All by myself … don ’ t wanna be
Throughout my career, I’ve been interested in how and why people see clinicians about their pain. I’m intrigued by the journey before, during and afterwards. I’m interested in the social factors influencing choices in healthcare. If I’ve been gardening over the weekend and I wake up Monday with a sore back it’s easy to see a physio here in NZ. That visit is likely paid for by our accident compensation system (24/7 no-fault scheme paid for by taxes and levies). And the jolly joy germ in me thinks “Well at least that means people don’t have to see a doctor first” – but...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - October 15, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Back pain Chronic pain Coping strategies Interdisciplinary teams Low back pain Occupational therapy Physiotherapy Psychology Research Science in practice Health pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs

Bonus Features, HLTH Edition – October 11, 2023 – Announcements from Best Buy, General Catalyst, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Walgreens, and more
This article will be a roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, partnerships, research studies, company launches, and more from the annual conference. Because there’s so much happening out there at HLTH that we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job. Top Headlines VC firm General Catalyst is creating Health Assurance Transformation Corp., which will partner with 20+ health system partners to guide their transition to value-based care and potentially acquire a health ...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - October 11, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Brian Eastwood Tags: Healthcare IT Acuity aidoc athenahealth b.well Best Buy BrightInsight care.ai Circadian Health CLEAR ClearDATA DatosX DAX Copilot DeepScribe Dexcom DUOS Elation Health Evernorth Health Services General Catalyst Google Source Type: blogs

Self-management, coping – or living with?
After a weekend relaxing by the beach, I’m once again pondering the nature of how people live well with persistent pain. It’s called variously ‘self-management’ or ‘coping’ or, in my life, ‘living with’ pain, and as I pointed out last week, it’s not well-defined. I’m not even sure that people with pain get a look-in at what to call these ‘ways of living’ because it’s typically an academic discussion that excludes the very people who are expected to comply with them! That gripe aside, what’s wrong with the terms ‘coping’ or &#...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - October 8, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Coping strategies Pain conditions Resilience/Health biopsychosocial pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs

Shhhhh! The secret we don ’ t talk about …
For all my writing about ACT, there are some things that ACT doesn’t directly deal with: what do people use to help them do what matters in their life? OK we do discuss actions, values, perspective-taking, mindfulness, willingness and defusion, but we don’t talk about the specifics of what people living with pain might do to live well. The skills or ways of going about daily life, using things that help people with pain do things. *Scroll to the bottom to see my totally unscientific survey for people with pain* So for a few weeks I’m exploring self-management: this is one of those poorly-defined terms ...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - October 1, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Back pain Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping Skills Coping strategies Low back pain Occupational therapy Research Science in practice biopsychosocial Health pain management self-management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs

Debating the role of psychiatric assessments in medical decisions
I recently had an incident involving a long-time patient. This particular encounter proved to be challenging. The patient had chronic pain for years and had already exhausted all conventional treatment options. Ironically, he was otherwise healthy and fit. His recalcitrant condition made him a prime candidate to be treated with a spinal sord stimulator (SCS). Read more… Debating the role of psychiatric assessments in medical decisions originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 26, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors:
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!) can use ACT in session. Actions: It’s what we’re about You know the old saying “All talk, no action”? The...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 24, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Occupational therapy Pain conditions Physiotherapy Psychology Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy biopsychosocial Chronic pain Clinical reasoning pain management Therapeutic app Source Type: blogs

Wound Bed Preparation is a Crucial Strategy to Heal Chronic Wounds
There are dozens of wound care products available, and the practitioner is often overwhelmed and confused by the variety of choices.  The best way to choose the correct product is understanding the concept of wound bed preparation – a crucial aspect of wound care that creates a systematic approach to an optimal strategy for wound healing. It encompasses various actions to facilitate the healing process by addressing the condition of the wound bed. Wound bed preparation helps reduce the risk of infection, promotes tissue regeneration, and accelerates the healing process. The following 9 steps are key considerations i...
Source: Jeffrey M. Levine MD | Geriatric Specialist | Wound Care | Pressure Ulcers - September 24, 2023 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Jeffrey M Levine Tags: Featured Medical Articles Geriatric Medicine Long-Term Care Pressure Injuries & Wound Care Risk Management aging skin bedsore bedsores decubiti decubitus ulcer end-of-life care geriatrics gerontology Healthcare Quality Improvin Source Type: blogs

Bonus Features – September 24, 2023 – 72 percent of patients say affordability is the biggest challenge for paying medical bills
This article will be a weekly roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, new hires, partnerships, research studies, awards, sales, and more. Because there’s so much happening out there in healthcare IT we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job. News and Studies The American Telemedicine Association released three tools aimed at addressing disparity and inequity in care: Digital Infrastructure Disparities Score and Map, Economic and Social Value-Added Calculator, and a...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - September 24, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Brian Eastwood Tags: Healthcare IT ABOUT Accelecom Accenture Adriana Day AHA AMA Amazon Bedrock Angie Franks Arcadia ATA AVIA Babyscripts Biofourmis Cadence Cedar Censinet CirrusMD CliniComp ClosedLoop Collette Health CrowdStrike Da Source Type: blogs

Fight Aging! Newsletter, September 25th 2023
In conclusion, this individual patient data meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies found that antihypertensive use was associated with decreased dementia risk compared with individuals with untreated hypertension through all ages in late life. Individuals with treated hypertension had no increased risk of dementia compared with healthy controls. « Back to Top Results from Human Clinical Trials Do Not Support Metformin as a Longevity Drug https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2023/09/results-from-human-clinical-trials-do-not-support-metformin-as-a-longevity-drug/ The SENS Research Fou...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 24, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

Are we doing enough to help chronic pain sufferers?
One in five adults in the U.S. suffers from chronic pain. We see these patients every day—but do we really hear them when they confide in us about their pain? As health care providers, no matter our discipline, we can do more to truly listen and consider the best referral pathway for pain sufferers. We should Read more… Are we doing enough to help chronic pain sufferers? originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 19, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Conditions Orthopedics Source Type: blogs

Chronic Pain Conditions in the Context of Aging
Chronic pain conditions are poorly understood, often incorrectly diagnosed or dismissed by medical practitioners, and, generally, have only poor and unreliable options for treatment. Given that aging degrades the function of all bodily systems, it is no surprise to find a significant incidence of chronic pain in older adults. It is an open question as to the degree to which similar mechanisms are at play to those causing chronic pain in younger adults, and whether useful information can be obtained by comparing the biochemistry of similar conditions in old and young individuals. Unfortunately there remains a lack of unders...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 19, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs

Dancing around the hexaflex: Using ACT in practice 5
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists can use ACT in session (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!). Values: Qualities of living Oh so much has been written about values…Values bring meaning to what w...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 17, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Chronic pain Coping strategies Occupational therapy Pain conditions Psychology Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy Clinical reasoning Health pain management Therapeutic approach Source Type: blogs

Dancing around the hexaflex: Using ACT in practice  5
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists can use ACT in session (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!). Values: Qualities of living Oh so much has been written about values…Values bring meaning to what w...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 17, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Chronic pain Coping strategies Occupational therapy Pain conditions Psychology Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy Clinical reasoning Health pain management Therapeutic approach Source Type: blogs

Chest discomfort and a dilated right ventricle. What's going on?
Written by Magnus Nossen MD, peer reviewed and edits by Smith, Meyers, GrauerA 60 something previously healthy female smoker sought medical attention after 2-3 days of intermittent chest discomfort. The chest discomfort was described as sharp. Episodes lasting 5-30 minutes. On the day of presentation she experienced another episode of chest discomfort accompanied by vomiting and throat pain. She was concerned about possible throat infection. She contacted her primary care physician. Due to the vague nature of her symptoms and the fact that she had chest discomfort and no clinical sign of throat infection she was referred f...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - September 17, 2023 Category: Cardiology Authors: Magnus Nossen Source Type: blogs

Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain
She walked in with a cane, bent over like a question mark. She was in her seventies and as sweet as people in that age group tend to be. I think most of the cranky ones don’t make it that far. She was something of an emergency because her doctor had just passed away, and Read more… Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 13, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Conditions Pain Management Source Type: blogs