From the monthly archives:

November 2006

Emergency Chinese if you have GI symptoms in China

November 30, 2006

Good to keep handy when travelling to China.

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Are medical specialists biased?

November 30, 2006

Of course they are, says this doctor:
Now, it’s a mathematical certainty (and simple common-sense) that the more the tests you perform, the higher the likelihood that at least one will be abnormal. If you perform a panel of over 20 tests for any woman, at least one (or even more) are going to be “abnormal”. [...]

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A doctor gives a woman 300mg of IV Phenergan for nausea

November 30, 2006

This is a lethal dose. An osteopathic surgeon (not exactly sure what that is - a DO perhaps?) had to change his name due to the 110 other malpractice suits against him.

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Racial differences in end-of-life care

November 30, 2006

A study suggests that black patients are more likely than white patients to prefer life-sustaining care when confronted with an incurable illness or serious mental and physical disabilities.

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Hospitals banning cellphones for profit?

November 30, 2006

Recent studies have demonstrated the safety of cellphones in the hospitals. Banning them forces patients to pay the hospital for telephone access:
But it reveals that Health Service authorities have prohibited their use after signing deals with private telephone providers.
These firms, which have installed bedside entertainment systems under the Government’s ‘Patient Power’ policy, have made [...]

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An 11 year-old boy with leukemia is selling ad space on his forehead

November 30, 2006

He wants to raise money for the Bone Marrow Registry:
The sixth-grader said many people have visited his Web site but there have been no bidders.
“I hope that people start bidding on it now, before it ends Dec. 6 and that’s all I can hope for,” Pedraja said. “Bidding will not only help you by advertising, [...]

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Confessions of a phlebotomist

November 30, 2006

Some stories from the hospital “vampires“:
It never seems to amaze me in the winter, people walk in with the big, bulk coat sit in the draw chair, and then say “oh, do I have to take my coat off?” how do you expect me to get the blood, I love to say, “no keep the [...]

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An EMT punches a psychiatric patient

November 30, 2006

No matter what the circumstance, this is not allowed.

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Physicians and conflict of interest: Patients don’t care

November 30, 2006

A vast majority just want to get better:
Medical and professional societies have increasingly urged doctors to reveal all such conflicts of interest so patients can judge whether their doctor may have more than their health at heart. But perhaps because they are already overwhelmed by the challenges of their disease, most patients said they did [...]

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So, does $41 billion help with wait times in Canada?

November 30, 2006

Uh, they don’t seem to know.

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Hooray New Hampshire!

November 30, 2006

First state to offer the HPV vaccine free to girls 11 to 18. It’s nice to be in the Granite State.

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A health risk of prayer

November 30, 2006

Praying-induced oromandibular dystonia:
This general kind of problem is called “focal dystonia”. It’s the involuntary fluttering of muscles that one ordinarily controls masterfully. It arises, somewhat mysteriously, in a few extraordinarily unlucky people who perform “a highly stereotyped and frequently repeated motor task”. It’s what happens in writer’s cramp, and in the eyelid twitching known as [...]

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Importance of a second opinion

November 30, 2006

Eye-opening stat. More than half of breast cancer patients had their treatment plan changed after being reviewed by a tumor board:
Researchers looked at the records of 149 consecutive patients referred to the U-M Cancer Center’s multidisciplinary breast tumor board for a second opinion. The patients had already been diagnosed with breast cancer after having [...]

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"Everyone wants to be a plasticologist"

November 30, 2006

More doctors are leaving their fields for cosmetic medicine. Blame Medicare and third-party reimbursement for this:
Five years ago, cosmetic medicine was primarily the domain of plastic surgeons, facial surgeons and dermatologists “” medical school graduates who undergo several years of training in facial skin and its underlying anatomy. But now obstetricians, family practitioners and [...]

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UK’s P4P from the front lines

November 30, 2006

Dr. Crippen says doctors are in a no-win PR position:
My pay has gone up approximately 25% over the last two years. That extra money has been earned by hitting government targets. The targets were set by the government, not by us, and mostly have little to do with health care, but a lot to do [...]

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