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The Lonely Epidemic: Social Isolation and Technology
Alarming effects have been found from recent digital technologies on social connections and mental health. The Surgeon General issued a highly publicized advisory on loneliness and another on youth, both replete with evidence of the harm done by social media and the internet generally. But can digital technology also improve social connections? While the harm done by digital media to many people has been well demonstrated, there are also people who thrive on digital connections, particularly people from marginalized groups who have trouble finding each other in physical settings). The Surgeon General advisory on youth poin...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - August 29, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andy Oram Tags: Clinical Health IT Company LTPAC Caretakers Catalaize Dor Skuler Healthcare Isolation Healthcare Loneliness Healthcare Social Media Intuition Robotics mental health Sara Shanti Sheppard Mullin social isolation UCLA UCLA Lonel Source Type: blogs

Game theory in health care: Deciphering decision dynamics [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Jay K. Joshi, a family physician and the author of Burden of Pain: A Physician’s Journey through the Opioid Epidemic, as we delve into the intricate world of clinical decision-making within evolving health care policies. Our focus extends beyond the surface to delve Read more… Game theory in health care: Deciphering decision dynamics [PODCAST] originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 23, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Podcast Primary Care Source Type: blogs

As suicide and gun violence rise, we need gun purchase waiting periods now
In 2018, physicians began #ThisIsOurLane, a movement arguing that gun violence is a public health epidemic that medical professionals have a vital role in dismantling. Gun suicide rates are increasing across America – particularly in states with the fewest gun laws. Guns are the most lethal method of self-harm, with a fatality rate of 90%, Read more… As suicide and gun violence rise, we need gun purchase waiting periods now originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 19, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Policy Public Health & Policy Source Type: blogs

The Little Mermaid ’ s impact on storytelling [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Erkeda DeRouen, a family physician, as we delve into the recent remake of The Little Mermaid. Discover how this Disney film led Erkeda on a journey to explore the inspiring story of Howard Ashman, his battle with HIV during the AIDS epidemic, and Read more… The Little Mermaid’s impact on storytelling [PODCAST] originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 10, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Podcast Public Health & Policy Source Type: blogs

Why Artificial Intelligence Will Fuel Fake News (M)
An infodemic is an epidemic-like circulation of fake news, videos and images that is highly contagious and grows exponentially. (Source: PsyBlog | Psychology Blog)
Source: PsyBlog | Psychology Blog - August 6, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jeremy Dean Tags: Artificial intelligence subscribers-only Source Type: blogs

Environmental Health Surveillance Powered by GIS Technology Enhances Public Health Efforts at San Bernardino County
San Bernadino Public Health knows that monitoring the mosquito population benefits community health directly. This is why the public health team is tracking mosquitos breeding areas and leveraging GIS technology to better coordinate mosquito control efforts in order to prevent the spread of disease. Healthcare IT Today spoke with Serene Ong – Geographic Information Systems Analyst, Andrew Mackey – Statistical Analyst, and Anthony Arce – Research Analyst at San Bernardino County Department of Public Health (SBCDPH) to find out more. Mosquito Surveillance Mosquito Surveillance is used to monitor mosquito po...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - August 1, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Colin Hung Tags: Analytics/Big Data Health IT Company Healthcare IT Andrew Mackey Anthony Arce ArcGIS esri GIS technology Mosquito Surveillance Public Health San Bernardino County San Bernardino County Department of Public Health SBCDPH Serene On Source Type: blogs

A comic reveals the terrifying truth about fentanyl
The fentanyl crisis represents a grave and lethal epidemic, marked by the illicit consumption of powerful synthetic opioids, resulting in a staggering increase in fatal overdose cases. Physician Emily Watters offers her unique insights on this critical issue through a captivating comic format (click to enlarge): Emily Watters is a psychiatrist and can be reached Read more… A comic reveals the terrifying truth about fentanyl originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 27, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Meds Psychiatry Source Type: blogs

Matthew ’ s tidbits: Obesity Summer
Every time I get around to sending out the THCB READER I add a short & usually not to sweet commentary on some aspect of health care.–Matthew Holt I saw the obesity crisis up close this week. And by that I’m not just referring to my addiction to Salted Caramel with Pretzel Ice Cream, bad though it is. Instead I felt thin because I went to Disneyland. But while I tip the scales at a BMI of 30 if I’m lucky, I genuinely felt that looking around Disneyland more than 50% of the crowd were obese and many morbidly so. The rest of my trip to Southern California was quite a contrast because I’ve be...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 24, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy Matthew Holt obesity epidemic Ozempic Source Type: blogs

Truthfully, the Physician Shortage Doesn ’ t Exist!
Conclusion: For every hour physicians provide direct clinical face time to patients, nearly 2 additional hours is spent on EHR and desk work within the clinic day. Outside office hours, physicians spend another 1 to 2 hours of personal time each night doing additional computer and other clerical work. (Sinsky et al, 2016) If we only had the tools and the administrative support that just about every one of us has been asking for, there wouldn’t be a doctor shortage. The quote here is from 7 years ago and things have gotten even worse since then. Major league baseball players don’t handle the scoring and the st...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 21, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Medical Practice Hans Duvefelt Physician Shortage Source Type: blogs

Food allergies are not preferences. Let ’s start treating them that way.
We’re in a rapidly growing food allergy epidemic. 1 in 13 American children have food allergies—a number that’s only growing. Private insurance claims of anaphylactic food reactions, which are severe and potentially life-threatening, rose 377 percent from 2007 to 2016. Yet despite their increased prevalence in recent years, one thing hasn’t changed: Undermining the very Read more… Food allergies are not preferences. Let’s start treating them that way. originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 14, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Conditions Allergies & Immunology Source Type: blogs

Mindlessness
Academy Health is the rather oddly named society for health services researchers. They sent me a press release which I excerpt: Today, the House Appropriations Committee released a breathtakingly reckless bill that decimates federal research, science, and medicine programs, and puts the health of all Americans at risk. It is so extreme that many pundits presume it has zero chance of becoming law, but that very extremism requires that we respond quickly and unequivocally.   . . .  " This bill would eliminate the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in its entirety. AHRQ supports r...
Source: Stayin' Alive - July 14, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs

Mobilization for Truth, or Survival?
Scott Frickel, of my own university, and Fernando Tormos-Aponte of the University of Pittsburgh,have recently reviewed  studies of what they call " science activism " and find that it is " surging, " which they refer to as a " culture shift " among scientists. They write:Science activism has long been considered taboo, as many in the field fear thatpoliticizing science undermines its objectivity. Even so, scientist-activists have still managed to shape the U.S. political landscape throughout history. Over the past century, for example, scientists have protestedthe atomic bomb,pesticides,wars in Southeast Asia,genet...
Source: Stayin' Alive - July 10, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs

The epidemic of narcissistic abuse in the medical field
I didn’t go through that to go through this. “She doesn’t know how to work within a system,” said Snakeskin Shoes. Narcissists grow and thrive in children’s hospitals. Their strategy is to inflict moral injury upon physicians by gaslighting and silencing those who speak up for patient safety or for themselves, while also controlling a Read more… The epidemic of narcissistic abuse in the medical field originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 7, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Hospital-Based Medicine Source Type: blogs

Philadelphia ’ s devastating gun violence epidemic: a wake-up call for action
It’s become my morning ritual on the way to the hospital. Cruising down a main Philadelphia stretch, just as the road crests and the hospital becomes visible, I steel myself for the line. Is it going to be long today? In just a few more blocks, my second reflexive check-in: Are there news vans outside Read more… Philadelphia’s devastating gun violence epidemic: a wake-up call for action originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 4, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Policy Public Health & Policy Source Type: blogs

Burnout and compassion fatigue: chronic workplace stress and emotional withdrawal
Over the past five years, the term “burnout” has become closely associated with the health care field. It has reached the point where more than 60 percent of surveyed physicians reported experiencing burnout in 2021, indicating that it has become an epidemic within our profession. It’s important to understand that burnout is not a personal Read more… Burnout and compassion fatigue: chronic workplace stress and emotional withdrawal originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 29, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Cardiology Psychiatry Source Type: blogs