The Best Health Commercial

Nothing like a cute kid to make a great commercial. His interview with Ellen is priceless too.(Hat Tip to Cynthia C. for the link)

New Doctors - New Culture

I attended a hospital retreat this weekend and the subject was how do we recruit new physicians into a medical community when they don't want to do private practice medicine? New young doctors want controlled lifestyle, guaranteed salary, benefits and predictability. The type of practice most primary care doctors have is just the opposite. We have no salary guarantee...you eat what you kill (

I Love Health Blogging

I love being a health care blogger. Friends and family and acquaintances ask me why I blog. "Do you get paid to blog" The answer is No. "Is it hard to blog?" The answer is No. "How do people find you?" The answer is "I don't always know". Some people have told me they pass an interesting blog on to friends. I think that is "viral marketing". I have return visitors that bookmark the page

How to be a Health Advocate for a Loved One

I have been dealing with a personal family illness and it reminded me of a blog I did last year. I went back to review it and realized it is pretty damn good advise. I'm repeating it here for readers who may just now be reading EverythingHealth. Five Things You Can Do for a Sick Loved OneWhen a loved one is sick, we often feel totally helpless and caught up in the

Dr. Rating - Here to Stay

Once "google" became a noun as well as a verb, the cat was out of the bag in terms of getting information...all kinds of information...on doctors. There are a reported 31 online sites that use different rating systems and allow patients to post comments on service, promptness, kindness of staff and other parameters. There is a glut of venture capital money going into these sites and some are

Answers to Genetics Quiz

See the post below. Here are the answers1. D - 25,0002. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)3. chromosomes4. mutation5. genetic code6. environmentHow did you do?

Basic Genetics Quiz

Genetics and genomes are in the news every day. Genetics is the study of how human characteristics are inherited from one's parents. Since my son is studying genetics now in Science, here is a quiz to test your basic knowledge. The answers will be posted tomorrow. Have fun, and no "googling."1. Genes are contained in a person's cells. About how many genes are in each human cell? a. 100 b.

Going Green

The most EverythingHealth thing we can do is live in a healthy environment. No one says it better than author Michael Pollan. Please take the time to read his amazing article in the New York Times...Why Bother?I've often wondered if "going green" is just a meaningless fad to make us feel more rightous. Michael Pollan addresses this issue and more. Check it out!

Health Care - No criminals allowed

I just finished reading a fascinating and disturbing book called "Blind Eye" by James B. Stewart. It is the true story of a mass murderer, Dr. Michael Swango, who went from State to State and Country to Country, killing his patients with poison injections. Surprisingly, he finished his medical school and residency training the same years that I did and his ability to evade his professors,

Medicare new "No Pay" Conditions

Medicare/Medicaid covers about 45% of American health care through payment for the disabled and old folks. (I know, I know, "65 is the new 35", but you get Medicare anyway). The rules and payment strategies of Medicare are adopted by the entire industry, and what Medicare pays for and doesn't pay for, eventually is picked up by private insurers too.Starting in 2008, Medicare has identified 7

Satans Blog

Testosterone and Women's Sexuality

The Annals of Internal Medicine has published results of a randomized trial that studied the effects of testosterone on women's sexual satisfaction. Testosterone is the sex hormone that is present in both women and men. Men have much higher levels (of course) and there has always been speculation that testosterone and sexual desire/satisfaction are linked.This study administered testosterone

Myths dispelled - Hair

There are so many "old wives tales" and myths in health care, that each week EverythingHealth will pick a subject and give you a quick dose of truth. Today's topic is Hair. Everyone is interested in hair and that makes for lots of hair myths.1. Split ends can be repaired: When the tips of hairs are damaged and fray, it is called a split end. Once split there is no product that can bond the

Medical Privacy - "just me being nosy"

UCLA is facing a bit of a crisis as it reveals that more than 60 patient's health records had been improperly accessed by an employee that had no right to view those confidential records. Most of these records were celebs (Brittney Spears, Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Farah Fawcett, Maria Shriver) or other high-profile people. The fired employee who snooped says "it was just me being nosy".All

Obesity and Baby Boomers - business opportunity

The obesity epidemic in America will create new business opportunities for the innovative businessman or woman if they can just project themselves into the future. The baby boomers are getting older and America is getting fatter. This is a recipe for someone to create new products and services.The New York Times reports on new ambulance equipment that has been developed to accommodate large

Paroxetine vs. Placebo for depression

Depression is a serious condition and Paroxetine (Paxil®) has been in my toolbox as one of many treatment choices for over a decade. I've seen patients who are put on SSRI medications like Paroxetine have dramatic improvement in just a few weeks.Now new evidence has emerged that shows placebo is as good as Paroxetine for treating depression and (of course), placebo has fewer side effects.We all

Participate in Torture - Lose your License

The California Senate will be voting on a bill this week that says California regulators would notify physicians in the military that if they participate in torture, they will loose their license to practice medicine and could be prosecuted by the State.During a Senate committee hearing, there was testimony that cited the International Red Cross, military records and first-person accounts about

Medical Journal Update

Watch out for elevated triglycerides: Most patients (and physicians) are concerned about their cholesterol but triglycerides get over looked. An excellent study has shown that elevated levels of nonfasting triglycerides were associated with increased risk for death, heart attack and ischemic heart disease in both women and men. The other risks for heart disease and strokes are age, blood

Universal Healthcare? Not without Primary Care

I've written about the primary care shortage before so I am happy to see the New York Times feature it today.In Massachusetts they have mandated insurance coverage for everyone (Universal coverage) but the unintended consequence is that these newly insured people cannot find a doctor. There are not enough primary care doctors available and the ones that practice in clinics and offices are full.

Step it Up

I just read about an intriguing small study done in Sweden that worked "backwards" and showed that reduced exercise promoted chronic disorders and premature mortality.They took healthy non smoker men who took no medication and without any family history of diabetes. These people walked over 3500 steps a day (measured with a pedometer) or did more than 2 hours of exercise a week. In summary,

Mickey the Wonder Border Collie

Mickey was a rescue dog that we brought into our lives over 14 years ago. Herding was in his DNA and herd he did. Because we never had a flock of sheep, he had to find his own jobs to do. Making sure his flock (us) was safe and rounded up became his passion.They say Border Collies are the smartest breed of dogs. I believe that. Mickey could open doors, climb trees and understand moods and

Food Tees

I'm too busy to surf the web...in case you are too, here is a neat idea that is fun and promotes healthy eating. They have a lot of cute items at this site. I guess this is my contribution to free advertising (my blog) , capitalism and the American Way. When the going gets tough, we Americans go shopping. Check it out: Food Tees

Nurses as Doctors

The Wall Street Journal wrote today that more than 200 nursing schools will launch a doctorate of nursing program so "Nurse-doctors" will graduate with the "skills equivalent to primary-care physicians."Whoa there, Kimosabe. By whose standards is a two year program that includes a one-year residency, equivalent to the rigors of four years of medical school followed by three -plus years of

Carnival HR

Check out Fortify your Oasis for great reading links in the Human Resources field. They mentioned EverythingHealth this week and it will give you another glimpse into the blogosphere.

Obesity - the last discrimination

The journal Cancer has published a review that found obese, white women are less likely than other women to undergo regular screenings for breast and cervical cancer. Obese women were 10-40% less likely to undergo these screening tests when compared to other women.We can only speculate why this is so. One theory is that heavier women have emotional barriers such as embarrassment and fear of