MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'broke'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:48:56 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1894929&cid=t_108948_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F10%2F21%2Fbeen-rejected-you-may-be-a-better-judge-of-genuineness%2F Who knew that rejection might have an upside? After being dumped by a boyfriend or girlfriend, the only things we feel good at is, well, being rejected. But in a strange twist of evolutionary fate, apparently that rejection may sensitize us to genuineness in others and being better able to spot fake or artificial emotions. The researchers tested their hypothesis on undergraduates and smiles: The research found that subjects who were manipulated to feel rejection were able to distinguish a fake smile from a real one nearly 80 percent of the time. Researchers studied 32 subjects, 17 women and 15 men. […] “Some thought the subjects who had been rejected would latch on to any sign of positivity and accept the insincere smiles as genuine,” Bernstein said. “But it’s clear we�... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1894929 Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:50:47 +0100 1894929 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1321603&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F256237121%2F I hope you’ve enjoyed the series and it’s made you think a bit about health care, health policy, and how difficult it is to come up with solutions to our health care problems. I appreciate the civil discussion and debate, and continue to welcome any other feedback! A few topics I wanted to cover but didn’t have time to: Science education - If we want our patients to understand medicine and the science behind it, they need to understand (and accept) the basic tenets of science — randomized studies, for example — and perhaps that’s where we’re failing. People seem to have a miraculous ability to accept the science they have chosen to believe (antibiotics for bacterial infections, germ theory) while ignoring rigorous science that doesn’t fit wi... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1321603 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:46:54 +0100 1321603 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1321058&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F256119957%2F You knew it was coming, my single-payer post. It’s a nice wrap-up to the series. (I figured since I was agreeing with KevinMD and Panda so much I had to do something.) I could make my argument for single-payer in any number of ways, but you’ve probably already heard them: Human dignity. Everyone should have health care as a human right. That people deserve health care, and as a wise family practice doc from Idaho wrote, the uninsured pay for their health care with their dignity. That almost all of the uninsured and underinsured are hardworking, tax-paying people who either make “too much” money to qualify for programs for the poor like Medicaid or don’t make enough for their employers to also provide health insurance. Or that health insurance is often way too... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1321058 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:03:39 +0100 1321058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1316613&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F254854448%2F America loves to medicate its problems away. Can’t sleep on a plane? Take a pil. Nervous? Take a pill. We want to be in control of our bodies to the nth degree: we’re too busy to be sick, just give us antibiotics that may or may not work; we shouldn’t be fat, just give me a pill to make it all better. We get to have our coffee any way we like it, so why shouldn’t we get to have our bodies however we want them, too? The problem is that pills don’t work that way. Our pills are, for the most part, chemicals that muck with cells’ pre-existing hardware often by altering how a certain protein interacts with another. But because all our cells generally contain most of the same ingredients, our pills end up poisoning other unintended cells, causing collateral da... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1316613 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:10:41 +0100 1316613 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1314055&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F254215970%2F Primary care in this country is dying. There are fewer available primary care doctors in this country, as more and more physicians either go directly into specialty care or choose a specialty after completing one of the primary care tracks (internal medicine, pediatrics, family practice, obstetrics and gynecology). Why is this a problem? Primary care is the foundation of a health care system. Most problems and illnesses most people have can reliably be treated by a primary care doctor. When Iran wanted to develop its health care infrastructure, for example, they asked a family practice doctor to fly over and work with their medical leaders, not a urologist or cardiologist. If you don’t have primary care in your health care system, you end up way overpaying for unnecessary specialist... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1314055 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:10:52 +0100 1314055 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1310974&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F253578249%2F Medical students spend an average of $139,000 on medical school in the United States, while other nations provide either fully-funded medical school education or at least greatly subsidized medical education. When you add in the costs of an undergradate degree (which is often either not necessary for other countries’ medical school admission or again tax payer-funded), it’s not uncommon to have medical students starting residency in $200,000 of educational debt. Often medical students also need to purchase or own a car in order to work at the multiple hospitals which will comprise their clinical training. This adds significantly to their expenses (as they have to take out separate car loans at higher interest rates than most of their student loans, and any car loan debts they ... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1310974 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:22:20 +0100 1310974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1307653&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F253046063%2F HIPAA is like the Transportation Safety Administration’s requirements that everyone take off their shoes and only carry a quart of liquids and creams: it apparently makes us feel safe and protected, but really just it’s all a big pony show that wastes everyone’s time. The idea of HIPAA’s privacy rules is this: health information is private. It’s nobody’s beeswax besides yours, your doctor’s, and whoever’s agreed to pay for your care (insure you). And I agree. It is nobody’s beeswax. But it’s so bogusly enforced that it just creates headaches. As I’ve said before, I could easily walk into any hospital in the United States, and dressed appropriately, start reading anyone’s paper chart. Guaranteed. So, see, your health i... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1307653 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:06:03 +0100 1307653 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1307654&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F253036061%2F These terms are often thrown around as synonymous, when they clearly are not. Someone’s, or some society’s health takes into consideration the freedom from illness, disease, or injury (actually from the Germanic meaning “wholeness”). Health is impacted by genetics, stress, violence, diet, laws, living standards, and health care, to name a few. “Health care” is the interventions we perform on individuals to try to keep them healthy. Economically, “health care” is resources spent on health: not just monetary resources, but time, energy, workforce, etc. Health insurance is a way to pay for health care. The theory behind insurance is this: big, bad, expensive things can happen to you at any time. Your house can catch fire. You can get into a car ... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1307654 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:47:08 +0100 1307654 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1306008&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F252550993%2F (No, I’m not going to get all Kumbaya on you.) Listen: We’re all in this thing together, whatever it is. That “limited resources” bit you remember from Econ 101? It applies to health care, too. Look, the lesser argument has been made many times over, by the likes of Paul Farmer and other radicals who have fought battles in Infectious Disease: that if we don’t control infections in one population, they spread to other populations and make us all sicker. That if we don’t treat multi-drug resistant TB in Haiti, Peru, or the prisons of Russia, then we Americans will be fighting the MDR-TB here at home. (Similarly in the infectious disease world is the fact that vaccine “herd immunity” is becoming less useful, as our international lifestyles put ... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1306008 Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:11:09 +0100 1306008 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1305306&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F251920804%2F US and NZ sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. New Zealand is the only other country in the world that allows direct-to-consumer marketing. Those Lipitor ads, the Mucinex boogers — they don’t exist outside of those two countries. The pharmaceutical companies claim that their advertisements provide important educational value to patients. “They can learn about diseases they might have!” the companies say. I say humbug. Patients learn nothing from these ads, besides seeing ridiculously attractive, healthy-looking, active people pretend to have any number of diseases. I’ve said it before–if the companies were truly interested in educating patients, they would teach them about any number of topics that many patients do not understand. Instead, they hawk p... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1305306 Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:32:07 +0100 1305306 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1303195&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F251342018%2F Even before the 80-hour work week, shift work was part of a physician’s and resident’s training. Now, it’s just more prominent. Residency programs have adapted, introducing night teams for their patients, various types of “floats” (night, day, root beer) who take over for a resident–or often an entire team of residents–when one set must go home because of hour restrictions. In some ways, this is a good adaptation — and even if it’s not, it seems to be staying. I don’t care how tough and hardcore you are, you wouldn’t want a sleep-deprived resident (equivalent to an intoxicated resident) making health care decisions about your mother, let alone operating on her. (Having alcohol while on call or in the hospital would be a majo... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1303195 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:20:45 +0100 1303195 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1300273&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F250694762%2F A number of services like HealthGrades and RateMDs allow patients to rate their doctors. Most of these ratings are based on things like “ease of scheduling an office visit,” “Wait time before seeing the physician,” or “Helps patients understand their medical conditions.” Fair enough things to grade a physician on. A number of services like Medicare’s Hospital Compare or Cal Hospital Compare allow patients to compare hopsitals based on a set of standard “quality indicators” for things that we know will help patients do well — things like making sure patients with heart attacks get the right medicines or treatments in the right amount of time, or giving older patients pneumonia vaccines. Not only are hospitals publicly evaluated on... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1300273 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:09:10 +0100 1300273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1294320&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F249456333%2F EMTALA, the law that requires ERs to evaluate and stabilize everyone who shows up, is a good law. (There went half my readers right there.) If you’re still with me: I would argue (as would the writers of EMTALA) that we are so advanced a nation that patients should not be dying on the streets because of their inability to pay for emergency medical care. The problem with EMTALA is that it provides too much potential for abuse. This is the fundamental art of social policy — how do I put together a rule to maximize its use for its intended purposes, yet minimize the opportunities for abuse and loss of personal freedoms for whom the rule applies? (Note: unfortunately many policy makers do not seem to follow or care about this. They trust lobbyists to do this.) If you were to look o... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1294320 Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:00:01 +0100 1294320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1290973&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F248871620%2F (If you’re just joining us, here’s the introduction.) People die. I wish it wasn’t so. Over the next 30 years, America is going to be seeing its population growing in the older age groups more than the younger ones. We will see a massive increase in our elderly population, who tend to be sicker, have more chronic diseases complicating their care, and have weaker immune systems, making them more likely to get sick with an infection in the first place. And as people will be living longer, they will have increased years for possible health expenditures, including medical interventions that may or may not be necessary. At present, our health care system already appears to be unable to handle this load of patients. It will not improve with a higher quantity of patients. Whi... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1290973 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:01:26 +0100 1290973 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1290974&cid=t_108948_93_f&fid=34691&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fovermymedbody%2F%7E3%2F248858209%2F Health care resources should go to those who most need them. Welcome to “Health Care’s Broke,” my series of thoughts on what’s ailing the health care system, and what needs to happen to solve the problems we’ll face in the next century, as we face an aging population and workforce, a changing physician workforce, and new technologies and therapies that improve the lives of patients. Our health care system was created to deal with the acute illnesses, while our patients and providers now deal with chronic ones. Our health care system — and few others in the world — have adapted in response. I’ll be tackling everything from health care financing to HIPAA and privacy, from malpractice to direct-to-consumer marketing, and everything in between. ... over my med body! blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1290974 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:00:04 +0100 1290974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=601857&cid=t_108948_87_f&fid=34865&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecancerblog.com%2F2007%2F05%2F12%2Fworthy-wisdom-a-pantry-built-for-health%2F Filed under: Prevention, All Cancers, Diets, Nutrition, Cancer prevention foods, Worthy WisdomIf it ain't broke, don't fix it, says conventional wisdom. But if it is broken, then by all means -- fix it.Many of us have broken pantries. Pantries full of chips, cookies, candies, oils, sugars, and well, let's just name it: junk. Our pantries are broken because they don't work in a world where health and wellness and prevention should be on everyone's menu. They are ineffective, insufficient, and downright bad for us.My pantry has been in disrepair for a long time. Now, however, thanks to a build-your-pantry cheat sheet I brought home from Canyon Ranch, it's on the mend. Yours can be too. Just borrow from this abbreviated list next time you're in the grocery store and in no time, your pantry wi... The Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=601857 Sat, 12 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100 601857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=513811&cid=t_108948_87_f&fid=34865&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecancerblog.com%2F2007%2F03%2F31%2Fbasketball-jazz-and-now-cancer-for-wayman-tisdale%2F Filed under: Daily news, Celebrity news, SportsAward-winning jazz musician and former basketball star Wayman Tisdale revealed this week on his website that he has been diagnosed with cancer, that he will begin a six-month course of chemotherapy this week, and that his prognosis for recovery is excellent.The 6-foot-9 former Oklahoma Sooners basketball great -- who played 12 seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns and helped score gold on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team -- reports that he broke his leg in a fall at his Los Angeles home last month.After his fall, Tisdale's doctors determined a cyst in his right knee caused the injury. The cyst, identified as cancer, was then removed. Following chemotherapy, Tisdale, 42, will undergo knee-replacement surgery.T... The Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=513811 Sat, 31 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0100 513811