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This page shows you the most recent publications within this specialty of the MedWorm directory.

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Treating pain a little too wellEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
(My column from this month’s EM News) Second Opinion: Treating Pain a Little Too Well Leap, Edwin MD Free Access The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that prescription pain medication abuse and deaths are at an all-time high in the United States. Image… Image Tools The numbers in the November issue of the CDC’s publication Vital Signs, are impressive. (See FastLinks.) Prescription pain medication deaths numbered 3,000 in 1999 but 15,000 in 2008. The CDC report is shocking … to everyone except physicians and nurses in the real world of the emergency department. How many of us i...
Source: edwinleap.com - February 1, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs

Unintended Super Bowl consequencesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I never thought about this consequence of the Super Bowl… http://www.charismanews.com/us/32737-super-bowl-brings-sex-traffickers-to-indianapolis Thanks for checking it out! Edwin (Source: edwinleap.com)
Source: edwinleap.com - February 1, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs

American Airlines, this is a problemEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Dear AA, I appreciate all the good to great service over the years, so this is why, in the spirit of improving our relationship, I offer this constructive criticism: For those unfamiliar with DFW, the gates are always related to the terminal. So the terminal being B and the gate starting with D, that’s a disconnect. I figured it out, but only after asking a terminal B curbside bag fellow which was real, and the answer was that the Terminal B was incorrect, it was supposed to be D. No harm, no foul. A learning experience. From a friend. Related posts: My first medical checklist Laugh if you want, this helps my life, ...
Source: GruntDoc - February 1, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: GruntDoc Tags: Amusements Aviation Source Type: blogs

When politics trump health careEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Seriously, this is bullshit:Susan Komen Foundation halts grants to Planned ParenthoodNEW YORK – The nation's leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its financial partnerships with numerous Planned Parenthood affiliates. Komen says the key reason is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation in Congress - a probe launched by a conservative Republican who was urged to act by anti-abortion groups.The result is a bitter rift, linked to the national abortion debate, between two iconic organizations that have assisted millions of women. Planned Parenthood says the cutoff, affecting...
Source: Movin' Meat - January 31, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs

Doc Fix Just Got More ExpensiveEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article and its graph (from the NEJM), and its... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. (Source: GruntDoc)
Source: GruntDoc - January 31, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: GruntDoc Tags: Policy Source Type: blogs

Boomerang BillEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
One perk, or drawback, of working in the ER is that there are no shortages of interesting characters we see. Many of them we see over and over, and get to know very well. There was the old guy with the pacemaker who we saw >500 times for chest pain over a three year period. And the asthmatic who every doc in our group has intubated at least once. And the brittle diabetic who could somehow survive with a bicarb of five. They stick in your minds.One guy we will never forget around here was the alcoholic we called "Boomerang Bill." As his name implied, he was in the ER pretty damned regularly. He had money, and was a...
Source: Movin' Meat - January 31, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs

The LITFL Review 055Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog The LITFL Review 055Welcome to the splendid 55th edition!The LITFL Review is your regular and reliable source for the highest highlights, sneakiest sneak peaks and loudest shout-outs from the webbed world of emergency medicine and critical care. Each week the LITFL team will cast the spotlight on the best and brightest from the blogosphere, the podcast video/audiosphere and the rest of the Web 2.0 social media jungle.The Most Fair Dinkum Ripper Beaut of the WeekSMART EMThe uber geek’s of emergency medicine are back with a lengthy look at Stress Testing: A Moment of Clarity - t...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 30, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kane Guthrie Tags: Blog News Education Emergency Medicine Featured Health Intensive Care LITFL review Trauma LITFL R/V Source Type: blogs

Things that are not at all surprising, part 26Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I remember way back in the paleolithic era when the debate was actually going on over what health care reform would look like (before we settled on "greatest threat to liberty ever," that is) and my comment section was deluged with folks who railed against the very concept of universality in healthcare insurance. They, further, denied that such a thing as involuntary uninsurance existed, or that underinsurance was a problem at all. These commenters tended to be the rugged individualists of our great nation, and their testimonies were along the lines of: "I have type 1 diabetes and I've had three limbs amputated and I do ju...
Source: Movin' Meat - January 30, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs

Official 2012 Honda CR-V Game Day Commercial – “Matthew’s Day Off” Extended Version – YouTubeEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Laugh, and enjoy! Official 2012 Honda CR-V Game Day Commercial – “Matthew’s Day Off” Extended Version – YouTube. Related posts: The Canada Party Okay, it’s got an Fword in it, so if you’re... Doctors decry poor ER conditions via YouTube – FierceHealthcare Doctors at LaSalle Hospital in Montreal have turned the cameras... Compression Only CPR video Okay, it’s kind of amusing, and I hope it induces... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. (Source: GruntDoc)
Source: GruntDoc - January 30, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: GruntDoc Tags: Amusements Source Type: blogs

The Value of EducationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This is my column in yesterday’s Greenville News. Thanks! One of the great things about my work in an emergency room is that I get to talk to people with every variety of educational and work experience. I especially enjoy talking with college students. While the intoxicated ones are less engaging (though equally entertaining) conversationalists, most are genuinely delightful. In speaking to them I can gauge their passions, ask about their dreams and explore how they view their educational experiences. It’s fun. I well remember the lovely young student who told me her plans after graduation. I might have exp...
Source: edwinleap.com - January 30, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: Greenville News column culture education faith family homeschool stuff parenthood politics raising a woman raising men Source Type: blogs

Healthcare Update — 01-30-2012Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
See more medical news from around the web at the Satellite Edition of this week’s update on ER Stories.net Meth heads do the “shake and bake” … on their face. New process for making methamphetamines in a 2 liter soda bottle often backfires, causing explosion and burns to the junior chemist. Because most people suffering these burns don’t have insurance and because the mandated care from this activity averages $130,000 per person (60% more than other burn patients), the financial strains are contributing to the closure of several burn units across the country – leaving fewer resources available for every...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 30, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Healthcare Update Source Type: blogs

Emergency Medicine Update January 2012Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article describes on going research which will interest me only when the article is finally published, but the statistics were important. Intracranial aneurysms occur in 0.4-0.6% of the general population; the total risk of rupture may be about 2% for all aneurysms, but indeed if they are less than 7 mm in diameter, the risk is only 0.1%. This is important for us to know because often we do CT’s for headaches, and find aneurysms that are not leaking-and it appears we do not need to do much for them. Surgical treatment for aneurysms cares a 1 in six morbidity rate and a mortality rate of 2.6% to 15.7% – pro...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 29, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Yosef Leibman Tags: Emergency Medicine Emergency Medicine Update Evidence Based Medicine Featured Health yosef liebman Source Type: blogs

Open Mic WeekendEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Haven’t had an Open Mic in a couple of months. Leave questions, opinions, and any other medically-related comments below and I will try to get to them Monday night. Remember, no personal attacks. (Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room)
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 28, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs

Selling the ACA, 2 years too lateEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This is a cute and informative video about the health care reform act:My favorite drawing is this, of economist Jon Gruber about to be crushed by the ogre of uncontrolled health care spending:In fact, I think this will be my new twitter avatar.Still, it would have been nice to have seen more of this sort of education and messaging two years ago when public opinion regarding the ACA was more malleable. Now people's ideas are pretty well set, hardened in part by their partisan stances. I was shocked to see that 55% of Americans now think that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. This is evidence, I think, of...
Source: Movin' Meat - January 27, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs

I’m Glad I’m A DoctorEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I made the statement that “I’m glad I’m a doctor” in one of my posts, but when I went back to link to the story behind the statement, I couldn’t find it anywhere. So I pulled up the story from the archives and have posted it below. Still holds true today. When I was a student, one of the attendings on my ICU rotation told me a story that I still have not forgotten. When I was in your position, I thought it was cool to be a doctor because you got to have a pager. Everyone wanted you. You were the “go to” guy. If someone needed help, they called you. Then I wore a pager for a couple of days ...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 27, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Random Thoughts Source Type: blogs

Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 074Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 074What do you get when you combine salted pork, a full moon, William the Conqueror, Stendhal and a swollen labia majora?The 74th edition of the FFFF of course!Question 1What underlying condition might make you want to treat a patient’s nose bleed by inserting nasal tampons made of salted pork?From Humphreys et al (2011)Reveal the funtabulous answer!expand(document.getElementById('ddet95330696'));expand(document.getElementById('ddetlink95330696'))Glanzmann thrombasthaeniaPatients with this condition have defects in their gpIIb/IIIa receptors that ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 26, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Chris Nickson Tags: Frivolous Friday Five conundrums FFFF funtabulously frivolous Friday Medical quiz Medical Trivia Q&A Source Type: blogs

Doctor CatEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A friend alerted me to the existence of this:Unfortunately, the Doctor Cat cartoon seems to be on a bit of a hiatus for health reasons (here's hoping the author gets better soon). It works for me on a number of levels:1. Cats are cute (no explanation needed)2. Cats are like doctors in that they are variably narcissistic, imperious and inscrutable.3. Did I mention the cute factor?Reminds me of this brilliant series from Medium Large: (Source: Movin' Meat)
Source: Movin' Meat - January 26, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs

Watching the watchers…evade their taxesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Fascinating indictment of the power, and arrogance, of the ruling class and its employees. http://news.investors.com/Article/599002/201201260818/obama-white-house-staff-back-taxes.htm Try not paying your taxes, peasant. See what happens! Edwin (Source: edwinleap.com)
Source: edwinleap.com - January 26, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs

Your Feet – Your ShoesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We all know you can’t judge people until you walk in their shoes. But should we be walking in other peoples’ shoes? Sounds painful. Our own feet are much too important. Consider that every foot is made of twenty-six bones, thirty-three joints, nineteen muscles, and one hundred and seven ligaments. Lots can happen! So take time, and care, when buying shoes. Here are some guidelines. Feet should be measured while standing. Measure both feet and fit the shoe to the largest one. Forget shoes that need to be “broken in.” They should be comfy now. Shop later in the day to account for swelling. Try on shoes while ...
Source: Your ER Doc - January 26, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Your ER Doc Tags: General Health Source Type: blogs

The House AbuserEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Never finished describing what happened when we got back from our vacation … three weeks ago. Dang does time fly. When we walked in the house, the first thing we noticed was that it smelled like cleaning products. There were a mop and a bucket sitting in the wet room by the garage. The fishtank in the kitchen was a ruddy brown color. We could barely see the fish. One fish was floating. Half of a large can of fish food that we had just bought was gone. Instead of coming home to relax, we came home to a CSI scene. We began to explore further. One of the things that I noticed was that our coat rack had been moved. It wa...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 26, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Random Thoughts Source Type: blogs

The Myth of the Cost Sensitive PatientEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
It simply will not go away, and the fact that anyone who has ever interacted with the health care system thinks this will ever be more than a pipe dream is simply delusional. The offender (this week) is former CBO and OMB director Peter Orszag. (Disclosure: I once had a man-crush on him as the uber-wonk of health care reform, until he left government and cashed in at Citigroup.)Orszag writes in Bloomberg: To Shop Smart, Patients Need to Know Price of Care, in which he argues for greater price transparency "with the goal of helping people become smarter shoppers."Sweet baby zombie Jeebus help me.To his credit, Or...
Source: Movin' Meat - January 26, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs

Save 50% at XYScrubs.comEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I recommend these. They’re terrific. Get ‘em while they last. XY Scrubs, a premier provider of men’s scrubs and medical work apparel is having a 50% Off Sale on all Men’s Scrubs. Providing eco-friendly, anti- microbial, durable and fashion forward scrubs for Men, XY Scrubs (XYScrubs.com) has established itself as the New Leader in Men’s Scrubs, introducing three unique lines of medical apparel. … To take advantage of the 50% off sale enter the promotional code “HALFOFFSCRUBS” at the checkout window. via Save 50% at XYScrubs.com. I have some (Full disclosure, I got some gifted to me by th...
Source: GruntDoc - January 25, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: GruntDoc Tags: Announcements Source Type: blogs

R&R in the FASTLANE 008Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog R&R in the FASTLANE 008The eighth edition of our weekly series of eminence-based evidence:A free weekly resource that harnesses the power of social media to allow some of the best and brightest emergency medicine and critical care clinicians from all over the world tell us what they think is worth reading from the published literature.This edition contains 14 recommended reads. Find out more about the R&R in the FASTLANE project here and check out the team of contributors from all around the world.This week’s ‘R&R Hall of Famers’Abd-el-Maeboud KH, el-Naggar ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 25, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Chris Nickson Tags: Emergency Medicine Featured Health Intensive Care R&R in the FASTLANE critical care literature recommendations research and reviews Source Type: blogs

Demanding Perfection?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Want more evidence about how many people expect perfect outcomes in medical practice? Look no further than the Wall Street Journal: “What if the Doctor is Wrong?” by Laura Landro. As a substantive basis for the conclusion that initial treating physicians are “wrong” when they haven’t yet reached a diagnosis, Ms. Landro interviewed two patients who, in the midst of a workup, left the doctor who was trying to diagnose and treat their problems. Said patients then went to a “mecca” to have their workup completed where … amazingly … the problem is “discovered” and “properl...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 25, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Medical-Legal News Commentary Source Type: blogs

More Adventures of DickEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Daughter WhiteCoat’s reading is going well. In keeping with the previous posts on the topic, she continues to learn about the adventures of Dick and his family and she still can’t understand why mom and dad laugh at her as she reads her workbook. I bet the teacher sits in her class every morning just chortling away at this book. (Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room)
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 25, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Random Thoughts Source Type: blogs

Crime Time: Juror arrested for trying to enter Fort Worth courthouse with loaded gunEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This isn’t the part that made me roll my eyes: FORT WORTH — A juror was arrested Tuesday morning as she attempted to enter a courthouse with a loaded handgun and after deputies saw the weapon during a screening, a Tarrant County official said.The incident occurred about 8:30 a.m. at the south entrance to the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center. … This was: Authorities did not release any information on why she had a loaded 32-caliber handgun at the courthouse. via Crime Time: Juror arrested for trying to enter Fort Worth courthouse with loaded gun. A .32? Why? Related posts: In Fort Worth, MedStar’s C...
Source: GruntDoc - January 24, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: GruntDoc Tags: Shooting Source Type: blogs

The Registrar sits at the desk registering patients. Right?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog The Registrar sits at the desk registering patients. Right?aka American ER Doc Gone Walkabout… 009Arriving in Tassie, I had only the vaguest sense of how the intern-resident-registrar system compared to our US system. (OK, so planning ahead has never been my strong point. Works out amazingly well. Sometimes.)By the time I finished, I had concluded:The system doesn’t make much difference, we all figure it out and do pretty much the same things by the time we’re done training. Interns are interns, and they all look and function pretty similarly. The residents in Oz have a muc...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 24, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Rick Abbott Tags: American ER Doc Gone Walkabout Australia Emergency Medicine Featured ACEM emergency medicine training healthcare registrar residency united states Source Type: blogs

Grand Rounds is at USA Today…today!Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Hey folks, medical blogging champion Dr. Val Jones is hosting Grand Rounds today on the USA Today platform. They’ll release assorted topics every three hours, so check back from time to time. I’ll have one there at some point. http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/healthyperspective/post/2012-01-23/grand-rounds-begins-health-tips/610723/1 Thanks! Edwin (Source: edwinleap.com)
Source: edwinleap.com - January 24, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: emergency medicine encouragement for doctors medical education medical policy medicine in general public health Source Type: blogs

At the end of the algorithm…LortabEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Sir, you appear to have a life-threatening aortic dissection, in which the large blood vessel in your chest has a tear. ‘Uh, yeah, so can I get a Lortab?’ Ma’am, I believe you have pneumonia and need antibiotics. ‘I figured. Can I have some Lortab or what?’ Miss, your child has a subtle break in his wrist. ‘I see. Can he get some Lortab or something?’ Headache….Lortab. Depression….out of Lortab. Anxiety….pain…Lortab. Abscess…Lortab. Cystitis…Lortab. At the end of every algorithm, Dear physicians, insert the word Lortab (or Percocet,...
Source: edwinleap.com - January 24, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: Physician wellness culture drug abuse emergency medicine encouragement for doctors good ideas gone bad medical policy medicine in general public health rant Source Type: blogs

Unaffected by suicide?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I cared for a suicide patient recently. Not an attempted suicide, a completed one. She was efficient, effective and successful. I pronounced her dead, filled out the appropriate forms, and went on with my shift. While I found it tragic, and while I was moved by the sorrow of her family, I was not particularly moved. What does that mean? Day in and day out, emergency departments like mine are bombarded with patients coming in the door, or via ambulance, who say, ‘ I’m thinking about killing myself.’ We evaluate them, admit them, commit them, see them weeks later for the same thing and round and r...
Source: edwinleap.com - January 24, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: Physician wellness emergency medicine encouragement for doctors family medical education medicine in general Source Type: blogs

A View of Emergency Medicine in BotswanaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog A View of Emergency Medicine in Botswanaaka Postcards from the Edge 004This ‘postcard from the edge’ is by Swedish Emergency doctor Katrin Hruska (@akutdoktorn), who writes a predominantly Swedish language blog called akutdoktorn.I am a born optimist, which is why I have taken on the struggle to establish emergency medicine as a specialty in Sweden. Since EM is a supraspecialty I had to take the long way through an internal medicine residency, but now I am at least seeing the end of my EM training. I am also mildly adventurous. Not in the crazy, head-first, emergency physician...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 23, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Chris Nickson Tags: Emergency Medicine Featured International Emergency Medicine Tropical Medicine africa botswana developing countries ethics IEM katrin hruska Source Type: blogs

Healthcare Update — 01-23-2012Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
See more medical news from around the web over at the Satellite Edition of this week’s Update at ER Stories. The story of “Dr. Douchebag” and why morale is declining in many of this country’s emergency departments. Even if you say “thank you, sir” for the abuse, your job may still be threatened because of bad Press Ganey scores. More than 80% of medical mistakes go unreported by hospitals. Let’s just get this out of the way: Doctors kill every single patient that they treat and plaintiff attorneys should be paid even more money to sue our way to better health care. That should do it. Indiana woman awarded...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 23, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Healthcare Update Policy Press Ganey Source Type: blogs

Think Fast EngineeringEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
My brother (the Aerospace Genius) is branching out into race engineering consulting. Think Fast Engineering is his effort, and if you want to go fast, you’re looking for the right fellow. (If you are rolling your eyes in a ‘what’s he done’ mode, have a look at his ‘about page‘, and then pick your jaw up from your chest). I’m biased, but aside from my Dad he’s the best engineering brain I know. (Dad’s not for hire). “Speed is money: how fast do you want to go?” Related posts: How fast does a wildfire move? A picture’s worth a thousand word...
Source: GruntDoc - January 23, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: GruntDoc Tags: Aviation Racing Source Type: blogs

The Canada PartyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Okay, it’s got an Fword in it, so if you’re prone to the vapors, skip this one. The rest of you, laugh, and enjoy. Related posts: Paul, I Accept Your Resignation | TechCrunch Apparently, even an open handed slap can leave a mark.... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. (Source: GruntDoc)
Source: GruntDoc - January 23, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: GruntDoc Tags: Amusements Source Type: blogs

The LITFL Review 054Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog The LITFL Review 054Welcome to the mind-boggling 54th edition!The LITFL Review is your regular and reliable source for the highest highlights, sneakiest sneak peaks and loudest shout-outs from the webbed world of emergency medicine and critical care. Each week the LITFL team will cast the spotlight on the best and brightest from the blogosphere, the podcast video/audiosphere and the rest of the Web 2.0 social media jungle.The Most Fair Dinkum Ripper Beaut of the WeekEM BasicTop spot this week is taken out by someone new on the podcasting/blogging scene… Steve Carroll over at ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 23, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kane Guthrie Tags: Blog News Education Emergency Medicine Intensive Care LITFL review Medical Specialty Trauma LITFL R/V Source Type: blogs

Not Running a Hospital: Carrying a lot of baggageEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
What he said… Query: Why hadn’t they notified me upon arrival — or even before arrival when I was aboard the plane? They knew what plane I was on. Why have me go through a long fruitless wait at the airport? If you have such a powerful information system, why not use it to the benefit of your patrons? Especially your so-called “priority” customers.Indeed, why can’t all customers gain access to the baggage information system on their computers or iPhones? Sounds like that would be better service and possibly save money for those companies, too. via Not Running a Hospital: Carrying a lot o...
Source: GruntDoc - January 20, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: GruntDoc Tags: Announcements Source Type: blogs

Too Many CT Scans … or Not Enough?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Scary findings. Patients using Coumadin who have any head injury need repeat CT scans. The study looked at 116 patients who were taking Coumadin and who had any head injury with a GCS of 14 or 15 – regardless of loss of consciousness (patients with lower GCS were presumably at higher risk of intracranial bleeding). CT scans were performed on all patients. Of those initial 116, nineteen patients (16%) had bleeding on their initial exam. Of the remaining 97 patients with normal initial CT scans, ten refused to be in the study. Repeat CT scans were performed on the remaining 87 patients 24 hours after the first normal C...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 20, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Medicare Policy Source Type: blogs

Medicine: a means, not an endEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Sometimes, we physicians lose our way. It’s particularly a problem of young physicians, in training. But it can afflict anyone, at any time. And it happens when we see medicine as an end in itself, rather than a means. Oh, it’s an exciting thing, to be sure. I remember being an emergency medicine resident. I remember carrying the pager for the LifeLine Helicopter at Methodist Hospital of Indiana. Oh, the tingling thrill of the pager, the palpable, heart-racing excitement of running to the landing pad! How I loved strapping on a helmet, buckling in and flying off to the scene of a wreck, where we would swoop in ...
Source: edwinleap.com - January 20, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: emergency medicine family marriage medical education medicine in general parenthood Source Type: blogs

Friday Frontline Inspiration 015Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog Friday Frontline Inspiration 015Shot on board with the paramedics of Pretoria and Johannesburg, TELL ME AND I WILL FORGET illuminates the new social challenges in South Africa, 15 years after the end of its oppressive Apartheid era.Below is the first 2 minutes of this amazing hour long documentary. I urge you to make the time to watch and digest the rest of the film – it will be an hour well spentDesperate human circumstance and a wave of violent crime have put immense pressure on the medical system, which is now as divided as the country’s dual economy. With the on going US m...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 19, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Mike Cadogan Tags: Arcanum Veritas Blog News Featured Friday inspiration Health International Emergency Medicine Pre-hospital / Retrieval Paramedic snag films South Africa tell me and i will forget Source Type: blogs

Test the Textbook TrilogyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog Test the Textbook TrilogyLate last year we completed a trilogy of textbooks relating to emergency medicine, toxicology and medical education.We are now looking for ‘volunteers’ to read and review these texts…and have 15 textbooks (5 of each book) to give away for FREE.Rules for reviewersBe subscribed to Life in the Fast Lane by email or RSS feedSend me an email letting me know which of the texts you would like to review, and whyEnhance your chances by sending me a Tweet on twitter or a Comment on Facebook or a Comment on Google PlusCross your fingersThe lucky winners...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 19, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Mike Cadogan Tags: Blog News Competition Education eLearning Emergency Medicine Featured diagnosis and management On Call Toxicology Handbook Source Type: blogs

Test the Textbook TrilogyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog Test the Textbook TrilogyLate last year we completed a trilogy of textbooks relating to emergency medicine, toxicology and medical education.We are now looking for ‘volunteers’ to read and review these texts…and have 15 textbooks (5 of each book) to give away for FREE.Rules for reviewersBe subscribed to Life in the Fast Lane by email or RSS feedSend me an email letting me know which of the texts you would like to review, and whyEnhance your chances by leaving a comment at the end of this post, sending me a Tweet on twitter or a Comment on Facebook or a Comment on Goo...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 19, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Mike Cadogan Tags: Blog News Competition Education eLearning Emergency Medicine Featured diagnosis and management On Call Toxicology Handbook Source Type: blogs

A headache patient and a lesson for the kidsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
(Source: edwinleap.com)
Source: edwinleap.com - January 19, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: emergency medicine encouragement for doctors family homeschool stuff man stuff medical education parenthood raising a woman raising men Source Type: blogs

R&R In The FASTLANE 007Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog R&R In The FASTLANE 007The seventh edition of our weekly series of eminence-based evidence (back after the festive season hiatus):A free weekly resource that harnesses the power of social media to allow some of the best and brightest emergency medicine and critical care clinicians from all over the world tell us what they think is worth reading from the published literature.This edition contains 18 recommended reads. Find out more about the R&R in the FASTLANE project here and check out the team of contributors from all around the world.This week’s ‘R&R Hall of Fa...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 18, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Chris Nickson Tags: Emergency Medicine Featured Health Intensive Care R&R in the FASTLANE critical care literature recommendations research and reviews Source Type: blogs

Certificates of Medical NecessityEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Not too long ago I got a letter labeled “URGENT” in my mailbox at work. The letter was from Walgreens regarding a patient I had seen several weeks earlier. I cut and pasted parts of the letter to make it fit on one page above. As the prescribing physician, in order for our government to pay for the prescription I wrote for the patient … several weeks ago … I had to sign a statement stating the following: “I, the undersigned, certify that the above prescribed supplies/equipment are medically necessary for this patient’s well being. In my opinion, the supplies are both reasonable an...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 18, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: CMS Medicare Policy Source Type: blogs

Timing is EverythingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I almost had an ironic picture to post from this week’s wrestling meets. Almost. There was a parent in the stands several rows in front of me. She was cheering on her son, which we all do. Her son was 13 years old and weighed 229 pounds. I know because wrestlers have their weights written on their arms in magic marker after they weigh in. The lady easily weighed 300 lbs. She was cheering loudly and bouncing up and down on the stands. Then her son won his match. She stood up and put her arms over her head and cheered. Fair enough. We do the same thing when our kid wins. In the woman’s left hand was a partially e...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - January 17, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Random Thoughts Source Type: blogs

Board Exams and a quiet revolutionEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Folks, my December column concerned the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the Maintence of Certification program. This is not unique to my specialty. In fact, the American Board of Medical Specialties has enormous influence, and in total rakes in some $300,000,000 per year across all specialties. I understand the need to prove our competency. I didn’t mind my original exam and I didn’t even mind the test every ten years. But as any physician knows, it is getting out of hand. The cost, and the requirements, are becoming substantial. We’re told, ‘oh, it’s just $100 here or $10...
Source: edwinleap.com - January 17, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: Physician wellness Ridiculous Rules board exams economics education emergency medicine encouragement for doctors good ideas gone bad medical education medical misadventures medical policy medicine in general politics Source Type: blogs