Originally posted in MedPage Todayby Todd Neale, MedPage Today Staff WriterSanofi Pasteur has recalled about 800,000 pediatric doses of its vaccine against pandemic H1N1 influenza because of low potency, the CDC announced, but the agency is not calling for revaccinations.
The recalled doses come from four lots of 0.25-mL prefilled syringes for pediatric use in both 10-packs (lot numbers UT023DA, ...
December 2009
All Stories
AMA weighs in on the Senate health reform bill
The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American Medical Association.by J. James Rohack, M.D.As the year winds down, health system reform continues to move forward. The Senate bill currently under debate includes a number of provisions that are consistent with the AMA’s reform priorities, some provisions we oppose and others that need to be improved to better benefit patients and physicians. As part ...
How Twitter will impact health care in 2010
Originally published in HCPLive.comMDNG interviews Phil Baumann about the future of Twitter and social media in health care. 
Way back in January, Phil Baumann, RN, provided an empathic answer to the question/concern that was on everyone’s mind then: “Yeah, Twitter seems great and all, but can you use it for anything useful in healthcare?”Taking things to the extreme, ...
Why doctors and hospitals oppose expanding Medicare
Originally published in MedPage Todayby Emily P. Walker, MedPage Today Washington CorrespondentThe notion of a public health insurance plan appears to be evaporating from the Senate's healthcare reform bill, replaced in part with an expansion of Medicare -- an idea that's meeting resistance from doctor and hospital associations. A proposal to scrap the public plan to allow people as young ...
Avoid social networking pitfalls for physicians
More doctors are using social media than ever, and that's a good thing.One thing to be careful of, however, is how easy it is to share confidential patient information.That issue is explored in a recent article from Massachusetts Medical Law Report, where I, along with others like Healthblawg's David Harlow and Sermo's Daniel Palestrant, are quoted in the piece.Although it seems like common sense not to reveal patient information, I ...
What’s a typical day of a primary care doctor like?
It’s common knowledge that fewer medical students are entering primary care and that patients are having a hard time finding a primary care doctor. Part of the reason is that insurance companies place little value on much of the work that primary care doctors do.Even though physicians’ complaints are seen in the medical and lay media, it is rare to see descriptions of a primary care physician’s “typical day” in ...
Treat cluster headaches by inhaling pure oxygen
Originally published in InsidermedicineInhaling pure oxygen at a fast rate can reduce or even eliminate the pain of cluster headaches, according to a study published in the December 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.classid='clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000' codebase='http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,0,0' WIDTH='385' HEIGHT='239' id='play_continuous_flvs'> ...
How doctors can stay up to date with current medical information
Originally published in MedPage Todayby Todd Neale, MedPage Today Staff WriterWith the amount of research being published in medical journals and presented at meetings, it should not be surprising when a new finding slips by a busy physician. Nor should it be surprising, then, that some decisions about patient care might be made without benefit of the most recent evidence.Although ...
Poll: How to control costs in end of life, or terminal, care
It's estimated that up to 30 percent of the 50 billion dollars Medicare spends on end of life care has no meaningful impact on patients.Is there a rational way to control costs when it comes to terminal care?Most patients want to spend their last days at home, but 75 percent die in either a hospital or nursing home. Almost 20 percent of terminal patients end up in intensive care settings.Worse, ...
The risk of death from OxyContin and other narcotic drugs
Originally published in InsidermedicineThe alarming risk of death associated with the use of prescribed narcotic drugs, particularly OxyContin, is highlighted in a study published in the latest issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.id="play_continuous_flvs" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="385" height="239" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
Ten popular health blog posts, November 2009
Here are the top posts from the past month, based on the number of times they were viewed.1. What Lego would look like in a CT scan2. Did Nidal Malik Hasan suffer from compassion fatigue or vicarious traumatization?3. How long should children stay out of school after H1N1 flu?4. Discharged from the hospital without answers; the death of Jane Q. Patient5. How training to become ...
Why juvenile delinquency may lead to poor adult health
Originally published in MedPage Todayby Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American CorrespondentBad boys grow up to be sick men, researchers say.In a long-running British study of juvenile delinquency in boys, death and disability at age 48 were strongly linked to antisocial behavior in youth, according to Jonathan Shepherd, PhD, of Cardiff University in Wales, and colleagues.The imbalances in mortality and disability ...
Some patients won’t accept a conservative approach to medical treatment
by Michael Kirsch, MDWho says one person can’t make a difference? This past week, I personally set back health care reform. No, I wasn’t attending a ‘tea party’ or decrying Obamacare in a venomous letter to the editor. I single-handedly bent the health care cost curve in the wrong direction. I performed an unnecessary medical test on a hospitalized patient, which exposed her to risk and cost the system money. ...
Doctors need to take care of themselves, for their patients’ sake
by Nancy Rappaport, MDIn order to be truly effective in our work, we physicians need to conduct our own personal exploration, take time for introspection, and replenish our personal reserves. Part of our job is to balance the demands of our work (be they finding a cure for cancer, caring for terminally ill patients, solving the problems of healthcare or delivering twins—whatever our calling may be) with caring for ourselves. ...
Should health care workers go to jail for medical errors?
Two years ago, I wrote about the case of Julie Thao, the Wisconsin nurse sent to prison for a medication error. I argued then that – although Julie bypassed some safety rules – she most certainly did not deserve jail time.Along comes another case involving jail time for a medical mistake, this one featuring an Ohio pharmacist named Eric ...
Is constipation a sign of early Parkinson’s disease?
Originally published in MedPage Todayby Charles Bankhead, MedPage Today Staff WriterConstipation may represent one of the earliest signs of Parkinson's disease, preceding the onset of motor symptoms by two decades or more, data from a case-control study suggest. Patients with Parkinson's disease were more than twice as likely to report a history of constipation compared with a control population. The ...
Primary care needs more sex appeal
Cardiologist Dr. Wes gives his take on primary care's demise, asking, "How does one go about putting the 'sexy' back in primary care?"He contends that the sex appeal of primary care has been completely neutered. Indeed, paperwork and pre-authorization responsibilities overwhelm the professional satisfaction of the field. The purported savior, the patient centered medical home, comes with heavy regulation, putting its potential in doubt.He also supports what ...
Should body mass index (BMI) be used as a college graduation requirement?
It's official. America hates fat people.Human beings are constantly searching for socially sanctioned reasons to feel superior to others and in 2009, those who are thin feel mighty superior to those who are not. How else could a college dare to make body mass index (BMI) a graduation requirement?According to James DeBoy, the chair of Lincoln's Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, the point of the new policy is ...
Will electronic records raise the legal standard of care and increase malpractice risk?
Originally published in HCPLive.comby Robert J. Mintz, JDAs EHRs are widely adopted and the quantity of information about a patient expands dramatically, does provider liability increase even if the quality of care is vastly improved? What happens if the quality of care really does get better but because of all the new and easily accessible information, the standard of care ...
How well can doctors diagnose child abuse from bone fractures?
Originally published in MedPage Todayby Chris Emery, MedPage Today Contributing WriterPhysicians often misdiagnose bone fractures caused by child abuse as accidental breaks, particularly if the child is male and the doctor is not a pediatrician, a new study found. Of children who suffered fractures from abuse, about 20% had at least one previous medical visit during which a doctor missed ...
Kevin Pho, MD
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Why more primary care doctors are referring patients to specialists
According to a recent study from the Archives of Internal Medicine, primary care physicians are referring more patients to specialists than ever...
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Should Google censor anti-vaccine claims?
One of the reasons there is such a movement against vaccines is the democratization of information, perpetuated by search engines like Google....
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Radiologists who cheat on their board exams: Who’s to blame?
In a widely circulated CNN article, many radiologists have been found to cheat on their board exams: "Doctors around the country taking an...
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Doctors: Don’t be ashamed about going bankrupt
Are doctors really going broke? According to this piece from CNN Money, some are: "Doctors list shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations, rising...
Physician
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Patients will understand an honest mistake if the doctor tells the truth
It was 1976 and I was a junior resident in urology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. I was assigned...
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Diagnosing an illness is an art
Diagnosis is the foundation on which all care and treatments rest. If the diagnosis is wrong, most probably so is the treatment. ...
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Physicians have a natural role as advocates
As physicians, we are often called upon to be advocates for our patients. Sometimes they have no other person to turn to....
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Our society expends huge sums on futile care
Mike was a runner, outdoors-man, and fitness nut. This was not so much as for health reasons as for "feeling good", but...
Patient
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How will the Baby Boomers age and die?
I love listening to life stories. As a hospice chaplain, I loved sitting with our patients and their loved ones engaging in...
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Patient engagement is the holy grail of health care
For health care professionals, patient engagement is the holy grail of health care. It is the key to patient adherence – a...
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Why do doctors delay hospice referrals?
This is a response to Deb Discenza's article requesting a one page informational sheet informing a patient about hospice or palliative care. This would...
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How touch can calm patients
So, Megen at Not Nurse Ratched wrote post recently about therapeutic presence. The following passage really caught my attention: "Question is: are...
Policy
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A lack of incentive for medical schools to train primary care doctors
A social media movement is happening before our eyes with action starting to take shape. The #occupyhealthcare movement has begun within to...
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What should be the stated aim of health care in America?
The triple aim of health care, as defined by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is: improving the experience of care, bettering...
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How Moneyball applies to healthcare
The storyline is familiar. An organization is challenged to achieve better results without spending more money. An executive is committed to obtaining...
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The problem of insurance gaps in cancer patients
Why are cancer organizations waiting until it starts to rain before they suggest buying an umbrella? “Join my Medicare Advantage plan and...
Tech
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Repetition is the curse of the doctor-patient engagement
How many times as a doctor do you ask the same questions over and over again as part of the routine process...
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Why the prognosis of patients is difficult
Many clinical decisions in older persons are dependent on life expectancy. For example, as life expectancy declines, cancer screening is likely to...
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Innovative technologies can markedly enhance safety
“To Err Is Human” is the title of the now famous book from the Institute of Medicine on patient safety published about...
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Google knows more about certain diseases than physicians ever will
Professor Gunter Dueck, is a calm and eloquent german mathematician who’s also the CTO of IBM Germany. He studied mathematics and philosophy...
Social Media
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The Internet is where patients go for pre-visit consultations
As a physician, technology cannot replace you, but it can make you more efficient and effective. This was the message from Richard...
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5 ways doctors can benefit from professional connections
Looking ahead to the next several months, I’ve found myself frequently wondering how many physicians will make this their year to take...
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Twitter Is my third office location
The physician’s decision to first dive into social media can be stress-inducing. Issues of time management, maintaining professionalism, and determining a return...
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The impact of social media on a physician assistant
The impact of social media on medicine could arguably be compared to the impact of the industrial revolution on the human condition....
