Posts tagged as:

patient

Support for the patient centered medical home in the House health reform bill

November 6, 2009

by Thomas C. Bent, MD
As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on its historic health care reform bill on Saturday, family physicians are heartened to see the support it gives to the emerging new model of care, the patient centered medical home.
The House bill is good news on many fronts. It would provide health [...]

8 comments Read the full article →

What is the best insulin regimen for patients with diabetes?

November 6, 2009

Originally published in Insidermedicine
The best method for taking insulin among individuals with type 2 diabetes has been identified in research published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

0 comments Read the full article →

Vaccines do not cause autism in children, whether or not they have inborn errors of metabolism

November 6, 2009

Originally published in MedPage Today
by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent
Vaccination does not appear to cause autism or other health problems in children with inborn errors of metabolism, a researcher said here.
In a retrospective analysis, children with such conditions were not more likely than normal children to visit emergency rooms or need hospital [...]

3 comments Read the full article →

Did Nidal Malik Hasan suffer from compassion fatigue or vicarious traumatization?

November 6, 2009

There are many tragic questions emerging from today’s massacre at Fort Hood.  The one I’m interested in is why a reportedly mild-mannered psychiatrist, a specialist in disaster and preventive psychiatry no less, would make the decision to open fire on his fellow soldiers.
One reason may be so-called compassion fatigue, also known as vicarious traumatization [...]

18 comments Read the full article →

Are nurse unions using the H1N1 flu pandemic as a bargaining ploy?

November 5, 2009

by Toni Brayer, MD
Only in the United States could a virus like H1N1 bring out the worst in medical politics and greed. We are facing a pandemic that requires coordination, communication and the best of medical practice. But what are we getting? Strikes, lawsuits and anything but putting patients first.
The California Nurse Association (CNA), is [...]

4 comments Read the full article →

Health care social networking basics for doctors

November 5, 2009

Originally published in HCPLive.com
by Enoch Choi, MD
Patients have embraced social networking tools that allow them to share information, offer support, and compare healthcare experiences. Physicians should also use these tools to connect with their patients and local communities and provide general medical information.
Healthcare social networking has made impressive inroads into the mainstream, as like-minded [...]

7 comments Read the full article →

Clostridium difficile infection is spreading from the hospital to the community

November 5, 2009

Originally published in MedPage Today
by Charles Bankhead, MedPage Today Staff Writer
Clostridium difficile infection has spread from the hospital to the community but has proved manageable thus far.
From 1991 to 2005, the incidence of community-acquired C. difficile in Olmsted County, Minn., quadrupled but still remained less common than the hospital-acquired gastrointestinal infection, Sahil Khanna, MD, [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

How getting a viral infection can be beautiful

November 5, 2009

If getting sick weren’t so miserable, I’m sure more can appreciate the beauty of this video.
MedGadget points us to this NPR piece featuring Xvivo, a company that produces impressive medical and scientific animations. This one shows us how viruses infect cells and reproduce themselves.
Enjoy.

0 comments Read the full article →

Diagnosing and treating disease is only a small part of a doctor’s job

November 4, 2009

by Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD
If asked what a doctor does, most people would probably come up with the standard description of diagnosing and treating disease, usually while wearing an ill-fitting white coat. Before I entered practice, even during my medical training that probably would have been my answer too.
But my years in the trenches of [...]

6 comments Read the full article →

How long should children stay out of school after H1N1 flu?

November 4, 2009

Originally published in MedPage Today
by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent
Children appear to shed particles of the H1N1 pandemic flu virus longer than adults do, which may have implications for how long they stay out of school, a researcher said here.
The finding comes from an analysis of an outbreak in a Pennsylvania elementary [...]

3 comments Read the full article →

Christian Science prayer should not be a part of health reform

November 4, 2009

Hidden in the Senate version of health reform is wording that would require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments.
Although not expected to be a big expense, this is causing some consternation, as it blurs the line between church and state. And this would likely invite other religious groups to organize, so they [...]

12 comments Read the full article →

Football is linked to dementia, and why it should be banned from high schools

November 3, 2009

by Brian E. Moore, MD
Two neuropathologists are prominently spotlighted in an article by Malcolm Gladwell in the October 19 issue of The New Yorker. The article explores a provocative question raised by autopsy results on football players: namely, should football be illegal?
Featured are Dr. Ann McKee, neuropathologist at the Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts and [...]

18 comments Read the full article →

Do antipsychotic drugs cause weight gain in children?

November 3, 2009

Originally published in Insidermedicine
Second-generation antipsychotic drugs can produce unwanted weight gain and other metabolic effects among children and youths after only a few weeks, according to research published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

0 comments Read the full article →

H1N1 vaccine adverse events, and how to reassure patients

November 3, 2009

Originally published in MedPage Today
by Crystal Phend, MedPage Today Senior Staff Writer
Failure to account for background rates when considering adverse events from pandemic H1N1 flu vaccination could spark public panic, researchers cautioned.
Coincidental cases of dramatic events including sudden death, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and spontaneous abortion can be expected to boost the true incidence of adverse [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Should tobacco companies pay for smokers’ CT scans to screen for lung cancer?

November 3, 2009

According to a potential ruling in Massachusetts, tobacco companies will have to pay for smokers’ screening CT scans.
The Boston Globe (via Doug Farrago) writes that the decision “would allow thousands of other Massachusetts smokers to join the lawsuit, which covers people 50 or older who have smoked at least one pack a day of Marlboro [...]

11 comments Read the full article →

Does the tort-based medical malpractice system improve patient care?

November 2, 2009

by Michael Kirsch, MD
Physicians and plaintiff attorneys have philosophically divergent views on our tort system. I know the attorneys’ views on this issue well. There are lawyers in my family who have prosecuted physicians for alleged medical malpractice. Sometimes, there hasn’t been enough antacids in our house to douse my flaming heartburn after some of [...]

37 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Site Meter