Emergency Medicine Blogs This is an OPML file. It can be used to export all the MedWorm RSS feeds on this topic into your personal RSS reader (usually you have to save this file to your own computer before clicking on an Import OPML command in your own feed reader to upload the file which will then import all the feeds) or it can be used by webmasters to integrate MedWorm feeds with their own website. This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader, such as GoogleReader, or to display this data on your own website or blog. Subscribe to this data using MyMedWorm.Subscribe to this data using GoogleReader.Subscribe to this data using Bloglines.Subscribe to this data using MyYahoo.

This page shows you the most recent publications within this specialty of the MedWorm directory. This is page number 26.

True life emergency medicine
There are lots of instructional videos in medicine these days that can be found on Youtube. @ngchmd of the Dobbs forum has posted one which gives students an excellent idea of what life as an Emergency Medicine doctor truly is. It’s not as depicted on TV as you would see in series like ER! It’s an hour long video but worth the watch and great educational value. Local resources: You can also get an idea of Emergency Medicine in Malaysia by visiting Dr Chew Keng Sheng’s Emergency Medicine blog A reminder too about the free ebook, Management Guide in Emergency Medicine by Malaysian doctors. from the Malaysi...
Source: Malaysian Medical Resources - July 14, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Palmdoc Tags: - Education - Palmdoc Emergency Medicine Source Type: blogs

“A little dust, and the engine kicks.”
So I've written in the past about Sweep duties. You can read about my previous adventures here and here and here. I'm not going to lie – the attraction of driving through the desert is one that is largely lost on me. I love the novelty of it, I love the landscape, I love the omnipotence of the sand; much like the Cairngorms, there's a clear message from the terrain that, whoever you are, the landscape will kick your ass if you don't respect it. But tooling through the sand for 14 hours just because? Meh. Not for me. If, however, you're the type of person who would LOVE to drive ...
Source: Trauma Queen - July 14, 2012 Category: Ambulance Crew Authors: Kal Tags: Abu Dhabi DC 2012 Source Type: blogs

Do The Right Thing
I know…it sounds obvious. It also sounds deceptively easy. But it’s not. When we accept a job as an emergency responder we need to be willing to commit ourselves to doing the right thing, even when it’s hard. Even when the policy manual says we should do the wrong thing. Even when our protocols say we should do the wrong thing. Even when our supervisor says we should do the wrong thing. Florida lifeguard Thomas Lopez was called to help a drowning man just outside the ropes of his designated swim beach. When he responded, he found the man being assisted by other beach-goers. He rendered aid until an ambula...
Source: The EMT Spot - July 14, 2012 Category: Ambulance Crew Authors: administrator Tags: Everything Else The Big Get It slider Source Type: blogs

Will Work for Half-and-Half
I love my co-workers. When things get absurd and all I want to do is smack my head, they make me laugh. Case-in-point: We were informed that Half-and-Half would no longer be provided to staff or patients. Those choosing to use creamer in their coffee would be offered Coffee-Mate, or could choose to “BYOH&H.” “Corporate” decided this would make a good cost-cutting measure. ***** “Corporate” is like the “Not Me” character in the “Family Circus” comic. Blamed for everything, but never actually seen. Normally, this would have engendered an eye-rolling, how-much-m...
Source: Emergiblog - July 14, 2012 Category: Nurses Authors: Kim Tags: Blog Not Me Coffee emergency emergency department ER nurse Family Circus Half and half Hospital administration nursing patient Physician registered nurse Scrubs Source Type: blogs

From Overlawyered: Medical Roundup
By Walter OlsonCross-posted from Overlawyered: How’d we get shortages of hospital and community sterile injectables? Check out the role of FDA Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regs, warning letters, and resulting plant closures [Tabarrok, with comments controversy; earlier here, here, here, etc.]. California orthopedist sues, wins damages against medical society that took action against him based on his testimony for plaintiff in liability case [American Medical News; earlier here, etc.]. Can’t have that: medical apology should be opposed because it “can create an emotional connection with an injured pa...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 13, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Walter Olson Tags: Health Care Law and Civil Liberties Source Type: blogs

Did Toxic Effects of an EHR Kill Rory Staunton?
A stunning story about the death of a young man from sepsis (blood poisoning by infection), missed in an ED, appeared in the New York Times:An Infection, Unnoticed, Turns UnstoppableBy JIM DWYERNew York TimesPublished: July 11, 2012For a moment, an emergency room doctor stepped away from the scrum of people working on Rory Staunton, 12, and spoke to his parents. “Your son is seriously ill,” the doctor said.“How seriously?” Rory’s mother, Orlaith Staunton, asked.The doctor paused.“Gravely ill,” he said.How could that be?Two days earlier, diving for a basketball at his school gym, Rory had cut his arm. He arriv...
Source: Health Care Renewal - July 13, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: NYU Langone Medical Center healthcare IT dangers healthcare IT risk Rory Staunton healthcare IT deaths EPIC ICIS Eclipsys Sunrise Clinical Manager Source Type: blogs

Healthcare Update — 07-13-2012
Difficult ethical dilemma. With limited resources, what should be done about the 10% of Medicare patients who use nearly two thirds of the Medicare’s hospital spending? End of life care also accounts for a large amount of spending – rough estimates show that about 22% of Medicare spending is for end of life care. And what do we do with families of terminal patients who want “everything done” but who can’t or won’t pay for the care? Then read about this case where there really was a “death panel“. What do you think should have been done? What are some of the strangest cases seen in New Ze...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - July 13, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Healthcare Update Source Type: blogs

Funtabulously Fearful Friday Five 094
It’s Friday the 13th LITFLers… so of course this week’s FFFF will test your knowledge on all types of fearfulness related to this inauspicious date.So, lets get this Friday the 13th off to a friggin’ good start!Question 1What is the medical term for fear of Friday the 13th?Reveal the funtabulous answer!expand(document.getElementById('ddet103507581'));expand(document.getElementById('ddetlink103507581'))FriggatriskaidekaphobiaFrigga is the name of the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named and triskaidekaphobia means fear of the number thirteen.An estimated 17 to 21 million people in the...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - July 12, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Chris Nickson Tags: Featured Frivolous Friday Five Health FFFF Friday the 13th Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five Medical Trivia Source Type: blogs

Ottawa ankle rules and me
#bbpBox_223480429871767552 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_223480429871767552 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }@EMIMDoc @meganranney @eleytherius Ottawa Ankle Rules? People follow them? :) I try to explain to pts but really, they want an XRabout 11 hours ago via webReplyRetweetFavorite@EMDocBrettBrett This reminds me of my experience with the Ottawa Ankle Rules in the Navy. USMC Infantry is designed to generate ankle sprains, and recurrent ones. Initial sprains as young athletic hard chargers are required to carry big loads over unimproved terrain in the dark, plus seemingly all the time not in direc...
Source: GruntDoc - July 12, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: GruntDoc Tags: Amusements Emergency Source Type: blogs

emergency locksmith Mississauga
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Source: Med Student Guide - July 12, 2012 Category: Medical Students Source Type: blogs

Our thought processes – step 1 problem representation
The night float resident presents a 47-year-old man who came to the emergency department early this morning for right elbow pain and swelling. He provides a story of going to bed around 10:30 pm in his usual state of excellent health (on no medications) and awakening at 2:17 am with severe right elbow pain and warmth. He had never had this pain previously. In the ED he had a temperature of 100.5 F, pulse 84, resp 14 and BP 150/100. He appeared in obvious pain. Other than his elbow, his exam was normal. His right elbow was swollen, hot and exquisitely tender. He was holding his arm caref...
Source: DB's Medical Rants - July 12, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: rcentor Tags: Medical Rants Source Type: blogs

The Poms join the party with St Emlyn’s
I don’t usually give a blog a shout out in such a primordial state, but with ‘St Emlyn’s Virtual Hospital’ (stemlynsblog.org) I’ll happily make an exception.There have been some truly exciting developments in the emergency medicine social media world since ICEM 2012. Online interactivity reached stratospheric heights with the #ICEM2012 hashtag on Twitter, involving both those people lucky enough to physically be at the conference in Dublin as well as those of us “languishing” in the far flung reaches of the world without a jug of Guinness in sight… We will likely hear more ab...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - July 12, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Chris Nickson Tags: Featured Health blog Emergency Medicine manchester st emlyn's stemlyns virtual hospital Source Type: blogs

Google Book Search and Medical Education
Addedum: My interview with Google is here. Somewhat unexpectedly, Google asked me to talk on film about doctors who use Google Book Search. So lately, I’ve been thinking about the strange beast that Google Books has become. If you haven’t seen it recently, take another look. Initially modest, the project has evolved into a screamingly useful, many-headed creature built on a massive body of books — and I mean massive, as in the complete searchable text of several university libraries. Google Book Search also includes lots of extras, including links to book reviews, references on websites, references from o...
Source: Kidney Notes - July 12, 2012 Category: Urologists and Nephrologists Authors: Joshua Schwimmer Source Type: blogs

A hard place to be a Christian: a devotion for doctors (and others)
It has been a long time since I posted a ‘Devotion for Doctors.’ I hope this is an encouragement to you. The ER is a hard place to be a Christian. One of the hardest, according to my partner in practice, Jim Gill. I think he’s right. When I go to work, all full of good intentions (and we know what road is paved with those), it only takes a little while for me to slide out of my better self and descend, precipitously, into my lower self. Of course, as a Christian, it’s more a question of moving from a ‘Christ-like me’ to a ‘me-like me.’ It’s a difficult place for...
Source: edwinleap.com - July 11, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: Altar Call Good News Physician wellness devotions emergency medicine encouragement for doctors faith medicine in general Source Type: blogs

The scars deep inside. My July EM News column.
I was talking to some new friends over lunch recently, at the nationally renowned Hominy Cafe, in Charleston, SC. Any place with a Fried Green Tomato BLT, and Shrimp and Grits for breakfast, has my vote! To the point: my question to these esteemed emergency medicine educators was this: ‘Do you ever have irrational fears about the people you love, because of what you do?’ The answer was a resounding ‘absolutely!’ Like me, they worried when ambulances were dispatched while their children were out with friends. They worried when their spouses drove in heavy traffic. The list went on. And I shook my hea...
Source: edwinleap.com - July 11, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Edwinlea Tags: EM News column Physician wellness emergency medicine encouragement for doctors medical education Source Type: blogs

ROSC, hypotension and an ECG exigency
aka ECG Exigency 015A 68 year-old woman collapsed at home, as witnessed by her son who commenced CPR. She was in ventricular fibrillation when the paramedics arrived, and reverted to sinus rhythm following defibrillation at the scene. She was intubated prehospital and transferred to your emergency department. She remains intubated and unconscious, and she has a blood pressure of 75/50 mmHg.This is her ECG:Click to enlargeQuestionsQ1. Describe and interpret the ECG.Answer and interpretationexpand(document.getElementById('ddet389264755'));expand(document.getElementById('ddetlink389264755'))DescriptionSR 90/min (borderline ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - July 11, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Chris Nickson Tags: Cardiology Clinical Case ECG Emergency Medicine Featured Intensive Care ECG Exigency Hypotension infarction inferior right ventricular rosc RV STEMI Source Type: blogs

Texas Pandemic Flu Toolkit Predicts Disease Spread
State health authorities in Texas are now using software developed at University of Texas at Austin to prepare for a possible flu pandemic of the future. The Texas Pandemic Flu Toolkit allows simulations to be performed based on various characteristics of the disease including the latency period, infectious period, and the mortality rate. By performing simulations based on probable scenarios, the folks in Texas think they can better respond in cases of emergency and be able to effectively simulate the progression of a real pandemic.Read More
Source: Medgadget - July 11, 2012 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Gene Ostrovsky Tags: Net News Public Health Source Type: blogs

Medicaid clients in the ER: emergent or not?
It's an article of faith in the Emergency Medicine community that patients on Medicaid over-use the ER; many would go further to say that they abuse the ER. I am (rarely) inclined not to be so judgmental on this point because the cause is in part rooted in inadequate access to ambulatory care. But the fact of Medicaid overuse of the ER is probably one of the very few things that most ER providers, doctors, nurses and techs would be in unanimous agreement on. So I was surprised to see Sarah Kliff over at WonkBlog link to the following article:Study: Medicaid patients aren’t using the emergency department fo...
Source: Movin' Meat - July 11, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs

Mayo Clinic latest computer toy: "YES" Board patient tracking system
From Mayo Clinic YouTube channel: Vernon Smith, M.D., an emergency room physician at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, discusses the benefits of the computerized YES Board patient tracking system which he developed over the course of several years and input from hundreds of doctors, nurses and emergency room staff while he worked at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. According to Mayo Clinic, "the YES board reduces the time required to translate data, allowing physicians to forecast the needs of their patients and track progress. It has the capacity to walk physicians through current and past information for each patient — in add...
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog - July 11, 2012 Category: Professors and Educators Tags: Mayo Clinic Emergency Medicine Video Source Type: blogs

ImaCor Zura EVO Ultrasound for Transesophageal Echocardiography
ImaCor of Garden City, NY has unveiled its new Zura EVO ultrasound that’s intended for use with the company’s ClariTEE transesophageal echocardiography probe. The ClariTEE is intended for continuous hemodynamic monitoring in acute care patients for up to 72 hours.The EVO is a miniaturized version of the original Zura system featuring a large touchscreen, the latest ImaCor software, and an “enhanced hTEE measurement package specific to area changes of the superior vena cava, and the right and left ventricles of the heart,” according to the firm.Read More
Source: Medgadget - July 11, 2012 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Gene Ostrovsky Tags: Anesthesiology Cardiac Surgery Cardiology Critical Care Emergency Medicine Source Type: blogs

Health-Care Spending
By Quinn Phillips In the wake of the US Supreme Court's decision late last month upholding nearly all of the Affordable Care Act (often called Obamacare), it is likely that the law's expansion of private health insurance coverage — achieved through a requirement that most people buy or obtain insurance, combined with subsidies to make it more affordable — as well as its efforts to limit overall health-care spending will remain in effect. While no one seriously questions that the law will result in expanded health coverage, many experts doubt that its various efforts will slow the rate of growth in health-care s...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - July 11, 2012 Category: Diabetes Authors: Quinn Phillips Source Type: blogs

Freedom -- methinks that word does not mean what you think it means
Some deep thinkers including Ezekiel Emanuel (who has been guilty of some shallow thinking lately, but that's beside the point) argue in JAMA a point I have often made here. (I think you common rabble are likely to get bounced to the first 150 words.)To put it succinctly, the outraged claims by self-styled conservatives that requiring people to buy health insurance is an infringement of individual liberty are nonsensical. They are, as Click and Clack put it, unencumbered by the thought process. If you are strongly committed to individual liberty and personal responsibility, then you ought to be a passionate supporter of th...
Source: Stayin' Alive - July 11, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Lean stories at Hadassah Mt. Scopus
Jim Womack and I changed venues in our Lean mission today, moving from the main campus of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, to the smaller (300-bed) community academic hospital at Mt. Scopus. This was the original Hadassah hospital, abandoned in 1948 after several dozen staff members, including the director-general, were massacred on their way to work. It re-opened in the 1960s, but after planning and construction for the new large hospital had occurred. It serves a mixed Jewish and Arab clientele, and its staff also reflects that mixture. The building is lovely -- old-fashi...
Source: Running a hospital - July 11, 2012 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs

Post #31 Superfreakohealthonomics
For the past few years I have been intrigued by the field of behavioral economics and economics in general; the works of Daniel Kahneman, Richard Thaler, Dan Ariely, Steven Levitt (writing with Stephen Dubner), Thomas Sowell, Paul Krugman have influenced my outlook on all aspects of life including healthcare. With medicine increasingly consuming a larger part of our nation's resources, economic analysis of the efficiency and efficacy of doctors, hospitals, and healthcare policies has and hopefully will continue to produce better theory that will in turn yield tangible results in improvin...
Source: A Pediatrician's Blog - July 11, 2012 Category: Pediatricians Source Type: blogs

Computer Assisted Coding
In the past, I've highlighted candidates such as "analytics", "HIE", and "gamification" for the hottest technology concepts of the year, the "Plastics" of 2012. Recently, I've seen a new strong contender - "Computer Assisted Coding"With ICD10 looming on the horizon, companies such as m-Modal, Dolbey, 3M, and Optum are offering applications that process the structured and unstructured data associated with an inpatient hospitalization or outpatient encounter into suggested ICD9 or ICD10 codes.Using linguists, informaticians, natural language processing experts, and proprietary algorithms, each company promises to incr...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - July 11, 2012 Category: Technology Consultants Source Type: blogs

How to Start Your Work-Day Right
Do you ever get a sinking feeling at the very start of your day? Perhaps it’s prompted by a full inbox – again, or several colleagues stopping by to ask questions, or the mountain of work on your desk. Whatever the exact cause, the feeling is the same: you’re distinctly uninspired about the day ahead – and your stress levels are already rising. Once you get into this frame of mind, minor problems suddenly seem like major crisis situations. By beginning your morning in the right way, you’ve got a much better chance of a calm, smooth work-day, start to end. Here’s how: Get Into the Office Early If you can, get t...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - July 11, 2012 Category: Life Coaches Authors: Ali Luke Tags: productivity tips self improvement pickthebrain success Source Type: blogs

Geisinger Health System and Merck Partnership to Improve Patient Health Outcomes
Conclusion Although keeping patients on schedule with their medications would mean more sales volume for drug makers, it also could prevent emergency room visits and hospital stays, according to recent research. One recent study found that 63 percent of patients do not take their medication as directed. Improving adherence is critical for hospitals in particular because the Affordable Care Act penalizes hospitals for high readmission rates. Two recent efforts to reduce readmissions included text message medication reminders for diabetics and embedding nurse care managers within primary care practices to coord...
Source: Policy and Medicine - July 11, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs

Troubling Lab Strife
aka Oncology Quandary 005A 30 year-old woman presents with abdominal pain and paraesthesiae. She was diagnosed with CML 2 months previously, and was treated with chemotherapy a month prior to presentation.These are her blood test results:QuestionsQ1. Describe and interpret the test results. What is the likely diagnosis? Answer and interpretationexpand(document.getElementById('ddet618250188'));expand(document.getElementById('ddetlink618250188'))DescriptionMild hyponatremiaHyperkalaemiaHyperphosphataemiaHypocalcaemiaHyperuricaemiaHigh creatinine and urea consistent with renal impairment, with a high urea-to-creatine ratioLo...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - July 10, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Paul Young Tags: Clinical Case Emergency Medicine Featured Health Intensive Care Oncology chronic myeloid leukaemia CML hyperkalemia hyperuricaemia hypocalcemia hypophosphatemia oncology quandary renal failure tumour lysis syndrome Source Type: blogs

Darth Vader in the ER
Would Darth Vader make a good emergency physician? Yes…according to guest author Dr Javier Benítez. I recently read an article on why Darth Vader would make an effective project manager and found it fascinating the similarities between running an emergency department and being a project manager. Top 10 reasons why Darth Vader would make a good ER physician10. Darth Vader prioritized brutally. Same thing for emergency medicine, there is no way to get around this. You have prioritize, and prioritize, and do it over and over until the end of your shift. You have to take care of the sickest first, and then keep t...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - July 10, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Mike Cadogan Tags: Administration Emergency Medicine Featured Guest Post darth vader Javier Benítez Learning List Top 10 Source Type: blogs

Assessing PEPFAR: The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
By Carrie Winans. In the alphabet soup of acronyms that plagues Washington, DC, it can be hard to sort out the ones that have a direct global impact. Today, July 10, at the Health Affairs briefing assessing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: Past Achievements and Future Prospects, I learned that PEPFAR is definitely one of those acronyms. PEPFAR is the United States’ initiative to help those suffering from HIV/AIDS around the world. The program looks to treat those who have HIV/AIDS, educate local communities about what HIV/AIDS is and how to prevent it, and remove the stigma around it. In the pa...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - July 10, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Events AIDS Health Affairs HIV PEPFAR Source Type: blogs

Getting past "kacha zeh" at Hadassah
Jim Womack and I continued our Lean mission today at the main campus of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem. We started with a gemba walk through the emergency department and then up to the internal medicine wards. I had seen these areas a couple of days ago, but Jim has just arrived. As always, he asked great questions and had thoughtful observations, particularly about the problem of patient boarding in the ED.Later, we both participated in a hospital-wide session organized by CEO Ehud Kokia. His purpose was to provide the staff with an overview of the purpose of the Lean jou...
Source: Running a hospital - July 10, 2012 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs

New Health Affairs: Assessing The President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief
Articles published yesterday in the July 2012 issue of July 2012 issue of Health Affairs focus on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the US program to address global HIV and AIDS, and the largest investment to date of any country to fight a single disease. The thematic issue examines the origins of [...]
Source: Health Affairs Blog - July 10, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Chris Fleming Tags: AIDS All Categories Chronic Care Global Health Pharma Policy Public Health Science and Health Source Type: blogs

New Health Affairs: Assesing The President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief
Articles published yesterday in the July 2012 issue of July 2012 issue of Health Affairs focus on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the US program to address global HIV and AIDS, and the largest investment to date of any country to fight a single disease. The thematic issue examines the origins of [...]
Source: Health Affairs Blog - July 10, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Chris Fleming Tags: AIDS All Categories Chronic Care Global Health Pharma Policy Public Health Science and Health Source Type: blogs

What Club Drug May Help Depression?
Antidepressants not working for you? Psychotherapy a drag? Supplements no better than a sugar pill? You might want to check out a drug more popularly known among the club scene and all-night dance parties than for the treatment of depression. As we reported last month, researchers are taking a second look at ketamine — also known as Special K in the club scene — to help with depression.1 It appears it has the potential to be faster-acting than traditional antidepressants, which may make it a new treatment option for people who are depressed and are suicidal or in crisis. Ketamine is already approved for certain...
Source: World of Psychology - July 9, 2012 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: John M. Grohol, PsyD Tags: Antidepressant Depression Disorders General Medications Aberdeen Scotland Active Research Bipolar Patients Businessweek Changzhou China Cymbalta Dance Parties Decision Resources Drug Enforcement Administration Geneva Switzerlan Source Type: blogs

Mayo’s YES Board Patient Tracking System
The emergency departments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and Phoenix, Arizona are trying out a new situational awareness system that Vernon Smith, a physician and computer engineer at the hospital, developed by working directly with clinical staff to discover what they need.Turns out that keeping constant vigilance of the status of numerous patients is not an easy task, as doctors and nurses working in busy environments know well, and various systems have been built to help digitize the management process.Read More
Source: Medgadget - July 9, 2012 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Gene Ostrovsky Tags: Informatics Source Type: blogs

FDA Issues Risk Management Plan For Opioids
As a national debate rages over access to prescription painkillers, which have been blamed for an increasing number of deaths and mishaps, the FDA has approved a much-anticipated risk management plan for extended-release and long-acting opioids that are sold by 20 different drugmakers. Among them is Purdue Pharma, which markets OxyContin, the most notorious of these medications. The centerpiece of this effort is a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which the FDA signaled last year was in the making and that drugmakers will have to employ to train prescribers. The agency expects that drugmakers will train at least 60...
Source: Pharmalot - July 9, 2012 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Actavis Avinza Butrans Dolophine Duragesic Embida Endo Pharmaceuticals Exalgo FDA JJ Johnson & Johnson Mallinckrodt; Kadian MS Contin Opana ER Opioids OxyContin Pfizer Purdue Pharma REMS Risk Evaluatio Source Type: blogs

Health Affairs PEPFAR Briefing Tomorrow: Reminder And Webcast Information
Tomorrow, Tuesday July 10, Health Affairs will release its July 2012 issue, “Assessing The President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief.” The volume contains a thorough examination of PEPFAR, the program of bilateral U.S. assistance begun in 2003 to support countries in their battle against HIV/AIDS. The effort has been described as the largest program of [...]
Source: Health Affairs Blog - July 9, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Chris Fleming Tags: AIDS All Categories Chronic Care Global Health Pharma Policy Prevention Public Health Source Type: blogs

OrSense Introduces Glasswing Wireless Non-Invasive Hb Measurement Device
OrSense has introduced its Glasswing wireless, non-invasive hemoglobin (Hb) measurement system. Hb measurements are usually performed using capillary blood obtained by ﬁnger pricking, which is sent to the lab for results. Glasswing uses the company’s proprietary non-invasive Hb measurement methods for continuous and spot Hb measurements. The wireless system enables on-line storage and download of data, real-time communication with electronic medical records as well as with other digital data devices and printers.The device is purposed for anemia monitoring, hemorrhage detection and pre-donation screening in envi...
Source: Medgadget - July 9, 2012 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Wouter Stomp Tags: Anesthesiology Cardiology Critical Care Medicine Surgery Source Type: blogs

Government Surveillance of Cell Users: 1.3 Million Annual Requests and Rising
By Julian SanchezLast week, I wrote that the annual report on government wiretaps has become increasingly misleading and irrelevant, as new technologies have granted investigators a wide array of powerful and intrusive electronic surveillance tools that don’t meet the legal definition of a “wiretap”—or require police to meet the same strict standards of proof before they can be used. Today, The New York Times provides a dramatic and shocking illustration of the point, with a story revealing that cell phone companies report receiving a mind-boggling 1.3 million government requests for information about t...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 9, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Julian Sanchez Tags: Law and Civil Liberties Telecom, Internet & Information Policy Source Type: blogs

An App for Medical Emergencies - EmergencyLink - WSJ video
EmergencyLink is a free service that provides medical information and personal contacts to emergency responders - Mossberg for WSJ: Here is the URL: http://www.emergencylink.com The company explains how it can help if: - You Are In An Accident. A first responder locates the EmergencyLink ID and calls EmergencyLink as instructed. EmergencyLink provides the first responder with your emergency medical information and contacts your “Emergency Contacts” as you have instructed. - Your Child Is Missing. You can quickly create a a Missing Person report and forward it to the police. The police can immediately act on the i...
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog - July 9, 2012 Category: Professors and Educators Tags: WSJ Video Source Type: blogs

Every crime matters….
A very supportive opinion piece in today’s Daily Telegraph by former detective Tim Priest. Three things I would like to say before you read it. From my own experience working in the ED with aggressive and abusive patients, the police (as a whole) have been nothing but efficient and effective dealing with situations that they have become involved in. Frustrated? Oh yes, I have seen them get frustrated. They often have to remain in our department for hours with high risk patients waiting for our resources to become available to manage their custodians. But when we need them, they have our six. Although it is probabl...
Source: impactEDnurse - July 9, 2012 Category: Nurses Authors: impactEDnurse Tags: the nurses desk: Source Type: blogs

An App for Medical Emergencies - WSJ video
EmergencyLink is a free service that provides medical information and personal contacts to emergency responders - Mossberg for WSJ: Here is the URL: http://www.emergencylink.com Posted at Clinical Cases and Images. Stay updated and subscribe, follow us on Twitter and connect on Facebook.
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog - July 9, 2012 Category: Professors and Educators Tags: WSJ Video Source Type: blogs

FDA Releases Final Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) for Extended Release/Long Acting Opioids Including a Prescriber Education Program
After three years of work the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its final Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) for extend-release (ER) and long-acting (LA) opioid medications. This is the first time that the FDA has mandated a class wide REMS and much of what is recommended will be looked at closely for future class REMS. ER/LA opioids are highly potent drugs that are approved to treat moderate to severe persistent pain for serious and chronic conditions (list of ER/LA opioid products). The misuse and abuse of these drugs have resulted in a serious public health crisis of addiction, overdose, a...
Source: Policy and Medicine - July 9, 2012 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs

China Biologic Receives SFDA Manufacturing Approval Certificate for Human Coagulation Factor VIII
China Biologic Products, Inc., a leading fully integrated plasma-based biopharmaceutical company in China, today announced that its indirectly owned subsidiary, Shandong Taibang Biological Products Co., Ltd. ("Taibang") has received a manufacturing approval certificate from the China State Food and Drug Administration ("SFDA") for Human Coagulation Factor VIII ("FVIII"). With this certificate, the only approval remaining for Taibang's commercial production of FVIII is the SFDA's good manufacturing practice ("GMP") certification of the FVIII production line itself.Taibang began research for FVIII in 2007 and successfully de...
Source: Medical Hemostat - July 9, 2012 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: hemostatguy at gmail.com (hemostat guy) Source Type: blogs

Psychotherapy: the Down Side
In my review of Lou Breger's book Psychotherapy: Lives Intersecting, several readers commented that they felt injured by psychotherapy. It's a favorite topic of ClinkShrink who wrote the section for our Shrink Rap about how therapy can be harmful, and likes to note that any treatment with the potential to heal also has the potential to harm. So I got to thinking Why Would Psychotherapy be harmful? There's bad therapy, like those mentioned by ClinkShrink and by Dr. Breger, where the therapist has their own belief system and thrusts it upon the patient, whether or not the patient feels the interpretations reso...
Source: Shrink Rap - July 9, 2012 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Dinah Source Type: blogs

Aristotle and Benzos for Back Pain
aka Socrates and Sophistry 004The inspiration for today’s S and S section, comes from (1) LITFL friend, and Twitter’s @RFDSdoc, Minh who mused on an Aristotelian quote:“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”and (2) the inimitable and peerless @precordialthump who suggested the thorny habit of benzodiazepines and back pain/muscular spasm as a topic.Aristotle was the next generation of Greek Philosopher. He was the student of Plato (the chronicler of our man Socrates), and a tutor of Alexander the Great. His philosophical legacy was extensive, and he pondered as much on science ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - July 8, 2012 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Michelle Johnston Tags: Education Emergency Medicine Featured Health Socrates and Sophistry aristotle back pain benzodiazepines diazepam habit muscle spasm Source Type: blogs

First Lean steps in Jerusalem
I spent the day at the main campus of the Hadassah Medical Organization today in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, with staff members engaged in learning about and experimenting with Lean process improvement. I think the hardest thing for people to accept about Lean is that it is a philosophy based on incremental steps rather than major revamping of complex systems. The idea is that small advances lead to great gains over time. Your front-line staff encounter a problem in the workplace and then you design an experiment to try to solve the problem. Then you evaluate the effectiveness of the experiment and, if ne...
Source: Running a hospital - July 8, 2012 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs

Why I had to interrupt the Minister: Don't cut refugee health care
When Minister Diane Finley spoke in London on Thursday, I stood up and interrupted her in the name of my fellow physicians and our refugee patients who have long been a staple in the practice of Canadian medicine. Here's why. The federal government has implemented a series of severe and harmful health care cuts for refugees. Under these cuts, a refugee having a heart attack would not be covered for treatment if she belonged to one of the most affected groups created under the plan. Nor would a pregnant woman. Nor a child with a broken arm. The list of common scenarios is only limited by the imagination, and is not speculat...
Source: Open Medicine Blog - - July 8, 2012 Category: Medical Publishers Authors: Tarek Loubani Source Type: blogs

Sunday News Round-Up, Antibiotic-Filled Edition
You’ll have to see this recent post, I am Hard on Ankles, for an explanation of this week’s title. I think I’m finally getting better instead of just “not worse!” Over at OBOS, I have a round-up of reactions to the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act. And don’t forget to check out the Our Bodies Our Votes campaign! A judge temporarily blocked enforcement of a new Mississippi law that threatens to close the states *only* abortion clinic. A hearing is set for July 11. The Center for Reproductive Rights is working to fight the law as an unconstitutional attempt to outlaw abo...
Source: Women's Health News - July 8, 2012 Category: Medical Librarians Authors: Rachel Tags: Abortion Access, Rights, & Choice Adolescent Health Contraception Global Issues Government HIV/AIDS Laws, Legislation, & Courts Libraryland Miscellaneous News Round-Ups Reviews Sex & Sex Education Web Resources adolescents Bl Source Type: blogs

EMRs in Schools, Prescribing Health Apps, and Must-Have Apps for Medical School: This Week at HealthCare Scene
There were some great articles on a couple of Health Care Scene’s websites this week that you don’t want to miss: EMR and EHR Building — But Not Overbuilding — Next Gen HIEs Thoughts from founding president and CEO of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative Micky Tripathi are shared in this post. He discusses why she believes that the HIT world is in danger of overbuilding the next generation of HIEs. The “holy grail” of HIEs might seem attractive, but in reality, Tripathi raises the issues he sees with trying to attain that. EMRs Coming to a School Near You Electronic Medical Records ma...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - July 8, 2012 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Katie Tags: EHR Electronic Health Record Electronic Medical Record EMR Healthcare Social Media HIE Hospital EHR mHealth PHR Around Healthcare Scene Dream:On Med School Apps Medscape Mobile Prescribing Health Apps Remee Dream Mask Source Type: blogs