by Maya SequeiraComposer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s death in 1791 has long been a mystery, but a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that it was, of all things, a common strep infection that killed the maestro at the age of 35.Researchers speculate that Mozart contracted the strep infection—easily treatable today—from a fellow musician who had been hospitalized at a crowded military hospital in Vienna. It’s not ...
September 2009
All Stories
The drama of using tPA in stroke within the three-hour window
Before telling this story, I’m going to have to lay some background for my non-medical readers.The most obscene word in English, in my opinion, has three letters and is an acronym. It’s tPA (it stands for Tissue Plasminogen Activator).This drug gets a lot of press as a "clotbuster." It has the potential to break down clots and reverse a stroke. That potential, however, has a dark side. By breaking down ...
eRoentgen for the iPhone puts a radiologist by your side
The following is a sponsored guest post by Constantine Brocoum, a radiologist in Concord, NH. I have personally used eRoentgen, and recommend the product without reservation. by Constantine Brocoum, MDLike most inventions, eRoentgen was developed to respond to a need. As a practicing radiologist, I take frequent calls from primary care providers who need assistance in choosing the smartest way to diagnose their patients’ illnesses. They often need ...
10 things your insured patients need to know about health care reform
by Paula Hartman CohenMy husband and I live in Massachusetts, a state that already has health care reform.On April 12, 2006, our state legislature enacted a law requiring all residents to have health insurance.They could buy it themselves, they could buy it from their employer through a group plan or, if their income was below a certain level, they could buy it from the state at a reduced rate. This ...
Why do people cling to false health reform beliefs?
Blame motivated reasoning.Newsweek's Sharon Begley writes about the phenomenon, which goes a long way why the myth about "death panels" continues to persist in the health reform conversation. She cites the work of sociologist Steve Hoffman, who explains: "Rather than search rationally for information that either confirms or disconfirms a particular belief, people actually seek out information that confirms what they already believe."And with a growing majority obtaining ...
Does being on the America’s Best Hospitals list affect patient outcomes?
by Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage TodayA news magazine's rankings of top-rated hospitals for heart failure care did not include many hospitals that performed at least as well as the ranked centers, according to a comparison of the magazine's list and government data.
Hospitals that made the U.S. News & World Report list had a better 30-day mortality than ...
How can you convince doctors to limit care?
In the discussion of cutting health care costs, it's often pointed out that the doctor's pen is the most expensive piece of technology.Hospitalist Bob Wachter talks about the medical profession's zeal to "do everything" as a major driver of health spending. So, how can we stem this tide?Doctors are programmed to advocate passionately for the patient in front of them, with little regard for the macroeconomic impact of ...
H1N1 rap and a swine flu freestyle
Dr. John Clarke is the medical director of the Long Island Railroad and raps some sweet rhymes to H1N1."Hand sanatiza I advise ya get it why, it makes germs die when you rub and let it dry."Genius.width="425" height="344">width="425" height="344">
How hospitalists can provide high quality patient care at the lowest possible cost
Much has been made of the superior performance – on both cost and quality – of integrated health care organizations like the Mayo and Geisinger Clinics. But since the defining characteristic of these standout systems is at least 50 years of integrated history, few believe that the rest of us – namely the docs and hospitals that provide the bulk of American health care – can quickly achieve such seamless ...
Are generic drugs truly equivalent to brand name medications?
In an effort to cut prescription drug costs, there is constant pressure to switch from brand name medications to their generic equivalents.But in this special report from MedPage Today, there may be some variability between generic medications that can lead to clinical symptoms. However, most of the data is anecdotal, and at best, based on retrospective data.For instance, when it comes to anti-seizure medications, some neurologists are cautioning ...
The ultrasound that saved a baby girl’s life
by Linda Lee, MDBob Hebert, in his column in The New York Times, recently wrote that, "Life in the United States is mind-bogglingly violent. But we should take particular notice of the staggering amounts of violence brought down on the nation’s women and girls each and every day for no other reason than who they are. They are attacked because they are female."As a family physician I can ...
Talking health care reform and social media in medicine
I've made several radio appearances recently, so here's your chance to listen to me, in case you can't get enough of the blog.
A few weeks ago, I appeared on Barbara Ficarra's Health in 30 Radio Show talking about social media and medicine. Are doctors behind the curve when it comes to social media? Is the medical profession slow ...
Can a free market in health care really exist?
by James Matthew WeberSome like to talk about a "free market fix" to health care. However, health care and free markets are a contradiction.A free market is an environment where neither the buyer or the seller is compelled to act. There is also an assumption of some level of transparency within the market. In other words, consumers and sellers know what goods and services cost, and can shop around ...
Should patients bear some responsibility when doctors miss a diagnosis?
Missing a diagnosis is, obviously, something both doctors and patients continually want to avoid.But when it happens, is it completely the doctor's fault? That's a question Pauline Chen addresses in a recent column. When it pertains to primary care, it all comes down to followup. She cites a recent study looking at breast cancer diagnoses and found that, "roughly a quarter of patients had experienced process ...
What can health reform in the United States learn from Africa?
As an outside observer of the American health reform debate, I cannot help but notice the disparity of views, the fractured arguments, the protectionism and desperation. My country is in a similar struggle for health care reform, with the main difference being America is a rich nation, and we are poor by comparison. In both debates, however, I have looked for the humanitarian argument, and in many cases found it ...
How Twitter and blogging helped a patient with cancer
Here's a fascinating slideshow presentation from a patient who took to Twitter and started a blog after being diagnosed with cancer.Take a look at how social media helped him. His name is Maarten Lens-FitzGerald, and he blogs at Maartens Journey.
Maartens Journey presentation for Healthcare 2.0 event style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355">
Is alternative health a form of fundamentalism?
There once was a time when all food was organic and no pesticides were used. Health problems were treated with folk wisdom and natural remedies. There was no obesity, and people got lots of exercise. And in that time gone by, the average lifespan was ... 35!That’s right. For most of human existence, according to fossil and anthropological data, the average human lifespan was 35 years. As recently as 1900, ...
Don’t leave us behind, the official song of health reform
A poignant, and non-partisan, take on how patients are excluded from the health reform process.width="430" height="412" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/9dXbafOQmDM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash">
Is the test that finds the most cancers the best?
When it comes to mammograms, not always.I've written previously that the major problem in cancer screening tests is that they are not specific enough. With both PSA tests looking for prostate cancer and mammograms screening for breast cancer, many lumps or lesions that are slow-growing will be diagnosed, but not necessarily lead to a patient's death.A good piece in the Los Angeles Times outlines the breast cancer screening ...
PSA screening and the overdiagnosis of prostate cancer
by Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage TodayOnly one of every 20 prostate cancer diagnoses leads to a benefit that would not have been realized without PSA screening, an analysis of 20-year trends suggests. An estimated 1 million excess diagnoses have accrued since 1986, and the incidence of prostate cancer remains well above levels that existed prior to widespread PSA ...
Kevin Pho, MD
-
Why Priscilla Chan may become the country’s most influential doctor
Who has the potential to be the most influential physician of our generation? It's Priscilla Chan, who not only recently graduated from...
-
Confused about prostate cancer screening? Make a shared decision
In a widely anticipated move, the USPSTF officially recommended against prostate cancer screening in healthy men. Case closed, right? Hardly. The prostate...
-
When it comes to doctors and social media, hospitals fail miserably
When it comes to medicine and social media, much of the attention is negative. Doctors losing their hospital privileges because of Facebook....
-
Warren Buffett’s prostate cancer choices aren’t right for every man
A version of this column was published on April 24, 2012 in USA Today. There has been a recent uptick of elderly men...
Physician
-
Why test recalls should not be considered cheating
I was appalled recently by the coverage of radiology “test recalls” by CNN, amplified by Dr. Gary Becker of the American Board...
-
Why physicians are susceptible to hardball tactics
I was invited to a medical staff leadership conference sponsored by our hospital. A company specializing in training physician leaders ran the...
-
How we deliver bad news is critical to how families deal with grief
As a cardiac electrophysiologist, I have had to discuss bad news with patients and families more times than I would like during...
-
His father’s suffering had already been too great
He looked dead. The paramedics brought him down the hall toward one of my critical care beds, and for a moment I...
Patient
-
How death can be a beautiful experience
I was honored to be part of a beautiful experience in late January of 2011. It was the death of my mother-in-law...
-
What meaningful encouragement can be given to someone who is dying?
Theirs is a lonely journey; to be moving towards the separation and end of all things known and loved. Being with a...
-
Health care journalists have tendencies similar to those of doctors
As a patient who was asked to speak at the Association of Health Care Journalists 2012 conference, I felt a bit covert....
-
Adaptation can be painful, but it can also be a gift
Nothing will force you to live life on your own terms faster than almost losing it. In 2008, I was on fire....
Policy
-
What should America’s health care vision be?
America has this paradox of excellent biomedical science, innovative drug manufacturers and entrepreneurial device developers along with outstanding providers but at the...
-
Hospitals around the world aim to remain relevant to patients
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..." So begins a story called A Tale of Two...
-
Repairing the tear in health care’s safety net with social media
The nation’s “safety net” hospitals are designed to ensure that uninsured, lower income and indigent populations receive adequate medical care – a...
-
Look to technology to reduce health costs
Technology to lower costs rather than accelerate them. Smart phones to increase physician and other providers’ productivity. Fewer primary care physicians but...
Tech
-
When patient care becomes secondary to filling out the medical record
The policeman was two cars in front of me. I meandered down the road cautiously adjusting my speed a few ticks above...
-
Doctors, use Google to get more patients in less than 7 minutes
Every month, hundreds of thousands of people look for a doctor on Google. As an amazing practitioner, your site deserves to be...
-
The user interface for EHRs should be uniform
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the physician’s office were the tall cabinets filled with manila folders, tabbed with...
-
EMR liability needs to go further than just the physician
This example of a disaster waiting to happen, in the form of an error-promoting CPOE, is a poster example of why the...
Social Media
-
We need to see the potential harm of social media
Prior to 1794, farms across the world could only pick cotton as fast as humanly possible. In the late 18th century, Eli Whitney...
-
Why social media may not be worth it for doctors
Social media in healthcare is all the rage these days. You can’t visit even one physician-oriented website without someone breathlessly advising you...
-
Transparency defines social media success for doctors
Want to understand social media? Physicians wanting to learn about social media must learn transparency. We must learn transparency on a personal...
-
How Twitter was used in a potential mass casualty scenario
It was my first ER shift in charge of the resuscitation area. Needless to say, my adrenaline and nerves were firing like...
