by John Gever Up to one-third of children with febrile bacterial infections failed to receive antibiotics in a large emergency department, while 20% of youngsters without such infections received antibiotics unnecessarily, Australian researchers said. A computer algorithm based on standard test results could do a better job of assigning feverish children to the correct treatment sooner, Jonathan C. Craig, MBChB, PhD, of the University of Sydney, and colleagues reported online in BMJ. Although ...

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One of the biggest emergency room problems is contacting patients after they leave. Patients sometimes leave false contact information -- which makes it difficult for the emergency room staff should problems arise after the visit. The issue was illustrated in a piece from msnbc.com. Many times, results like blood cultures or x-ray findings take time to return. And if there's something that needs to be acted upon, contacting the ...

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An excerpt from How to Survive a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit: The Physician's Roadmap for Success. by Ilene R. Brenner, MD The most important part of your case is upon you: the pretrial deposition. If you do a poor job, you can ruin your case and make a defensible lawsuit become indefensible. So what is a deposition? It is the sworn testimony of a witness taken before trial, in a location ...

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by Chris Emery Acne patients who received online treatment from dermatologists had similar outcomes to patients who were treated in the doctor's office, a new study found. Patients who participated in "e-visits" with dermatologists experienced similar reductions in inflammatory lesions as those who had office visits, Alice J. Watson, MBChB, MRCP, MPH, of the Center for Connected Health in Boston, and colleagues wrote in the report, published online April 19 in the ...

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I speak with many physicians who are interested in leaving clinical medicine to pursue an alternative career (non-clinical job) and they always seem to ask the same types of questions. Let's dig into some of those "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)" by exploring some common questions that are rooted in myths and misconceptions. Here are some questions that I get all the time from physicians who are considering a career transition: 1. How ...

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Last week my wife and best friend, Elaine, had massive abdominal surgery. We fully expected her to be an inpatient for a week, but she was home in four and half days. To watch her recover was to see what happens when everything converges: the deep knowledge and skills of excellent, humane physicians; a capable, caring clinical staff; wonderful new technologies; and a lifetime of eating right, being fit and ...

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by Charles Bankhead For nearly a quarter of cardiologist respondents, malpractice concerns influenced their decisions to order tests or treatment for hypothetical cases included in a national survey. Almost 30% of cardiologists acknowledged ordering cardiac catheterization because colleagues did so in the same situation, according to an article published online in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality Outcomes. Concerns about malpractice had a significant association with regional use of tests and treatment, Frances Lee Lucas, PhD, ...

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Are emergency departments solely responsible for the bulk of unnecessary tests? Most would like to believe so, but emergency physician Edwin Leap says that's not the case. He cites an instance involving a primary care doctor and hospitalist:

Local physician, who does not admit to the hospital, sees patient in the office. Patient has uncontrolled hypertension and is having some chest pain and shortness of breath. Local physician contacts hospitalist. ...

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Health care in the United States costs too much, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change. Recent health care reform legislation doesn’t take any meaningful steps towards reducing or controlling costs. In fact, it explicitly forbids states from trying to curtail the costs of malpractice litigation in any way that would reduce lawyers’ fees. How does a fear of lawsuits increase costs? The most direct way is ...

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by Crystal Phend Lack of insurance and financial concerns keep patients from treating a heart attack like the emergency it is, researchers affirmed. A delay in getting to the hospital for treatment of acute MI was 38% more likely among the uninsured and 21% more likely among insured patients with financial concerns, reported Paul S. Chan, MD, MSc, Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., and colleagues. More than two in every ...

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