesn't feel comfortable when his physician calls him by his first name:
I like calling patients by their surnames. To my mind, it gives an immediate message of respect and also helps keep a suitable emotional distance - both for me and them.
It occurs to me that we've mistaken being caring for being intimate. But as I discovered, when your trousers are round your ankles, ...
This group has been championing the "less healthcare" for awhile. Here is what they say in the NY Times:
The association of medical colleges has argued that increasing the doctor supply overall can remedy regional shortages. But in the past 20 years, as the number of doctors per capita grew by more than 50 percent, according to our measurements, most of the new ones settled in areas where ...
The NY Times in its Freakonomics column wonders about this:
There are many reasons, after all, for banning the sale of organs. Some people consider it immoral to commodify body parts (although it is now commonplace to not only sell sperm and eggs but also to rent a womb). Others fear that most organ sellers would be poor while most buyers would be rich; or that someone might be ...
Some public hospitals are using this approach to close budget gaps left by uninsured patients:
Through a new patient-hospitality service, Jackson is laying down the red carpet for affluent or privately insured patients, especially those in Latin America and the Caribbean, whose wealth or generous insurance coverage gives them choices on where to spend their health-care dollars.
Jackson officials hope that overseas patients, eager to see the University of ...
These patients want the Australian government to do something:
She believes other women should ask their doctors to refer them to an ultrasound examination, which she said should be subsidised by the government.Current standard of care is regular mammograms according to the USPSTF. I'm not sure what more the govenment can do. ...
"The government needs to step in and revamp the whole system," she said.
Joe Paduda raises some questions:
. . . a hospital pretty much has to be a teaching facility to be included. While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, the list is dominated by teaching facilities, and the criteria certainly are biased in this direction. There are lots of really good hospitals that are not teaching facilities, and therefore will suffer in comparison if consumers use this survey ...
Rangel on Lay's cardiac death:
It has been mentioned in the press that Mr. Lay died of coronary artery disease, or a "massive coronary" and/or that he died of sudden cardiac death. What's going on? What's the difference?
The court rules against the NH Board of Medicine:
Judge Edward Fitzgerald made clear in a ruling released Thursday that he did not condone remarks attributed to Dr. Terry Bennett and found them unnecessary, but ruled Bennett had a right to speak bluntly.
"It is nonetheless important ... to ensure that physicians and patients are free to discuss matters relating to health without fear of government reprisal, even if ...
November 2004 - Some data behind chiropractic care:
So, before you send "a strong signal to the health and insurance industries that safer non-drug, non-surgical treatments should be considered whenever possible", be familiar with the evidence behind these treatments first. Chiropractic care certainly has its place, and I have many patients who swear by it. However, it should not replace conventional therapy just yet.
October 2004 - The importance of open communication in cases of medical error:
Mistakes happen in medicine. Lawsuits are bourne out of the public's expectation and demand for perfection. As advocation for non-economic caps continue, this reader's letter reminds us that we should continue to be vigilant in maintaining open communication with patients - especially after medical error.
On days that I am unable to blog, I will be linking to some classic posts - either something I find interesting, or heavily commented topics.
September 2004 - Discussion on John Ritter's aortic dissection:
I can only sympathize with the emergency room that night. With an acute aortic dissection, seconds count, and it was an unfortunate event for all concerned. Was it malpractice? Tough to say. ...
Bang on: "The reason those ads are there is to sell the drug, not to educate the public."
He's pulling in huge crowds to his hospital room:
Hundreds of people have flocked to a hospital in the Indian city of Calcutta to see a man holding a sizeable chunk of his head in his hands.
Doctors say a section of electrician Sambhu Roy's skull fell off on Sunday, months after he ...
From the "blog that reads like an action movie". Check out another thrilling ER case from the Charity Doc.
ABC News reports on his coronary artery disease:
In the mid '90s, Lay was put on a cholesterol-lowering statin drug. Around five years ago, his coronary disease had progressed to a point where his doctors decided to put in at least one stent - a wire mesh device - in one of his arteries to try to prevent a future heart attack. A source told ABC News at the ...
There's a pretty high demand for these jobs:
It's a popular gig for local actors and comics.The villain at tonight's murder mystery theater may be the patient who wants too much medication at tomorrow's Kaiser workshop.
Role-playing patients at Kaiser and UC Davis' School of Medicine have voiced commercials and sung opera. They do community theater, stand-up comedy, and the occasional stint at law school mock trials or police ...
Apparently more are using this practice to extend the shelf-life of meat:
But some meat packagers are putting carbon monoxide in the sealed packets, which prevents browning. The off color happens with exposure to oxygen and does not automatically mean the meat is bad. But, hermetically sealed in carbon monoxide, horribly spoiled meat can appear to be as fresh as the day it was cut.
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...
