If I’m learning anything from working locum tenens jobs, it’s that there is a wide, mind-numbing variety of electronic medical records (EMR) systems in place around the country. At my primary work site, we use Med-Host. Like every EMR, it has some bugs. But having seen other systems in other places, it’s clearly a Cadillac product in a great, big car lot of Yugos.
I’m not going to disparage other systems ...
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I just finished reading Neil Gaiman’s fascinating novel, Gods of America. I first learned about his work by watching the movie Stardust, then reading the novel.
One of the themes of Gods of America is that the deities of the old world came to America in the hearts of their followers, but over time lose their followers and thus their power. A war is arranged between the ...
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Our nurses will soon have "scripting" guidelines for their interactions with patients. This is apparently widespread in many industries. The idea being, patients will be more satisfied with their care if certain key phrases are repeated to them; phrases which might, possibly, just maybe find their way onto satisfaction surveys. Wink, wink!
Whether I will have to engage in this tawdry bit of theater remains to be seen. But bless the ...
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Dear hospitalists,
This is just a note to say that we, in emergency medicine, appreciate you. Like all of us, you are stuck in an endless loop of unending residency. Don’t worry, it isn’t an episode of The Twilight Zone. It’s just your life. No, it’s our life!
As specialty after specialty withdraws from the practice of medicine, you, and all of us, ...
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My patient was brought by EMS after a respiratory, and subsequent cardiac, arrest. She could not be intubated in the field, and I did so on her arrival. We actually restored some circulation, albeit not much. Over the course of an hour, despite our best efforts, she became blue again, with lividity pooling in her flanks. I ...
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"Hi, I’m Edwin, and I own firearms!"
Right now, in the shadow of the horrors of the Sandy Hook shooting, it feels as if every gun-owner is on edge. Some are apologizing, distancing themselves from gun advocacy groups. Some are saying all the right words, "well, my target gun is locked in a safe." Like telling your Baptist Preacher grandpa, "my whisky is in a cabinet and is only for medicinal ...
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Most modern American are familiar with the classic political novel, Atlas Shrugged. Love or hate it, the novel had a great impact on political thinking in the West. If you haven’t read it, or aren’t familiar, one of the fundamental questions author Ayn Rand asks is this: what if the producers and innovators of society simply stopped trying? What if they ...
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I recently treated two young men, both injured in the same football game. On the way out, one passed the other in the hall, injuries treated and dressed. "See you next game!" they said. They laughed and looked forward to the struggle.
My wife and I have tried to raise our kids that way. To enjoy life, to move through difficulty and injury. They suffer from having a physician father, so ...
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When I was a resident physician, I had the coolest classmates ever. We worked together, laughed together, learned together and many of us stay in touch to this day. Our practices have crossed the gamut of emergency medicine, with some in academics, some in private practice, some administrators, two involved in auto-racing medicine, one a bush-pilot/fishing guide and one an amateur mountaineer.
But one of the things that united us, one ...
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Customer satisfaction is quite the rage these days. Many stores and restaurants, many professional offices, hand out surveys, or ask customers to log onto their survey site on the Internet. As a reward, one may win everything from a free sandwich to an iPad.
I’d be interested to know how customer satisfaction played out in my home. "Kids, now you’ve had a week of school-work. Please fill out the attached survey ...
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"A comprehensive and extremely useful roadmap for doctors."
-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
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Past 6 Months
Dear lawmakers: This is what it’s like to be a doctor today
Matthew Moeller, MD | PhysicianA gun owner responds to Sandy Hook
Edwin Leap, MD | PhysicianIs Chris Christie too obese to run for president?
Jeffrey Parks, MD | PhysicianPrimary care doctors may no longer be needed
Doug Olson, MD | PhysicianWalgreens moves into primary care, and it’s our own damn fault
Kevin Pho, MD | Kevin's TakeIf I’m wrong about guns, can you please explain why?
Claire McCarthy, MD | Physician