Removing jargon: Why are physicians singled out?
My voice recognition software insists on typing “when needed” when I say “PRN,” and the other day I saw an orthopedic note that said, “before meals joint.” I was sure that the straight-laced orthopedic surgeon did not intend to tell the world anything about anybody’s cannabis use. Instead, it was obvious he had spoken the words “AC joint,” meaning acromioclavicular (on top of the shoulder). But AC can also mean “before meals,” (ante cibum).
Hospitals and health care credentialing bodies make us use plain English instead of medical terms and abbreviations. They say it is to avoid confusion. I think it ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 12, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/a-country-doctor" rel="tag" > A Country Doctor, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs
EMRs should be like rental cars
When a new doctor joined our clinic, she spent a week learning our electronic medical record. She had used two other systems before, so she was no stranger to EMRs, but that’s how different they can be.
That’s crazy!
EMRs should be like cars, which range from the likes of Smart, Mini Cooper, and Skoda to Mercedes Maybach, Rolls Royce, and Porsche. They range from simple to sophisticated, from nimble city cars to opulent highway cruisers.
There are occasional differences in the type of fuel, steering wheel shift paddles or voice controlled entertainment systems. And the driving experience varies wildly between marques, ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 12, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/a-country-doctor" rel="tag" > A Country Doctor, MD < /a > Tags: Tech Health IT Source Type: blogs
Never underestimate the power of pus
Everyone has their abscess story. Tales of pressurized pockets of pus abound. Trust me: However far-fetched they may seem, they’re not. I had one such experience last week in which a man came to me with a painful red swollen lump on his back. It was about 2 inches in diameter, angry and fluctuant (softened) and ready to be drained, which he pleaded with me to do. So I did.
Although this is typically one of the more painful procedures I can inflict on someone, he did great. Possibly his status as a chronic pain patient on a fairly hefty baseline narcotic dose helped. Still, I was able to get away with the “I” (incisio...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 12, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/lucy-hornstein" rel="tag" > Lucy Hornstein, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs
Before you join a clinical trial: Read this first
From time to time, friends, patients, and relatives ask my advice on participating in a medical experiment. My response has been no. More accurately, once I explain to them the realities of research, they don’t need to be persuaded. They back away.
Here’s the key point. When an individual volunteers to join a research project, the medical study is not designed to benefit the individual patient. This point is sorely misunderstood by patients and their families who understandably will pursue any opportunity to achieve some measure of healing for an ailing individual. I get this.
In addition, I believe that ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 11, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/michael-kirsch" rel="tag" > Michael Kirsch, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Neurology Source Type: blogs
The suicide rate is increasing. Why is that?
Those of us who work in pediatric intensive care have frequent encounters with the problem of suicide and attempted suicide. It has seemed to me for some years that the numbers are increasing, and this has been shown to be the case. After years of declining, the suicide rate in our country has been increasing, now at about 125 percent of the rate of several decades ago.
This increase accelerated after 2006. Although all age groups showed an increase, the rate among women, particularly adolescent girls, took a notable jump. In 2012 suicide was the second leading cause of death in adolescents aged 12 to 19 years, accounting ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 11, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/christopher-johnson" rel="tag" > Christopher Johnson, MD < /a > Tags: Conditions Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
10 crucial guidelines for health care IT
At HIMSS, I listened carefully to payers, providers, patients, developers and researchers. Below is a distillation of what I heard from thousands of stakeholders.
It is not partisan and does not criticize the work of any person in industry, government or academia. It reflects the lessons learned from the past 20 years of health care IT implementation and policy making. Knowing where we are now and where we want to be, here are ten guiding principles.
Continue reading ...
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 11, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/john-halamka" rel="tag" > John Halamka, MD < /a > Tags: Tech Health IT Source Type: blogs
KevinMD Spring 2017 keynotes
I’m excited to share my story at Momentum in Medicine in Atlanta, GA, the 2017 MEDNAX Medical Directors Meeting in Washington, DC, and TexMed 2017 in Houston, TX!
Interested in having me keynote your conference? I have availability in Summer and Fall 2017, and am accepting engagements in 2018. Find out more at my keynote speaking page.
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 11, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/admin" rel="tag" > Admin < /a > Tags: Kevin's Take Source Type: blogs
Politicians must consult front-line physicians for health reform
Recently, the AHCA was pulled from the House floor after not enough votes could be secured in favor of its passage. A Washington Post article reported President Trump’s thoughts on the matter: “We couldn’t get one Democrat vote, not one. They [Democrats] own Obamacare. So when it explodes … we make one beautiful deal for the people.”
Journalist Robert Costa asserted “there was little evidence that either Trump or House Republicans made a serious effort to reach out to Democrats.”
Well Robert, I sure did. And I did not get very far.
Continue reading ...
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond....
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 11, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/niran-s-al-agba" rel="tag" > Niran S. Al-Agba, MD < /a > Tags: Policy Health reform Source Type: blogs
Baby boomer? Why aren ’t you getting tested for hep C?
Are you a baby boomer? Have you been tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV)? Do you know why you should be tested for hepatitis C? Do you even know what hepatitis C is?
According to research published by my colleagues from the American Cancer Society in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the odds are overwhelming that if you are in the boomer generation you have not been tested for the virus. And that has me wondering why that is the case: Could it be that we don’t know about hepatitis C? Could it be that our health professionals aren’t recommending testing? Could it be that the costs of treatment may be seen as...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 11, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/j-leonard-lichtenfeld" rel="tag" > J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD < /a > Tags: Conditions Cancer GI Source Type: blogs
Single payer: Yes! Medicare for all: No!
Thankfully, the GOP did not pass Paul Ryan’s repeal and replace bill for Obamacare. Immediately after, I saw a headline hopefully concluding, “Medicare for all may be next.” In Medicare’s current form, this would be devastating for the health of America. I am a young geriatrician; I know a heck of a lot about Medicare. Most people don’t. They just see it as a great perk of turning 65 in America and the social health care we offer to elderly and disabled. I did too, until I became a physician who only sees Medicare patients.
Medicare originated in 1966 in recognition that we needed to do a better job a...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 11, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/shannon-tapia" rel="tag" > Shannon Tapia, MD < /a > Tags: Policy Medicare Source Type: blogs
Maybe it ’s time for physicians to lean out
A few years ago, my colleagues and I started a non-profit called Women in Anesthesiology. I started medical school late and had two children in residency (earning the delightful label of elderly primigravida or, if you prefer, geriatric pregnancy). My co-resident and I noticed few women in our department, and even fewer in leadership. We charged forward, starting a local, then national group. At the same time, a separate Facebook entity called Physician Anesthesiologist Mom Group (PAMG) grew from a few hundred to over 2,300 members, while the Facebook Physician Moms Group (PMG) skyrocketed to over 63,000.
The time is...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 10, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/rekha-chandrabose" rel="tag" > Rekha Chandrabose, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Surgery Source Type: blogs
Why politics and patients don ’t mix
So the American Health Care Act was rejected. And I want to scream! Not because it failed, but instead because of the way the whole thing was handled. While both parties will argue that they were trying to do what is best for the American public, I disagree. As a physician, what I see are two forces who are more intent on winning a battle than in helping the public. Both the ACA and the AHCA help some people and hurt others. Young and old, healthy and sick, rich and poor all have competing needs and desires.
It is absolutely incumbent upon our legislators to work together to find common ground. I am...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 10, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mark-lopatin" rel="tag" > Mark Lopatin, MD < /a > Tags: Policy Health reform Source Type: blogs
What do you feel when someone dies?
At first, you’ll question reality. You will hear your own words, but they’ll sound foreign — apart from you. The ground will still reassuringly push back against your toes when you walk out of the room, but you will wonder if they are your feet. Like in a movie, you will negotiate the world convincingly. Yet, you are an actor playing a part. It is not the real you.
Be assured that this will pass. Life has changed incomprehensibly in a fraction of a moment. It will take a few more moments for your psyche to advance accordingly. This is not disconnection. This is not denial. It’s shock.
Grief will not be ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 10, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/jordan-grumet" rel="tag" > Jordan Grumet, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Palliative care Source Type: blogs
Medicine comes in second for me
My entire childhood I wanted to become a doctor. When asked by adults what I wanted to be when I grew up, it was always the same answer. Never did I consider being a fireman or policeman or professional athlete. It was always the same answer: doctor. You see, my father was a small-town, general practice doctor who was somewhat of a legend in town because of his unfailing dedication to his patients. He delivered babies and performed minor surgeries as well as the other things a small-town general practitioner would be required to do. My father even performed his own vasectomy. When teased by many of his friends for being nu...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 10, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/stephen-f-chambers" rel="tag" > Stephen F. Chambers, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs
My prayers and my medical practice
“Help!” I yelled out of our open apartment door.
I was seven years old, and my family had recently emigrated from Egypt to the U.S. We’d been feeling elated that week because, after months of interviews, my father had matched into a pediatric residency.
That morning, he’d awoke feeling nauseated. My mother and sister went to buy some soothing food. I noticed that he’d vomited in the bathroom; now he was feeling worse.
He knew it was serious because he put on his brown leather jacket and laid back in our blue recliner, waiting for my mom to return and take him to the emergency room. Now and the...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 10, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/fredy-el-sakr" rel="tag" > Fredy El Sakr, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Heart Primary care Source Type: blogs
