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Engaging to improve Russia’s health
Conclusion Overcoming Russia’s health problems is a huge task, but engaging the population in prevention activities, and using social media-type platforms to provide information and normalise the concept of healthy living may provide a viable way forward. Digital media may be particularly helpful in driving change across such a large country, but other forms of communication and action are important for a diverse society. As the focus of the current initiatives is preventative, it may be that a difference will not be seen for some years, but it is clear that Russia is an area where engaging with the population about ...
Source: Creation Interactive - November 29, 2010 Category: Medical Marketing and PR Authors: Marie-Claire Wilson Tags: All Articles Asia Government Healthcare Regulation Source Type: blogs

A Heads Up About Durable Medical Equipment and the Change in Medicare Law
Do not assume your doctor or his staff will know!...By Carole B. Larkin Alzheimer's Reading Room I wanted to alert you to a coming change in Medicare that could effect you now or in the future. Medicare is starting a new program on January 1, 2011. This new program is designed to close the holes in the system that allowed for more than $60 Billion in fraudulent claims. Specifically, the new law change I am referring to here will effect the purchase and rental of Durable Medical Equipment (see list below). Medicare fraud - estimated now to total about $60 billion a year - has become one of, if not the most profitable,...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - November 28, 2010 Category: Dementia Authors: Carole Larkin Source Type: blogs

The Man Who Did Not Take His Medicine and the Dog Who Saved Him
Today’s guest post is by Dr. Olajide Williams, a general neurologist with special interest in stroke. He is Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology at Columbia University. The following story is an excerpt from his book, “Stroke Diaries,” which is a collection of his experiences, both somber and hopeful. I find this piece on Oxford University Press’s blog, which you can get to by clicking here. Pedro was lying on the bathroom floor next to the toilet bowl. Water was still running from rusty faucet, overflowing the sink, and pooling around his body as he lay limp on wet porcelain tiles. Lucy was s...
Source: World of Psychology - November 28, 2010 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Brain and Behavior Grief and Loss Health-related Medications Memory and Perception Men's Issues Personal Random Brain Bits Relationships Ascent Bathroom Floor Black Labrador Retriever Clinical Neurology Columbia University Fauc Source Type: blogs

Doctors talk about drug firm payments
The Post-Dispatch tried to contact the highest-paid local doctors included in ProPublica's Dollars for Docs database. A few didn't respond or declined to comment. But most readily discussed the business they do with the pharmaceutical industry. The list below includes those doctors believed to have received at least $100,000 from pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Anthony H. Guarino • $255,737 Cephalon: $171,800 Eli Lilly: $75,644 Johnson & Johnson: $8,293 Profession • Assistant professor of anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine. Treats patie...
Source: PharmaGossip - November 28, 2010 Category: Pharma Commentators Source Type: blogs

Attack (but not really) of the Old Old
"Old-Old" is a semi-official term in scientific circles used to describe people over the age of 90 (though that varies). I've met two people who'd qualify as old-old this week, which is kind of unusual in this field. I mean, generally speaking, if you're going to have a stroke, you're not going to be 95. You're gonna be 50, and something is going to kill you before you hit 95.But lo! What came in t'other day but a 95-year-old? A sharp, active 95-year-old who (aside from a couple of minor, controllable problems) was about 60 in physical terms? That same day I started an IV on a--get this--one hundred and TWO year old who'd ...
Source: Head Nurse - November 27, 2010 Category: Nurses Authors: Jo Source Type: blogs

Knowing Which Alcohol Rehabs Are Right For You
Alcohol rehabs can only be successful if they employ competent caregivers. As obvious as that sounds, the unfortunate truth is that many of the most well-known private alcohol rehab centers in Los Angeles are staffed by inexperienced or unqualified caregivers. More often than not, these alcohol rehabs fail to help their patients achieve meaningful and lasting alcohol recovery. Alcohol rehabilitation is an exceptionally delicate process. To be successful, it has to be administered exactly the right way, by people who understand precisely what they’re doing. As you explore the various alcohol rehabs available to you, it�...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - November 27, 2010 Category: Addiction Authors: cor_sparkit Tags: Alcohol Rehab Information Source Type: blogs

The Best Alcohol Rehabilitation Program For You
Alcoholism is both a physical and psychological disease. Alcohol rehabilitation, in turn, must be both a physical and psychological process. The most successful alcohol rehabilitation centers in California and around the world are invariably those which provide their patients with comprehensive and holistic alcohol rehabilitation programs. In the end, there’s simply no better way to build a foundation for meaningful and lasting alcohol recovery. The fact that you’re here, reading this, suggests that you don’t need lecture on the perils of alcohol abuse. You know that alcoholism strips its victims of their dignity, a...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - November 25, 2010 Category: Addiction Authors: cor_sparkit Tags: Alcohol Rehab Information Source Type: blogs

New books received this week
Health behavior change in the dental practice / Christoph A. Ramseier (ed). Ames, Iowa : Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.By presenting a series of clinical examples and accompanying dialogue, the book guides the reader in using motivational interviewing techniques as tools for oral hygiene education, tobacco use cessation, and dietary counseling. Clinical cases in prosthodontics / Leila Jahangiri (et al). Ames, Iowa : Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.This book grounds itself in core principles of this rehabilitative specialty and demonstrates their practical, every-day application through range of case presentations building from simple to c...
Source: DentistryLibrary@Sydney - November 24, 2010 Category: Dentists Tags: New books Source Type: blogs

Physician Tells Public that Electronic Cigarettes Cause Lung Damage
A physician who heads New York University's Cardiac and Pulmonary Wellness and Rehabilitation Program has apparently told the public that electronic cigarettes cause lung damage and therefore should play no role in smoking cessation.According to an article in the Washington Square News: "NYU Langone professor Jonathan Whiteson, medical director of the Culinary and Pulmonary Wellness and Rehabilitation Program, said the E-cigs are harmful to users' health. "Dangerous chemicals have been identified in the vapor, not just nicotine, and they can potentially cause lung damage," Whiteson said. ... As of now, few studies have bee...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - November 24, 2010 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs

Winning The Fight Against Substance Abuse
Substance abuse is a disease. Like any disease, it isn’t subject to the willful control of those individuals who suffer from it. If you’re a substance abuser, you didn’t choose to be sick. More significantly, you can’t simply decide to get sober. If you’re serious about achieving meaningful and lasting substance abuse recovery, it’s imperative that you enroll in an exclusive substance abuse treatment program administered by a private substance abuse treatment center. The good news is that substance abuse rehab really can change lives. The catch, though, is that substance abusers must be the ones to initiate th...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - November 24, 2010 Category: Addiction Authors: cor_sparkit Tags: Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates Source Type: blogs

Portraits: Patients and Psychiatrists – Interview with Tim McInerny
The exhibition Portraits: Patients and Psychiatrists is currently being held at the Acme Project space in Bethnal Green London.  The exhibition represents a collaboration between artist Gemma Anderson with consultant psychiatrist Dr Tim McInerny.  Dr McInerny has kindly agreed to be interviewed by Frontier Psychiatrist   What should visitors to Portraits: Patients and Psychiatrists expect? The exhibition is of etched portraits and recorded interviews with patients and psychiatrists at Bethlem Royal Hospital, London. All the etchings are drawn directly from life onto copperplate and also show objects and imag...
- November 23, 2010 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Frontier Psychiatrist Tags: The Art of Psychiatry Source Type: blogs

Transparency and "dial tone" to fight market power
Back in August, I raised the question of whether the move to Accountable Care Organizations and capitated payments would lead to market dominance and a resulting reduction in competition in certain geographic areas. The summary of the argument was this:On the one hand, ACOs offer the potential for a better integration of care across the spectrum of primary care, hospitalization, skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and hospice. If the ACO faces an annual budget per patient under a capitated payment scheme, there is an incentive to avoid unnecessary tests and procedures and also to help direct patients to the most cost-effectiv...
Source: Running a hospital - November 21, 2010 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs

Medication and Self Managing Chronic Pain (iii)
When discussing medication and pain reduction for chronic pain, it’s not surprising there are some very strong opinions and emotions.  After all, having pain is universally known to be unpleasant, very few people really want to have pain (except those who like the rush of acute pain – vis a vis body suspension!), and the first person many people go to discuss their pain is a medical practitioner. The way the centre in which I work views medication is that it forms part of a toolkit for managing pain, alongside all the self management strategies that we also endorse.  So, by and large, most of the people we se...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - November 17, 2010 Category: Occupational Therapists Authors: adiemusfree Tags: Chronic pain Cognitive skills Coping Skills cognitive behavioural therapy occupational therapy psychology health disability rehabilitation pain management Clinical reasoning treatment function coping strategies self management Source Type: blogs

One Way Trips To Mars First?
Dirk Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies argue that of a human trip to Mars was one way then costs could be slashed and the mission could be done much sooner. A human mission to Mars is technologically feasible, but hugely expensive requiring enormous financial and political commitments. A creative solution to this dilemma would be a one-way human mission to Mars in place of the manned return mission that remains stuck on the drawing board. Our proposal would cut the costs several fold but ensure at the same time a continuous commitment to the exploration of Mars in particular and space in general. It would also obviate the nee...
Source: FuturePundit - November 16, 2010 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Randall Parker Tags: Space Colonization Source Type: blogs

How One Woman’s Battle with Breast Cancer Helped Change the Course of Care
The following post is by guest blogger Helen Durkin, JD. Helen is the Executive Vice President of Public Policy for the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA)—a not-for-profit trade association representing health and fitness facilities, gyms, spas, sports clubs, and suppliers worldwide. She joined IHRSA in 1989 and developed the health club industry’s first government relations and legal service programs. She has served as the association’s director of public policy since 1999. In this leadership capacity, Durkin has succeeded in aligning IHRSA with the national effort to improve America�...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - November 16, 2010 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Guest Posts Women's Health Source Type: blogs

November Time to File
Lots of stuff sitting on my desk and time to do the mid month file cabinet routine and am now incorporating hashtags #: -file under "Plunger"  #Dr. Oz While I think a better use of the plunger would be for an Ipad stand, according to Dr. Oz's orthopedic PT during the Over 40 survival guide (approx 3 minutes into it) you should use to "lift the fascia from your knee-but be careful too long and you will get a knee hickey".  Would have been nice to follow the evidence and not the sizzle on such a consumer oriented show-at least get the lady exercising! -file under "rebranding" #ethicsirrelevant Thanks to comments made ...
Source: MyPhysicalTherapySpace.com - November 15, 2010 Category: Physical Therapists Authors: Larry Benz Tags: Announcements In the News Legislative Source Type: blogs

Making the web work for academia
The internet has changed fundamentally the way we communicate, the way we work, even the way we live our lives. That much is obvious to anyone who has ever shopped at Amazon, looked up a reference on PubMed, or gone social via Facebook. Those of us who’ve been using email and the wider world tools of web 1.0 and then web 2.0 since the 1990s have seen dot coms come and go, bubble and egos inflate and then burst. There still exist luddites and every scare story about compromised privacy, Trojans, phishing attacks, wardriving (recently, most visible as the Firesheep plugin for Firefox), has those people running for thei...
Source: Sciencebase Science Blog - November 11, 2010 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: David Bradley Tags: Science auto draft Source Type: blogs

Touchscreen Gaming for Cerebral Palsy Rehab
Researchers from the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have adapted a Microsoft Surface to help kids with cerebral palsy get some valuable, fun therapy. Some kids with the disease were invited to Children's Hospital Boston to try out the system. Children's Vector Blog explains: The table is programmed with custom-developed games and activities that encourage the principal elements of cerebral palsy therapy. CP covers a variety of neurologic disorders with varying symptoms and mobility difficulties–Katie has spina bifida–so adaptability of the touchscr...
Source: Medgadget - November 10, 2010 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Michael Source Type: blogs

Final Rule on the 2011 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System
(ACR) - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule on the 2011 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) for public viewing on November 2, 2010. There is a 60 day comment period ending on January 3, 2011. The official version of this regulation will be published in the Nov. 24, 2010 Federal Register. Below are brief highlights of the final decisions that were made affecting this payment system for 2011 that may be of interest to radiology and radiation oncology. Conversion Factor The 2011 conversion factor for hospital outpatient services will be $68.876 which includes a 2.6 m...
Source: radRounds - November 10, 2010 Category: Radiologists Authors: radRounds Radiology Network Source Type: blogs

A Look Into Detox Symptoms
Medical technology has provided specific drugs that can help with detoxification symptoms. I know it sounds odd. Take a drug to get off a drug. But because some of the symptoms are so severe, having these drugs available can be very important. Plus, they are not addictive, and when you are under the care of a doctor, they will monitor your usage very carefully until you won’t have to take those drugs anymore. One very effective treatment of opiate withdrawal symptoms is methadone maintenance therapy. It is safe when administered under the care of a doctor. Taken orally once a day, methadone suppresses narcotic withdr...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - November 10, 2010 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Heroin Treatment Source Type: blogs

Rebuilding work identity
I love helping people return to work.  It’s got to be one of the most rewarding parts of pain management for me because not only is work important for health, it’s a major part of our day, and it’s a whole lot about individual identity.  So helping people reconstruct their sense of self to the point where they can go to an employer and say ‘I can do this for you’ with confidence is an enormous challenge. To feel confident enough to put yourself on the line to an employer despite chronic pain is a challenge.  It involves at least some of the following (and yes, this is mostly from my experie...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - November 9, 2010 Category: Occupational Therapists Authors: adiemusfree Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping Skills Resilience Return to Work back pain cognitive behavioural therapy health occupational therapy CBT Low back pain disability rehabilitation pain management treatment Motivation ac Source Type: blogs

Prescription Drug Addiction Examined by MTV’s ‘True Life’
Attesting to the widespread prescription drug problem raging among America’s youth, The MTV reality show True Life recently aired a segment called I’m Addicted To Meds, which delves into the lives of two young Americans suffering in the grips of prescription drug addiction. In the description of the show, the producers got it absolutely correct when they say that “prescription meds are fast becoming the drug of choice for millions of young Americans, who mistakenly believe them to be safer than street drugs.” The show covers the plight of two young adults who are “fighting to free themselves f...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - November 9, 2010 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Medical Detox Source Type: blogs

Sunlight Before Signing Updated—With a Graph!
By Jim HarperAs a campaigner, President Obama promised that bills sent him by Congress would be posted online for five days before he would sign them. It’s a simple, measurable transparency promise that we have followed on this blog. With attention beginning to turn to the 2012 presidential election (believe it or not!), President Obama’s fealty to campaign promises will become a focus. So here’s an update on his Sunlight Before Signing promise. First, a brief summary table. Congress has presented President Obama 283 bills, 124 in 2009 and 159 in 2010. He posted six online for the requisite number of days...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - November 8, 2010 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Jim Harper Tags: Government and Politics Telecom, Internet & Information Policy Barack Obama sunlight before signing transparency Source Type: blogs

Autism, Consultations and Conor Make for a Busy Weekend
This was a busy weekend for me. I participated in the Consultation on a Centre of Excellence for Children and Youth with Complex Needs Friday afternoon and evening and Saturday.  It was a privilege to be able to participate as a parent autism advocate. The consultation was organized by Bernard Richard, the Ombudsman/Child and Youth Advocate and an individual held in high regard by most people in New Brunswick. His stature is such that the recommendations of Mr Richard and his co-chair Shirley Smallwood a mother of child with autism and a long time advocate on autism and other issues together with the fact that  t...
Source: Facing Autism in New Brunswick - November 6, 2010 Category: Autism Authors: Autism Reality NB Source Type: blogs

Liveblogging at the student conclave
This weekend I am attending the AOTA/NBCOT Student Conclave and was excited to see hundreds of students in attendance! I offered some welcoming remarks to the attendees prior to Dr. Clarke's keynote presentation last night.This morning Paul Grace, the CEO of NBCOT, offered an excellent presentation on 'Steps Toward Your Essential Credential.' Paul gave students many tips on how to prepare for taking the certification examination, including information on making sure that all college or university requirements are met, how to set up an account with NBCOT, review of examination security, and a call to participate in NBCOT ex...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 6, 2010 Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: OT practice Source Type: blogs

“You say there’s evidence and these doctors aren’t using it?” asked one of those present. “Why don’t you just fire them?” - Evidence 2010 meeting report -- bmj.com
When Sharon Straus, co-chair of Knowledge Translation Canada, made a presentation to a group of bankers and businessmen, they were bewildered. She explained that well established medical evidence, backed by double blind trials and systematic reviews, was often ignored by doctors. “You say there’s evidence and these doctors aren’t using it?” asked one of those present. “Why don’t you just fire them?” Professor Straus was speaking on the second day of Evidence 2010, an international conference at BMA House devoted to understanding why medical practice so often deviates from medical evidence, and what might be ...
Source: PharmaGossip - November 5, 2010 Category: Pharma Commentators Source Type: blogs

Addicted lawyers can overcome barriers to recovery
Robert started drinking at age 18 and was an alcoholic by the time he entered law school. "I managed to get my degree and go to work for a Wall Street firm. After that I changed jobs every two years or less. I just couldn’t hang on to one. Nobody ever mentioned drinking to me. But I’m sure that with every job I lost, drinking was the main reason." Images of hard-headed, hard-drinking lawyers abound in popular culture. These images make a point: The professional status granted by a law degree offers no immunity from addiction. The same can be said for people in other prominent professions, such as physicians, ...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - November 2, 2010 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism attorneys hard-drinking lawyers immunity from addiction solicitor Source Type: blogs

Harm Reduction-or Harm Continuation?
Conclusions This author is of the opinion that what is ‘passed off’ as harm reduction in the UK is, in reality, a process that facilitates the continued use of toxic, psychoactive drugs. Whether or not that is the intention is open to speculation. What is indisputable is the fact that it is simply not working insofar as the rehabilitation and recovery of addicts and alcoholics are concerned – an outcome which includes relinquishing criminal activities, living in a safe and stable environment, and, in the fullness of time through gainful employment, becoming a self supporting member of society. Further, the archit...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - November 1, 2010 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Addictions Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism abstinence as a goal harm continuation harm reduction Stages of Change Source Type: blogs

Words on the value of data
I’m not known for my immaculate office or my attention to detail – I’m the sort of big picture or conceptual person in a team.  I care about values and finding a way to achieve an end result, but I’m less fascinated by detail.  There is, however, a time when record-keeping and data comes into its own, and I am very grateful to those people who do look after the nuts and bolts.  And today’s post is about why. I work in a tertiary pain management centre in a teaching hospital in a large health organisation with multiple layers of administration and management all wanting a piece of the fiscal...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - November 1, 2010 Category: Occupational Therapists Authors: adiemusfree Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning assessment occupational therapy psychology health healthcare research biopsychosocial rehabilitation pain management Resources treatment physiotherapy science goal-setting Source Type: blogs

Prisoners on indeterminate sentences ‘left in limbo’ over parole dates.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/31/prisoners-left-in-limbo-parole Prisoners on indeterminate sentences ‘left in limbo’ over parole dates Call for fast-track review of thousands of  inmates who are judged to be still a risk to the public Anushka Asthana The Observer, Sunday 31 October 2010 Nearly 2,500 prisoners have served their minimum sentence but still have no idea when they will be released. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty ImagesThe government should fast-track the parole hearings of almost 2,500 prisoners who have served their minimum sentence but are still being held in jail for “...
Source: Dawn Willis sharing the News and Views of the Mentally Wealthy - October 31, 2010 Category: Mental Illness Authors: Dawn Willis Tags: News, Views, All Topics Source Type: blogs

Pain Relief Without Addiction: Walking the Tightrope
[Originally published on hellowellness.in on 29 Oct. 2010]Roger T., a middle-aged systems analyst, showed up at a LifeRing recovery support group looking for help with addiction to painkillers.  Years earlier he had been a passenger in an auto collision which left him with chronic pain in his lower back and hips.  His doctors had prescribed the standard opiates, and this had provided him with some relief, but over time he needed larger and larger doses.  He said he had been taking 300 Vicodins® per day.  He knew he had to stop the drugs -- but he couldn’t live with the pain.  Not only patients b...
Source: New Recovery - October 30, 2010 Category: Addiction Tags: Opiates California Crime Addiction Treatment Medication Research Misc Drugs Politics Recovery Media Source Type: blogs

What’s missing from pain assessment?
I am stumped. Here is a common clinical quandary – one of the most important outcomes from pain management is to increase participation in daily activity (occupation), yet the measures we use just don’t quite cut it for me. Here’s a couple of examples: in the IMMPACT recommendations from 2008 (in the paper I’ve cited below and from the one I cited earlier this week) two ‘disability’ measures are suggested as a way to assess disability.  One is the ‘Interference’ subscale from the Multidimensional Pain Inventory, and the other is the Pain Disability Index.  Both of these hav...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - October 27, 2010 Category: Occupational Therapists Authors: adiemusfree Tags: Chronic pain Coping Skills assessment health occupational therapy psychology research activity biopsychosocial disability function healthcare pain management rehabilitation Source Type: blogs

An article courtesy of red pepper
Dismantling the NHSBehind the technicalities, what do the government’s plans for the NHS really mean? Stewart Player and Colin Leys expose the reality of the health service white paperThe coalition government’s plans for the NHS represent the final conversion of healthcare into something to be bought, with really good care going to those who can pay for it and only a defined ‘package’ of free treatments, of declining quality, for everyone else.What has already occurred with dentistry, physiotherapy, podiatry and other services will start happening across the board. ‘Top-ups’ and ‘co-payments’ will become st...
Source: Dr Grumble - October 26, 2010 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Source Type: blogs

In pain? Don't let your GP fob you off with pill... | Mail Online
Twenty years after Ian Semmons was badly injured trying to prevent a robbery, he is still in pain. Thrown down a flight of stairs, he'd shattered his back and ankles.Despite two-and-a-half years of operations and rehabilitation — and strong painkillers — he lived in constant agony from his shoulders to his ankles. 'At its worst, it was like having big, sharp needles thrust into your body,' recalls the former risk management consultant.Ian is one of nearly 10 million Britons who ­suffer from chronic pain, which is defined as continuous, long-term pain of more than 12 weeks. Worryingly, a new survey has found that peopl...
Source: Psychology of Pain - October 26, 2010 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs

When Time is Mind, Not Money
Talk about impacting costs and outcomes.  Ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis is an exciting new technology that offers the promise of extending the treatment window for ischemic stroke.  Thrombolytics are revolutionary drugs that have been available for years, and when used early on, they can increase the survival rate of stroke victims by 25%, allowing improved chances of survival for the 700,000 stroke victims each year that are facing a race against time.  “The brain is not like a muscle; it does not store oxygen or nutrients.  With a heart attack, there is a 12-hour window for treatment; with a stroke, the brain ha...
Source: MD Buyline - October 25, 2010 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: james.x Tags: Value-Based Purchasing brain stroke thrombolytics ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis Source Type: blogs

The Comfort of Hospice Care
The view through the double glass doors is of a lovely garden; the autumn colors striking against the blue October sky.  Our friend rests peacefully in the room’s only bed, and we each spend a few moments with her.  At times it seems she knows we are there, although we come mostly now to comfort her family.  It is a sad time; we grieve for the loss we are all about to share, and seek ways to comfort those she held most dear. We are all thankful that she is here, in this quiet, restful place.  A nurse stops by to tell family how she did during the night, and to share what they’ve done to make her mo...
Source: MSSPNexus Blog - October 25, 2010 Category: Health Managers Authors: Rita Schwab Tags: General comfort care end of life hospice Source Type: blogs

See What I'm Saying - Cross Modal Sensory Perception and Sensory Training
There's an interesting new book from UC Riverside psychologist Lawrence Rosenblum called See What I'm Saying. In it, Rosenblum chronicles various individuals who have been able to fine tune their sensory systems to an exquisite degree. Examples include individuals like John Bramblitt, a blind painter who can feel differences color mixtures and uses his strong kinesthetic sense to paint. There's also individuals like Daniel Kish who have refined their sense of hearing to such a high degree that they can walk as if they see.  By using a system of auditory clicks, they can listen for how the sounds bounce of obje...
Source: Eide Neurolearning Blog - October 24, 2010 Category: Neurologists Authors: Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide Source Type: blogs

POWERLOADER Light for Assistive Technology Research
Panasonic's Active Link unit is releasing a robotic exoskeleton called POWERLOADER Light. The system is targeted at research institutions working in robotics, rehabilitation, and related topics. Some details from Plastic Pals: The system is designed to operate on Linux2.6, and it totally open to customization by researchers (including the hardware exterior). The initial price is 18,000,000 JPY ($223,000) a pop, but they're enticing potential developers with a research grant program, which would effectively halve the price to 9,000,000 JPY ($111,500 USD). Researchers have to publish their findings within one year, w...
Source: Medgadget - October 24, 2010 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Michael Source Type: blogs

South Devon: Fears over future of mental health unit for the elderly.
http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/Fears-future-mental-health-unit-elderly/article-2775466-detail/article.html Fears over future of mental health unit for the elderly By emma pearcy epearcy@heraldexpress.co.uk A FORUM for older people says the possible closure of a unit in Newton Abbot for those suffering from dementia and mental health problems would affect the most vulnerable people in the community. The Newton Abbot Forum, the local branch of the Senior Council for Devon, has raised fears Brunel Lodge, in Old Totnes Road, could face the axe. The future of the 16-bed unit has been shrouded in doubt in recent years b...
Source: Dawn Willis sharing the News and Views of the Mentally Wealthy - October 24, 2010 Category: Mental Illness Authors: Dawn Willis Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs

What You Should Do to Stop Drinking Alcohol
In the US, there are about 100,000 deaths caused by alcohol dependence and addiction annually. With this sad reality, it is about time that alcoholics realize what they are getting into. It is better to stop drinking alcohol early on before you fully succumb into the addiction. There are a number of alcohol rehab centers and detox treatment facilities providing a variety of rehab services that will help you overcome your drinking problems. Remember that there are plenty of ways to stop alcohol abuse, but the desire to quit drinking should start from you. Recognition of the problem is an integral part of the alcoholic’...
Source: Addiction Recovery Blog - October 23, 2010 Category: Addiction Authors: Addiction Recovery Author Tags: Alcoholic Recovery Source Type: blogs

Potential for new technologies in clinical practice
Authors: Burridge JH, Hughes AM PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Cost-effective neurorehabilitation is essential owing to financial constraints on healthcare resources. Technologies have the potential to contribute but without strong clinical evidence are unlikely to be widely reimbursed. This review presents evidence of new technologies since 2008 and identifies barriers to translation of technologies into clinical practice. RECENT FINDINGS: Technology has not been shown to be superior to intensively matched existing therapies. Research has been undertaken into the development and preliminary clinical testing of novel technologies incl...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - October 23, 2010 Category: Technology Consultants Tags: Cybertherapy Source Type: blogs

Earmarked for Corruption
By Tad DeHavenFlorida Times-Union reporter Matt Dixon deserves kudos for his detailed exposé of Congresswoman Corrine Brown’s (D-FL) corruption-tainted earmarking. Since 2008, Brown has sought millions for a non-profit in Jacksonville that employs a lobbying outfit that just happens to have Brown’s daughter Shantrel on its staff. Brown and her daughter have tried to secure $1.1 million for “streetscape improvements and renovations” at a plaza leased by the non-profit. Rep. Brown is currently requesting a direct appropriation of $1 million for it, but interestingly says on her website that “I certify that nei...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 22, 2010 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Tad DeHaven Tags: Tax and Budget Policy corruption Earmarks lobbying Rep. Corrine Brown Source Type: blogs

Friday Science: Tissue Engineering, Nanotechnology, and Muscle Aging
If you wander over to Maria Konovalenko's English-language blog, you'll find a brace of recent posts on research relevant to those of us interested in engineered longevity. Bioprinting: Laboratory Grown Body Parts Now a Reality Your liver is failing critically. A transplant would save your life, but there's a long waiting list and the odds are stacked against you. So instead, doctors extract some of your bone marrow, liver and muscle cells, go back to their laboratory and return in a few weeks with … a freshly grown liver! Does this sound like material from a Hollywood sci-fi movie? Well Not anymore. Australian researc...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 21, 2010 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs

Working and chronic pain
If there is one aspect of chronic pain management that has received more attention than returning to work, I don’t know it! In 1995 when I started working at my current workplace, work was almost a dirty word. I was accused at one time of being a ‘Siberian workcamp’ Commandante because some people thought it was cruel to ‘force’ people with chronic pain into the workplace. Thankfully this attitude has changed over the years, and most people recognise that working when you have chronic pain, while difficult, is achievable and good for health. At the same time, returning to work with pain has ne...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - October 18, 2010 Category: Occupational Therapists Authors: adiemusfree Tags: Chronic pain Low back pain Motivation Return to Work cognitive behavioural therapy occupational therapy activity biopsychosocial function health importance pain management rehabilitation RTW Source Type: blogs

How To Evaluate A Drug Rehab Program
The drug rehab program that’s right for you is the one that’s designed to meet your individual needs. As obvious as that sounds, the unfortunate truth is that many of the most well-known luxury drug rehab centers in Los Angeles offer the same generic drug rehab programs to all of their clients. Unsurprisingly, those drug rehab facilities routinely fall short of the promises they make in their advertising brochures. Drug addiction is a personal problem, and drug rehabilitation must be a personal process. If your drug rehab program is going to help you get sober, it’s going to have to do so on your own terms, in a way ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - October 17, 2010 Category: Addiction Authors: cor_sparkit Tags: Drug Rehab Information Source Type: blogs

Focus your marketing on where healthcare is heading, not where it is now
By Anthony Cirillo Two things have prompted my post this month. First I read this transcript from public radio about where hospital advertising is really aimed. And then, I was invited to a presentation by the Health Care Advisory Board regarding their take on reform. That put the public radio piece in context. And it further solidified my belief that as health care reforms and hospitals change, marketing has to change as well. Let's start with the radio first. The radio feature highlights hospitals in my hometown of Philly. It contends that hospital advertising is not aimed at consumers but payers. For example, unless I...
Source: hospital impact - October 16, 2010 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs

Short jail terms don’t work, say governors.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/8062157/Short-jail-terms-dont-work-say-governors.html Short jail terms don’t work, say governors Eight out of 10 prison governors say short jail terms do not work, a survey has found. By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor Published: 7:00AM BST 14 Oct 2010 Eighty-one per cent if prison governors though short jail terms did not “reform and rehabilitate the offender” The study found the overwhelming majority of governors thought jail terms of less than six months did not worked. Eighty-one per cent disagreed with the statement: “Short pris...
Source: Dawn Willis sharing the News and Views of the Mentally Wealthy - October 14, 2010 Category: Mental Illness Authors: Dawn Willis Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs

Dr. ihsan shanti
by ihsan shanti (Posted Wed Oct 13, 2010 7:29 am)Ihsan Shanti was born in 1962 in Casablanca, Morocco from middle class family who migrated from Palestine. The family background was in Journalism. “Addefaa” Newspaper was family owned and operated by the Shanti family. It had the second largest circulation in Palestine and Jordan in the 1950s’.Ihsans’ father Dr. Fahmi Shanti was educated in Cairo’s’ Alazhar University in early 1950. This University has gained a great reputation in the Islamic world for the Excellency of its graduates. Dr. Fahmi Shanti later completed his PH.D in Arabic literature. A degree that ...
Source: Med Student Guide - October 13, 2010 Category: Medical Students Source Type: blogs

Asst/Assoc Research Prof positions - Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC) at the University of Trento
The Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC) at the University of Trento is seeking to fill a number of research positions in cognitive neuroscience at the Assistant or Associate Research Professor level. The Center offers an international and vibrant research setting in which to investigate the functioning of the brain through the analysis of its functional, structural and physiological characteristics, in both normal and pathological states. Researchers at the Center make use of state-of-the-art neuroimaging methodologies, including a research-only MRI scanner, MEG, EEG and TMS, as well as behavioral, eye tracking and moti...
Source: Talking Brains - October 12, 2010 Category: Neurologists Authors: Greg Hickok Source Type: blogs

New issue of Cybertherapy and Rehabilitation now online fulltext
The new issue of Cybertherapy and Rehabilitation magazine (3/2) is now online and available for full-text download. Topics covered by this issue include brain-computer interface, cognitive enhancement and trainers and the use of massive multiplayer online games in rehabilitation and therapy.          
Source: Positive Technology Journal - October 12, 2010 Category: Technology Consultants Tags: Brain training & cognitive enhancement Source Type: blogs