COBIOPHAD Device Promises Quicker, More Efficient Drug Allergy Diagnosis
The COBIOPHAD (Compact Biophotonic Platform for Drug Allergy Diagnosis) Project, an initiative of the Photonics Public Private Partnership, has led to the development of a faster, low-cost allergy detector device that project coordinators aim to have available in hospitals as soon as in the next five years.
Upwards of 5.4 million Americans exhibit hypersensitivity to β-lactam antibiotics. This class of broad-spectrum antibiotic, which includes penicillin, its derivatives (e.g., amoxicillin), and cephalosporins, is among the most widely prescribed to treat bacterial infections. Of those that suffer from hypersensitivity to...
Source: Medgadget - November 9, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Zach Kaufman Tags: Diagnostics Medicine Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
Welcome to My World: Med Wreck
By HANS DEUVEFELT, MD
Part of a series on primary care challenges and their solutions.
Medication reconciliation is something we do every day, in the clinic and in the hospital. It shouldn’t be as hard as it is.
A patient with multiple medical problems returns for a fifteen minute quarterly visit. He saw his cardiologist three weeks ago and was told to double his metoprolol.
There are two ways to catch this change: when the cardiologist’s office note comes in, or as we check the patient in for his visit.
The cardiologist’s office note, generated by one of the leading EMRs, runs seven pages and contains entries a...
Source: The Health Care Blog - August 10, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Why EHRs are Essential for Patients and Healthcare Providers
Physicians and other health care providers are overworked. The number of patients seen daily has grown dramatically in recent years. In fact, according to a 2012 survey by The Physicians Foundation, 40.7% of American physicians see over 20 patients a day. Such a large caseload presents many opportunities for errors, miscommunication, and omissions. Electronic health records (EHRs) can provide a solution for these issues. What are EHRs? Simply put, EHRs are health records in a digital format. They usually contain all the data of a traditional paper chart plus billing information, imaging and records across different insti...
Source: ePharma Summit - May 13, 2016 Category: Pharmaceuticals Tags: Digital Health eHealth EHR EHR systems Electronic health records Electronic Medical Records ePatient healthcare providers patients' data primary care Primary care doctors Source Type: blogs
How Antibiotics Work
Antibiotics work according to the mechanism of action (what the drug “targets” in microbes or how the drug “works” in the microbe) that is driven by the drug’s distinguishing chemical structure.
Chemical structures also define the “classification” of antibiotics. If you hear doctors talk about “macrolides” versus “quinolones”, they are talking about families of drugs (not “one” specific drug) and they are referring to the way each family of drugs targets microbes.
When you hear about “generations” of an antibiotic, this means the chem...
Source: NAKEDMEDICINE.COM - March 16, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jane Tags: Antibiotics Business of Medicine Critical Consumer Source Type: blogs
Why Concierge is Not Right for Me
Apologies to Mark Twain, but reports of the death of private practice are somewhat exaggerated. There are still plenty of us around and most of us are making out quite well. Not all, though. I’m quite sure the howls murmurs of discontent have reached many ears by now. So much so that many doctors unhappy with the status quo have taken action. One such action is to “go Concierge.”
“Concierge” practice, also known as Retainer medicine, is basically an arrangement where the patient pays a fee up front (generally quoted as an annual figure, often payable in monthly installments) for the doctor&#...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - February 29, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Amoxicillin for Severe Acute Malnutrition via Now@NEJM
Posted on infosnack. (Source: Kidney Notes)
Source: Kidney Notes - February 5, 2016 Category: Urology & Nephrology Authors: Joshua Schwimmer Source Type: blogs
What Do We Know About Medical Errors Associated With Electronic Medical Records?
By ROSS KOPPEL
Recently, the Journal of Patient Safety published a powerful and important article on the role of EHRs in patient harm, errors and malpractice claims. The article is open access. Electronic Health Record–Related Events in Medical Malpractice Claims by Mark L. Graber, Dana Siegal, Heather Riah, Doug Johnston, and Kathy Kenyon.
The article is remarkable for several reasons:
Considerably over 80% of the reported errors involve horrific patient harm: many deaths, strokes, missed and significantly delayed cancer diagnoses, massive hemorrhage, 10-fold overdoses, ignored or lost critical lab results, ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - January 11, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Beware of predatory journals when it comes to homeopathy studies
An August, 2015 study in Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine is being touted as evidence that homeopathy is as effective as antibiotics for respiratory infections in children. It doesn’t show that at all — in fact, it doesn’t show anything, except that crappy studies in crappy journals can nonetheless be used to manipulate opinion. Beware.
First, the study itself. Researchers in Italy looked at about 90 children with ordinary colds. All of them were given a homeopathic product that the authors claimed had already been shown to be effective for cough (that’s not actually true, but let’s let it slide for now...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 9, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Roy Benaroch, MD Tags: Meds Infectious disease Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
Galacto-oligosaccharide: an extra special prebiotic?
In this study, a somewhat different form of GOS, a trans form, was used.)
GOS, 4 grams twice per day (total 8 grams per day), given to adults over 50 substantially increased the numbers of bifidobacteria: Walton 2012.
GOS, 2.5 grams three times per day (total 7.5 grams per day) partially mitigated the adverse effects of the antibiotic, amoxicillin, on bifidobacteria populations: Ladirat 2014.
GOS 5 to 10 grams per day, but not 2.5 grams per day, increased bifidobacteria populations: Davis 2014.
In an experimental mouse model of colitis, GOS dramatically reduced colon inflammation and increased bifidobacteria populations: G...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - September 5, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle bowel flora gluten grains microbiota Source Type: blogs
Test your medicine knowledge: 84-year-old man with cough and nasal congestion
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
An 84-year-old man is evaluated for a 5-day history of rhinitis, nasal congestion, sneezing, and nonproductive cough. The symptoms began with a sore throat, which resolved after 24 hours. He has mild ear pain when blowing his nose or coughing. He has a history of coronary artery disease and hypertension. Medications are aspirin, metoprolol, and hydrochlorothiazide.
On physical examination, temperature is 36.5 °C (97.7 °F), blood pressure is 130/72 mm Hg, pulse rate is 82/min, and respiration rate is 16/min. He...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 5, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: mksap Tags: Conditions Primary care Source Type: blogs
Post #42 A book review - Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
In his breathtaking book, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, Atul Gawande (one of my favorite authors) elegantly describes three different modalities of patient counseling that doctors employ. The first is the oldest and most traditional approach, a paternalistic relationship. The doctor not only has the knowledge to guide the patient, but also possesses the experience and wisdom to make decisions on their behalf. The second type of relationship is termed "informative." Here the doctor informs you about the facts and figures related to your medical problem, along the lines of a talk...
Source: A Pediatrician's Blog - August 10, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
A Patient's Lie Masks the Cause of Chest Pain
A man in his 30s comes to your emergency department at 3 a.m. profoundly diaphoretic and reporting severe 10/10 chest pain. He has been at a party all night, and the chest pain started about 30 minutes earlier. He had a previous heart attack, but cannot remember many of the details. He reports no medication or drug use. No doubt this is a concerning presentation, and you immediately order an ECG, blood work, and an aspirin.
While this is in process, you review the electronic medical information, which reveals that the previous “heart attack” was actually observation for chest pain rule-out. The ECG showed nonspecifi...
Source: Spontaneous Circulation - July 1, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Dabbling in Dentistry
Most people will experience dental pain or a dental complication at some point in their lives. Dental pain is an incredibly common complaint by people of all ages, especially those who lack dental insurance and suitable hygiene habits. Sometimes, though, poor dentition or injury is simply a result of bad luck. Patients often present to the ED hoping to find a dentist and an answer to their problems.
Your first thought? “I am not a dentist. What am I going to do?” You’re right to an extent. We are not dentists, and often feel we have little to offer patients for acute issues that require equipment we don’t have a...
Source: The Procedural Pause - July 1, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
A Patient's Lie Masks the Cause of Chest Pain
A man in his 30s comes to your emergency department at 3 a.m. profoundly diaphoretic and reporting severe 10/10 chest pain. He has been at a party all night, and the chest pain started about 30 minutes earlier. He had a previous heart attack, but cannot remember many of the details. He reports no medication or drug use. No doubt this is a concerning presentation, and you immediately order an ECG, blood work, and an aspirin.
While this is in process, you review the electronic medical information, which reveals that the previous “heart attack” was actually observation for chest pain rule-out. The ECG showed nonspeci...
Source: Spontaneous Circulation - July 1, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Dabbling in Dentistry
Most people will experience dental pain or a dental complication at some point in their lives. Dental pain is an incredibly common complaint by people of all ages, especially those who lack dental insurance and suitable hygiene habits. Sometimes, though, poor dentition or injury is simply a result of bad luck. Patients often present to the ED hoping to find a dentist and an answer to their problems.
Your first thought? “I am not a dentist. What am I going to do?” You’re right to an extent. We are not dentists, and often feel we have little to offer patients for acute issues that require equipment we don’t have...
Source: The Procedural Pause - July 1, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
