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 'education/cme'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:25:33 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893948&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F02%2Fcatastrophising-and-pain-ii%2F What are some of the indications that someone tends to catastrophise about their pain? How do we know? Do we have to use a questionnaire? Is it really my job to know about this if I’m not a psychologist – and what do I do about it? These are the kinds of questions that have been posed to me as I’ve explored the topic of catastrophising, and I propose to answer the last question in my next post (sorry to keep stringing you along like this – I think many may know my take on that already!). I work in a wonderful interdisciplinary team setting, in a centre where everyone who attends the Centre gets to complete a set of psychometrically sound questionnaires that all of the team are encouraged to use and interpret, so any of the team can be confident about identifying and... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893948 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 08:26:50 +0100 4893948 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4883925&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F31%2Fcatastrophising-and-pain-i%2F One reason I love blogging is the discussion between me and readers. I wrote about the language of pain recently, and out of that discussion I’ve spent a few days digging around the literature to look at what is known about the relationship between language, pain and catastrophising. I’d argued in my post that metaphoric language can reflect distress both in the communicator and the listener, and that this is supported by fMRI studies in which various parts of the brain are activated when emotion-laden communication about pain is being carried out, while one of my readers thought I might be taking this interpretation too far. Pain behaviour My reason for being interested in how we communicate about pain is that talking about pain (including describing it) is a pain behaviour. P... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4883925 Mon, 30 May 2011 19:15:07 +0100 4883925 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4797909&cid=t_369653_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fpharma-support-for-accredited-cme.html Pharmaceutical industry support - ie,  direct sponsorship PLUS advertising - of physician continuing medical education (CME) declined 13.3% in 2009 compared to 2008. This is based on income data (see here) provided by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). This marks the second consecutive year of decline as shown in the following chart:The following chart illustrates the trend in both types of CME income (direct commercial support AND advertising income) that CME providers receive from pharmaceutical companies:The pharma industry supports CME by funding different types of ACCME-accredited CME providers. These include for-profit Medical Education Communications Companies (MECCs), medical schools, and physician societies. The following chart shows how this ... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4797909 Sat, 07 May 2011 14:41:00 +0100 4797909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4795055&cid=t_369653_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FqED4wPpJkto%2F In an effort to “strengthen the firewall” between accredited continuing medical education and pharma promotion, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education is proposing a policy change that would prohibit corporate logos or mention of specific corporate divisions from appearing in commercial support disclosure statements. Why consider such a change? Right now, industry logos may occupy a prominent spot on a web page that offers a course and is sponsored by a drugmaker. For instance, take a look at an online course at Medscape called Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, which is paid for by Eli Lilly. Some may consider such displays as being too overtly commercial. And so the revised policy would, presumably, minimize such impressions. The ACCME i... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4795055 Fri, 06 May 2011 14:31:39 +0100 4795055 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4664499&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F31%2Fmoodjuice%2F I had a nice email from James Hardie from Moodjuice website, an NHS Scotland site developed for both health professionals and individuals to access self help resources. For patients, the site starts by saying “Emotional problems are often the mind and body’s way of saying that something needs to be changed in our life” - I like that!  I like the way the patient area is based on practical problems like housing, childcare, hobbies and interests, meeting people, relationships and so on. For professionals, the feature that really appeals to me is the “build your own resource” area.  This enables you to put together the most relevant handouts for the person you’re seeing – a lovely feature! Then you can print the whole lot off, and it’s a pulled-tog... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4664499 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:12:26 +0100 4664499 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4305126&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F03%2Fall-about-you-and-me-how-health-professionals-influence-pain-management%2F This study looks at the use of the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale with GP’s, or primary care providers. How long does it take to get there? – no, not kids in cars, but a look at the delays in referral for chronic pain management. Rules for doctors – and probably other health professionals – A repost of a wonderful set of instructions written by a doctor! Are these posts with links to my other posts helpful? Let me know – I love comments, and almost always respond.  Don’t forget too, you can bookmark my blog, or you can subscribe via RSS or even email.  Introduce yourself on my ‘About’ page – I’d love to get to know you and what you’re looking for. Filed under: Chronic pain, Clinical reasoning, Education/CME, Research, Therap... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4305126 Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:18:51 +0100 4305126 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4253469&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F13%2Fthe-pain-system-is-so-complicated%2F There are a couple of ways to approach the problem of pain – the one I grew up with is the medical one: diagnose the problem, fix the problem, life returns to normal.  The person’s role in this is to be open about what is wrong, let the treatment provider know the information (and only the information) relevant to the problem, follow the medical instructions, and all will be well. Of course the majority of readers of this blog can see some short-comings in this model.  It forgets that people choose when to seek treatment and that they make decisions about this based on ‘common knowledge’ (or what the community around them says they should do), family history, current stressors and activities, degree of distress, and how much the symptoms get in the way of living l... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4253469 Sun, 12 Dec 2010 19:17:10 +0100 4253469 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3795074&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F28%2Fa-shout-out-to-the-how-to-cope-with-pain-blog%2F One of the most useful, patient-friendly blogs around, How to Cope with Pain Blog has a monthly blog round-up that is always worth reading.  Head to here for this months’ carnival, and while you’re there take some time to read some of the excellent material that has been posted there.  Some of it is written by readers submitting to a recent competition, some of it is written by the author – all of it is worth reading and reflecting on. Filed under: Coping Skills, Education/CME, health, pain Tagged: acceptance, blog carnival, Chronic pain, coping, coping strategies, health, pain management, Resources, self management (Source: HealthSkills Weblog) HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3795074 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:23:06 +0100 3795074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3790938&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F27%2Fblack-dog-institute-does-it-again%2F New document from Black Dog Institute – Punctuating your day with mindfulness – go on, click on it, read it and DO IT! Filed under: Education/CME Tagged: Black Dog Institute, depression, mindfulness, Resources (Source: HealthSkills Weblog) HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3790938 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:07:52 +0100 3790938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3737311&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F09%2Fa-page-of-interesting-mirrorbox-videos%2F I’ve just updated my page on mirrorbox therapy – added a set of four new videos by Dr Ilan Lieberman, so take a wander back into the historic pages on my blog and watch new stuff! Filed under: Clinical reasoning, Education/CME, News, pain, therapy Tagged: CRPS, mirror, mirrorbox, therapy (Source: HealthSkills Weblog) HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3737311 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:03:27 +0100 3737311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3730120&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F07%2F10-things-you-really-oughta-know-about-chronic-pain%2F …with apologies to the therapists in the Special Interest Group who first raised this topic! Something I’m acutely aware of after working in pain management for a while is the number of assumptions that I hold about what people ‘should’ know about pain…sometimes I can be quite rightly accused of leaping waaaaaaay ahead of what people are ready for in terms of new information! So it’s time to summarise the ’10 things you really oughta know about chronic pain’ In My Humble Opinion. 1.  Pain is a biopsychosocial experience, that it’s “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” and what that means in real terms.  I think it’s imp... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3730120 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:37:30 +0100 3730120 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3691125&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F24%2Fgreat-blog-posts-by-people-i-respect%2F First up from How to Live with Pain - Making positive psychological changes – including acceptance.  Just don’t put a timeframe on it, is my opinion.  Acceptance doesn’t mean you have to like your pain, it just means you let it be there without judging it. You just HAVE to go to Dr Rob’s Musings of a Distractible Mind.  He always makes me laugh and think all at the same time!  Beware of grammatical elitism – those who would say that by ‘wantonly leav[ing] out spaces betweenwords and endanger the very fabric of the spacetime continuum by doingso’.  You decide whether healthcare should be two words or one… OK? Psychology of pain – for hours of reading pleasure – Through this blog I found this link to ‘Overlapping Conditio... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3691125 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:09:58 +0100 3691125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607846&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F28%2Flinks-to-online-cbt-resources%2F I have occasion to look for online resources from time to time – this week it’s been anxiety and CBT self-help, so I’ve been strolling through the internet and located some really great, evidence-based sites with excellent resources. First one GET.gg  – here Over 100 downloadable worksheets, all pdf documents, including ACT, Vicious Flower circle, formulation worksheets, sheets for challenging core beliefs – and I have hardly started listing!.  Definitely worth going to if you’d like some well-designed, clear worksheets you can save onto your own computer.  For a sample, click here for the Pain and Fatigue worksheet e-couch is a free online site for anxiety and depression, and other mood combinations.  You do need JavaScript to use the site.  It&#82... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607846 Fri, 28 May 2010 07:07:16 +0100 3607846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3267230&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F12%2Ffriday-funnies-and-some-great-links%2F Oh no, the Friday Funnies, full of cringe-making ‘funnies’.  Try to enjoy them – they’re there to help you prepare for your weekend (you know you’ll need a drink after looking at them!) I recently posted a list of ‘doctor’ or health care rules courtesy of Dr Rob of Musings of a Distractible Mind – this is a link to the accompanying patient rules, I thought they might be useful. For a tasty snack, probably designed to make sure you remain healthy of spirit and soul while less so of artery and heart…take a look at this recipe for shortbread from Borealnz’s blog The brilliant Ben Goldacre never ceases to amaze me with his wry comments on both his Twitter feed and his Bad Science blog. He’s never shy of taking on the misinform... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3267230 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:09:54 +0100 3267230 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056915&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F04%2Fbreathworks-training-mindfulness-meditation-for-pain-management%2F The world is a small place really, as I’ve found out via Twitter, Facebook and the blog – but I didn’t expect to have contact through Amazon (that wicked place that snatches $$ right out of my purse by tempting me with far too many wonderful books!).  However, I received an email today from Vidyamala Burch, who has developed Breathworks, a mindfulness meditation approach to pain management that has achieved some success.  I have used the Breathworks CD’s for some years now, both for myself and with people who have chronic pain.  They’re lovely and nondirective, ‘mindful’ and as a result help me move towards acceptance rather than trying to avoid negative experience. Anyway, Vidyamala contacted me to say she’s coming to New Zealand (back ho... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056915 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:00:01 +0100 3056915 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3045051&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F02%2Fa-very-thorough-explanation-of-psychosocial-assessment-for-pain%2F I happened upon the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists website recently, and amongst some of the many resources found there, I located a very thorough description of psychosocial assessment for chronic pain. It’s a synthesis of many authors and resources and despite the orientation to medical assessment, and some of the discussion around ‘malingering’, it offers some very useful advice and content for anyone working in this field. Here’s the document in its entirety – please make sure you acknowledge the source, as the authors do indicate that the work is not original and is drawn from multiple references. Something to consider when you’re developing an assessment format, eg a semi-structured interview or even general headings for use du... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3045051 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:25:50 +0100 3045051 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3045052&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F01%2Fsmall-but-long-rant-on-occupational-therapy-science%2F Hands up the occupational therapists who like statistics!  Thought not. What about those who read journal articles comparing one treatment with another?  Use a treatment model consistently – or use a set of hypotheses and test to see which ones apply to the person we’re working with? Hmmm….  Are occupational therapists ‘epistemiphobic[1]’? or simply naive about science. I recently read an assignment on clinical reasoning written by a very competent and educated occupational therapy graduate.  In it the views of Kuhn, cited in Mattingly and Fleming were described where ‘clinical reasoning within a biomedical frame is like puzzle solving, in that a clearly identifiable correct answer exists (e.g., a pathology, a cluster of physiologic deficits), and the player’s task is... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3045052 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:57:55 +0100 3045052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2882995&cid=t_369653_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fnemeroff-seroquel-and-accme.html Roy Poses has discussed the atypical antipsychotic drug Seroquel (quetiapine) several times on this site, pointing out manipulation of clinical research results to enhance the appearance of efficacy, and suppression of studies with unfavorable results. I call this augmenting the marketed profile of the drug. Daniel Carlat has commented on published Seroquel data here and ClinPsych here.AstraZeneca, the marketer of Seroquel, has also been busy with continuing medical education (CME) programs that augment Seroquel’s profile. Last December 8, one such program went on line, aired by the provider CME Outfitters. The program’s title was “Atypical Antipsychotics in Major Depressive Disorder: When Current Treatments Are Not Enough.” The corporate logo for CME Outfitters is Education with I... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2882995 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:32:00 +0100 2882995 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2842828&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F29%2Ffibromyalgia-an-overview%2F I didn’t intend to get into a theme this week, but this paper arrived in my inbox this morning, and given both the prevalence of fibromyalgia, and the often ‘fuzzy’ management that can be provided, I thought it might be worthwhile taking a look at it.  The paper itself is a pre-print, but has been revised earlier this year and is probably the final version. The outline of the paper covers diagnostic criteria, and briefly discusses the place of neuroimaging (if only we could get that done readily here!), but notes that many other conditions overlap or mimic FM such as hypothyroidism, tendonitis, ankylosing spondylitis, as well as chronic fatigue, suggesting some sort of common pathway in either the peripheral or central nervous system, raising the possibility of some comm... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2842828 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:26:02 +0100 2842828 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2752229&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F01%2Ftake-the-pain-away-and-the-other-problems-go-too%2F There are some days I despair that the biopsychosocial model will EVER take hold in the died-in-the-wool medical interventionist strongholds. This quote from a discussion with a colleague might help you join in my pity party…The conversation is about a case of a young woman with 18 month history of neck pain post-MVA, she has been to pain management and ‘while this has helped her understand and manage her pain better, the pain persists to the point that she is becoming increasingly frustrated, with deterioration in her work, personal and social environment.’ In my discussion with my colleague, he stated that ‘…the reasons that the patient is frustrated is that she still has pain.  Take that away (if it is possible) and the other problems go too.’ He wen... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2752229 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:24:14 +0100 2752229 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2748158&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F31%2Fquestioning-a-skill-for-health%2F I must have driven my parents mad as a child: I’m the eternal 4 year old asking ‘Why’! It’s got me into a lot of trouble over the years when I can’t seem to sit with the status quo, just need to ask the question, understand the reasons things are the way they are – or at least ask why they are the way they are! In my work, I use Socratic questioning as I work with participants in both group and individual pain management. Socratic questioning is a method of enquiry ‘to challenge accuracy and completeness of thinking in a way that acts to move people towards their ultimate goal.’ It can be used poorly to almost ‘bully’ someone to come around to a specific point of view (ever watched one of those law shows where the lawyer neatly tr... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2748158 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:33:43 +0100 2748158 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2738036&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F27%2Fdont-go-to-the-internet-to-get-good-information-about-chronic-pain%2F …it’s true, you know, the quality of the information about chronic pain found on the internet is poor – at least it was when this study was conducted (of course, that was before this blog got started!). ‘In December 2007, there were an estimated 1.3 billion Internet users worldwide with the usage growth increasing by 265% from 2000 to 2007′ – I don’t think that numbers will have decreased since then! Anyway, in this study, Corcoran and colleagues developed a scoring tool to measure the quality of the material they found when searching the internet using the terms ‘chronic pain’, and using the popular search engines like Google and Yahoo. Their scoring was developed from terms from the Health on the Net code, with some modification to im... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2738036 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:30:33 +0100 2738036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2712388&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F19%2Fits-not-what-you-say-its-the-way-that-you-say-it%2F I have a bit of a theme happening – health care interactions. I think it’s because this week I’ve been talking about this with patients, and it seems to be something that either raises the hackles or fills them with gratitude! Anyway, I was glad to find this paper the other day on ‘perceived quality of doctor–patient interaction in rehabilitation’. This is slightly different from the usual focus, which is often on interactions in primary care. It’s an interesting paper written by a group of researchers in Germany. They describe the use of a newly-developed rating instrument, the ‘P.A.Int-Questionnaire’, which stands for (in German) ‘Patient-Arzt-Interaktion’. I’m guessing that’s German for ‘patient-doctor inter... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2712388 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:54:41 +0100 2712388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2709419&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F18%2Fthree-questions%2F Yesterday I spent some time with the participants on the pain management programme talking about their experiences in the health care system.  After reading a great wee self help pain management book written by David Hall which has a chapter on how to ‘manage’ being part of the health care system, I decided it might be a good idea to talk with the group about how to make the most of their relationships with health care providers. I was surprised to find that many of them are saying the sort of things I thought had gone from health – things like being told ‘I don’t believe in chronic pain’, ‘there must be a cause for your pain and I’ll find it’, ‘it’s really in your head’ – along with the experiences that some ha... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2709419 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:15:18 +0100 2709419 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2688943&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F11%2Fhow-do-you-decide-when-to-stop-doing-something%2F This study by Karsdorp and colleagues, based at the Maastricht University, The Netherlands, manipulates mood and stop rules on task performance. Participants were people with upper limb pain, and were asked to carry out two physical tasks consisting of moving a weighted handle – one with their painful upper limb, and one with their nonpainful lower limb. Just prior to carrying out this task, pariticpants were asked to remember and give a detailed description of a positive or a negative event they had experienced in their life. Their experience was heightened by the interviewer asking for emotion-laden comments and descriptions, and lighting and music were also used to augment emotions. The stop rules were (1) ‘perform the task and ask yourself ‘have I made as many movemen... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2688943 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:00:08 +0100 2688943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2685387&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F10%2Fmore-about-acupuncture-press-needles-as-a-placebo%2F Slightly tangential to my normal topics, I located this article today on a placebo procedure that may work for acupuncture. Many people will be aware that in acupuncture, it’s really difficult to truly conduct a double-blind trial where both the person receiving and the person giving the treatment are unaware of which is the ‘active’ treatment. In fact ongoing criticism of many studies such as those reviewed in Cochrane reviews (and the recent post I made of Ernst’s review of 32 Cochrane reviews) is that in giving the ‘placebo’ treatment, the comparison is not really between acupuncture and placebo acupuncture, but it is instead of acupuncture with ’something else’, and in doing this, much of the ‘active’ component of acupuncture ... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2685387 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:08:26 +0100 2685387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2678889&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F07%2Fmirror-box-video-david-butler%2F David Butler is a physiotherapist, and takes the ‘Explain Pain’ courses. If you’re keen to find out more about NOI group – head here This video is a good overview of the mirror box – in 7 minutes!  Enjoy. (Source: HealthSkills Weblog) HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2678889 Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:38:22 +0100 2678889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2674528&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F06%2Flearning-cognitive-behavioural-therapy-an-illustrated-guide%2F Despite this book being unrelated to pain management, I can’t go past this one for learning how to develop the basic skills in cognitive behavioural therapy. It’s (you guessed it!) ‘Learning cognitive behavior therapy: An illustrated guide’ written by JW Wright, MR Basco & ME Thase, published by American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc, Washington, 2006.  It is one of the titles included in the ‘Core Competencies in Psychotherapy’ series, and was written to provide ‘an immersion in the fundamentals of each form of psychotherapy and explicitly addresses the seix core areas of competency needed in medical practice as outlined by ACGME and the American Board of Medical Specialties’. More importantly for me, it’s a really clear guide, base... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2674528 Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:32:23 +0100 2674528 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2556392&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F30%2F7-google-apps-every-health-professional-should-know-about%2F Today is my first guest post for this blog! I hope you enjoy it – and thanks to Lis from Perth for getting in touch with me! More and more web hosting providers, particularly the ones that are free, are powerfully persuading their clients to use Google Apps in order to manage their email more efficiently. This is typically due to the fact that the hosting provider wants to lower the overhead cost for processing that comes with operating POP accounts and saving disk space related to mail storage. In general, by using Google Apps, you get better performance and often better email support from your host. For example, if your host includes a single catch all type of email, you would probably still benefit from the use of Google Apps. You do have other options when it comes to email solut... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2556392 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:47:19 +0100 2556392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2415872&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F17%2Famedeo-branches-out-free-medical-podcasts%2F I joined Amedeo in 1997, and since then have been receiving regular emailings of the latest journal articles on topics of my choice. It’s free, and it’s a great way to keep up-to-date. You can subscribe on the website. Today however, they’ve announced another addition – podcasts! As the information blurb says, ‘Don’t watch TV ― listen to medical podcasts’, ‘Don’t read newspapers ― read podcast transcripts’ – well, maybe that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but you can definitely get some great podcasts from some of the very best providers. Take a look, then you can tailor your subscriptions for what you’d like to see. (Source: HealthSkills Weblog) HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2415872 Sun, 17 May 2009 00:24:40 +0100 2415872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2406272&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F11%2Fhabit-at-work%2F I don’t know how I managed to miss linking into this web-based resource all about the aches and pains we get while we work! Take a look at Habit at Work – and yes, it’s developed by ACC, but don’t hold that against it. It’s a nice, simple web design, with a choice of either office or industrial workplace to select. Once you’ve clicked into the workplace, you’re able to choose a quiz (with some surprising facts for some people!), how to work in comfort, how to assess yourself, and what to do if you’re feeling sore. I especially liked the interactive nature of the site, the lovely graphics – and it is written in language that is clear and easy to understand. My only quibble, and it is a tiny one, is the section called ‘get rid of ... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2406272 Mon, 11 May 2009 03:23:23 +0100 2406272 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2342020&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F17%2Fon-the-evidence-for-decisions-about-the-use-of-therapeutic-interventions%2F You might have seen a theme emerging this week in my posts - clinical reasoning, evidence-base for treatments, balance between science and art … I came across this rather weighty document today in which Professor Sir Michael David Rawlins presents THE HARVEIAN ORATION Delivered before the Fellows of The Royal College of Physicians of London on Thursday 16 October 2008. Despite the rather grand titles, this discussion (published in full in pdf) is both a well-articulated explanation of levels of evidence and judgement, and quite an easy read. In his paper, he describes the development and elevation of the RCT to the ‘pinnacle’ of evidence. He also describes the limitations of the RCT - which is particularly appropriate in the area of nonpharmaceutical therapies for pain m... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2342020 Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:34:42 +0100 2342020 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2342026&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F07%2Fopen-mindedness-logical-flaws-in-those-who-say-scientists-are-not-openminded%2F This is a great animation giving a concise and well-reasoned argument for why scientists can’t be accused of not having an open mind. Watch and think. (Source: HealthSkills Weblog) HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2342026 Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:58:10 +0100 2342026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2302546&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F27%2Fnz-pain-society-conference%2F This year’s conference is in Rotorua in July. Take a look at these speakers! There is Professor Michael Chester Director of the National Refractory Angina Centre, Consultant Cardiologist Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust. Professor of Rehabilitation and Preventive Health Education, Liverpool Hope University. Lorimer Moseley, knownfor his work on motor imagery in complex regional pain syndrome, Senior Research Fellow, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Randwick, Australia. And Michael Nicholas, Clinical Senior Lecturer, The University of Sydney, Anaesthesia and Pain Management, Department of Anaesthesia. Go here for more details, and the preliminary version of the programme. If you’re not from New Zealand - Rotorua has to be seen and experi... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2302546 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 03:44:09 +0100 2302546 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2281927&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F18%2Fcalling-occupational-therapists-working-in-pain-management%2F New Zealand Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting: 23 - 26 July 2009 Calling all occupational therapists working in the field in New Zealand to register for the pre-conference occupational therapy meeting. 22 July, 3.30pm - 6.30pm (with informal dinner out afterwards!) ‘Doing and being: Occupational therapy issues in chronic pain management’ This will be a facilitated discussion and consensus building around issues in pain management common to occupational therapists.  Topics yet to be confirmed may include: defining activity pacing exposure therapy for pain-related anxiety and avoidance goal setting providing occupational therapy as a single discipline working in teams Registration will be a tiny $40, and the opportunity to network - priceless! For more details, complete ... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2281927 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:14:06 +0100 2281927 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2202570&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F20%2Fcontinuing-professional-education-videos-online%2F It’s been a while since I put up some links to good free online video material, so today’s the day! University of Maryland has a range of medical videos on manytopics.  There is a heavy bias towards medical and surgical options, and little on ‘allied health’.  The information on spine disorders and ‘oh my aching back’ is focused on surgical and peripheral disorders, and little attention is paid to the limited relationship between ‘ruptured discs’ and pain.  No matter, there are some nice podcasts on ‘forgiveness’, ‘medical crisis counselling’, and ‘depression’, and the series under ‘preventive medicine’ has a nice one on ‘walking for wellness’. PBS website NOVA has some really int... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2202570 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:09:32 +0100 2202570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2056689&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F22%2Fpre-christmas-gratitude-5-things-im-grateful-for%2F In these couple of days before Christmas, it’s traditional to review some of the ‘best of’ 2008. It’s been just over a year since I started this blog, and the topic list and readership has grown a whole lot! What am I grateful for in 2008? Teamwork - the people I work with are fantastic. You can’t work alone in pain management IMHO,  a team of like-minded people to support you both professionally and personally just can’t be beaten.  I take my hat off to the team at Burwood Pain Management Centre who keep me honest, deflate my ego (gently), cushion my falls, keep me standing and give me inspiration to keep on caring about what I do. Motivation - using motivational approaches like motivational interviewing to help people make their own choices rather t... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2056689 Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:14:48 +0100 2056689 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2046392&cid=t_369653_86_f&fid=34461&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdigicmb.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fcme-search-continuing-medical-education.html AltSearchEngines is really a site to watch on a regular basis if you want to know about new search engines out there! Today they post about CME Click . a search engine for Continuing Medical Education. According to the review: "CME Click is neither perfect nor very pretty, but it is a handy tool when a procrastinating physician (or a highly efficient one who has only just been informed about a new mandate) needs to meet a CME requirement as quickly as possible" Something to give a closer look for sure. Although the review mentiones no available RSS feed, I found that the following page is RSS-enabled: http://www.cmeclick.com/node/ It looks like all new CME content is published in these nodes. Just give your RSS-feed reader, preferably NETVIBES this url and it will turn in a nice overview o... DigiCMB blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2046392 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:26:00 +0100 2046392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2034535&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F13%2F101-fascinating-brain-blogs-at-online-education-database%2F Take a look at this list of great sites on things ‘brain’ - from lighter to really intense, at least one or two of these blogs will have something for you! While you’re there, the Library holds a range of really good material to inspire you and inform you, especially if you’re taking an on-line education course.        (Source: HealthSkills Weblog) HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2034535 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:20:21 +0100 2034535 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1931264&cid=t_369653_115_f&fid=37661&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnottotallyrad.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F11%2Fweird-body-quiz.html In a desperate attempt to take my mind off the "E" word today, I stumbled across The Weird Body Quiz at the New York Times site. It's probably a good thing I went into radiology instead of specializing in weird body facts -- I scored a paltry 60%.This quiz is taken from a list of unusual medical questions compiled by a surgeon and her teenage daughters called "Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow? Curious Questions Kids Ask About the Human Body". Sounds like just the place to get some just-in-time CME on boogers, hiccups, pee and farts. (Source: Not Totally Rad) Not Totally Rad blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1931264 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:04:00 +0100 1931264 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1915809&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F29%2Fvirtual-symposium-on-pain%2F Discussion (Live) (Date TBC) Cost?  Canadian $  $375 for non-members of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association.        (Source: HealthSkills Weblog) HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1915809 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:59:50 +0100 1915809 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1912477&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F28%2Fif-youre-new-to-pain-management-v%2F Neuroanatomy is full of names and details that can be quite difficult to learn. I found this site which has a great, albeit simplified, list of labelled images that you need to drag and drop names on as a way of learning them. Another site is Sylvius which has free images with voice-over - and you can purchase an ipod version to carry around with you. Would be a good option if you were needing to study on-the-fly! It’s not so easy to find good, up-to-date material on functional neuroanatomy of pain that includes the brain. There are a couple of reasonable resources on peripheral mechanisms (see yesterday’s post), but as for those reviewing the role of the brain, well that’s not quite so easy to find. In fact, I’m still searching for something visual, interactive, an... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1912477 Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:15:39 +0100 1912477 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1909322&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F27%2Fif-youre-new-to-pain-management-iv%2F I don’t know about you, but one subject I struggled with for ages was neuroanatomy. I’m not sure why, but the names and functions just did not stick. I’m glad that there are now some new ways to learn the details! One resource I want to point to today is HEAL, or Health Education Assets Library. This is a ‘digital library that provides freely accessible digital teaching resources of the highest quality that meet the needs of today’s health sciences educators and learners’ - and it contains reviewed material, with about 22,427 resources that you can be directed to, including elearning materials such as ‘neurons’ from Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. And if you’re wondering why it’s important to know this stuff? Well for ... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1909322 Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:19:13 +0100 1909322 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1892586&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F21%2Fif-youre-new-to-pain-management-ii%2F Now it’s time to turn to the details of the biopsychosocial model as it is applied to pain. There are some excellent resources available to look at this in both a simple way, and in much greater detail. This site is written by a physiotherapist - and contains some well-written and reasonably simple information both about pain and more especially about low back pain. I’d suggest heading to this page on biopsychosocial model for a quick overview. As far back as 1953, pain has been seen as more than simply either body or mind… Pain is no longer considered exclusively either as a neurophysiological or a psychological phenomenon. Such a rigid dichotomy is obsolete, because pain is now recognised as the compound result of physiopsychological processes whose complexity is almos... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1892586 Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:15:49 +0100 1892586 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1892587&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F21%2Fif-youre-new-to-pain-management-i%2F I posted last week on some of the basic domains of knowledge that I personally think are important when you’re new to pain management.  For more detailed curricula, the best place to go is IASP, where you can see some older but still relevant examples of curricula such as this one for occupational therapy and physiotherapy. To break the area down a bit, because it really is quite a daunting list of topics, I thought about some of the basic conceptual material as being quite helpful to organise learning.  The first topic that I think is fundamental to understanding pain is the biopsychosocial model, and a quite nice summary of the model is this one by Dr Shaheen Lakhan.  A lightly longer, albeit older couple of papers are here.  A much more recent paper is briefly summarised here,... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1892587 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:17:02 +0100 1892587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1889366&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F20%2Fscreening-for-the-risk-of-chronic-disability%2F In this study, again the total score was found to be most predictive of future sick leave ‘The prediction of future sick leave with the OMPSQ is based on the total score. As in earlier studies the results showed that the total score of the screening questionnaire was related to future sick leave and functional ability; the higher the score, the higher the risk for long term sick leave and developing of chronic problems.’ The higher functional limitation scores the greater disability in the long term, which is slightly different from previous studies which have suggested psychosocial distress and avoidance were more predictive. Again, this study shows that using this screening tool early in the course of an episode of low back pain (whether the first episode or subsequent episo... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1889366 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:23:40 +0100 1889366 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1871454&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F14%2Fa-couple-of-interesting-podcasts%2F If you haven’t ever listened to a podcast, maybe today’s post will be an eye-opener.  PainAwareness was set up during the month of September which is Pain Awareness month, but has extended beyond that.  While the content is a little limited at present, there is an interesting podcast about chronic pain (three, actually!).  While it has been sponsored by Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, the emphasis is on exercise and chronic pain.  People from the US will recognise the Olympian Nikki Stone who features on the podcast and experiences chronic pain herself.  This is a good mode for providing patients with a positive message about the usefulness (and safety) of exercise despite experiencing ongoing pain. Also on the site is an audio podcast about psychological approaches to chronic pain ... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1871454 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:56:42 +0100 1871454 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1827169&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F24%2Frevelation-im-experimenting-on-patients%2F Actually, the heading should read ‘I’m experimenting on with patients! Does that not help?  Sorry, perhaps I should unpack what I mean! Chronic pain, or actually, chronic disability associated with pain, is multifactorial.  What that means is there are many different factors that influence how and why a person has chronic pain and disability.  It also means that each person is likely to have a different set of factors that is contributing to why they are having this set of problems in this specific situation. And the implications of this are that it’s highly unlikely that any one single treatment will ‘work’ to ‘fix’ the problem! In fact, the only time we can be certain about our treatments is when the following conditions are met: a reliable a... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1827169 Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:08:01 +0100 1827169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1813109&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F22%2Fmigraine-information-site%2F I came across this site today as I was looking for some visuals on migraine.  It’s a site run by the Migraine Aura Foundation, and contains some incredible imagery, as well as some very technical and scientific information on the neurology of migraine.  One of the ones I really liked was a simulation showing a traveling wave in gyrate cortex and the corresponding visual field defect.  Look at it on the website for more information and background on it.  And if you head into the section ‘Migraine Aura’ you’ll see an incredible simulation of the visual aura some people get prior to a migraine.  It’s a wee bit migraine-inducing actually, but soooo like mine (except mine’s not colourful, more like blank areas). That section also has a great series of v... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1813109 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:48:48 +0100 1813109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1807163&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F19%2Fmedscape-continuing-education-2-courses-on-chronic-pain%2F I just found these CME courses on Medscape… This one is on the use of methadone in chronic pain… a video presentation. And this one is on Putting Together the Fibromyalgia Puzzle: New Understandings in Pathophysiology and Management Yes, you’ll have to register, but it’s free - and great to have some quality education. I’ve used some of these CME courses for my Recertification Portfolio for registration, so keep a record of any courses you complete and include them in your portfolio. Use your critical thinking skills to critique the courses too, remembering that these ones are medically-biased, and may not represent the biopsychosocial model that is used widely in chronic pain management, especially in NZ.        (Source: HealthSk... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1807163 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:45:10 +0100 1807163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1795532&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F16%2Fwho-really-has-all-the-pieces-of-the-puzzle%2F I’ve worked in pain management for quite a while now, and longer in work rehabilitation, and seen the process from almost all sides.  For ages I thought that, as the health provider working with the person in the workplace itself, I had most of the pieces of the return to work puzzle.  I mean, I did have access to the medical information, progress reports from other health providers, I spoke with and met with the employer, the compensation agent or funder, and worked with the person…but I’ve revised my ideas since my own rehabilitation. I’ve realised that the only person who has all the pieces of the puzzle is the person who is returning to work. This person is the only one who has been at every health care meeting, treatment session, and progress report.  This p... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1795532 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:29:16 +0100 1795532 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1776704&cid=t_369653_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F08%2Fwhat-should-i-include-in-my-pain-assessment%2F With such a wide array of factors influencing a person’s pain experience, it can be difficult to decide exactly what to include in a pain assessment. We do know that the model we use to view pain will influence the factors that are included - and although the internationally accepted model of pain is a biopsychosocial one, there are any number of versions of this model that can be adopted. Within each domain of the biopsychosocial model the research over the past few years has exploded, meaning there are more and more factors than can be considered - and these need to be organised in a systematic way so that we can make sense of them, make good clinical decisions about interventions and then work with the person who has the pain so they can understand them and contribute. There are a... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1776704 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:27:56 +0100 1776704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1726573&cid=t_369653_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F371947236%2F The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, you may recall, recently proposed new rules to further limit interactions between accredited providers and commercial supporters. And the ACCME also issued a ‘call for comment’ until Sept. 12 on a proposal for a new model of commercial support, all of which you can read about here. Not surprisingly, some CME companies are alarmed and so one firm, Professional Postgraduate Services, is circulating an e-mail urging others to write the ACCME in support of continued commercial funding for independent medical education. Of course, anyone can write in to say ‘yea’ or ‘nay.’ Here is the PPS note… Subject: Your Urgent Response Needed to Keep CME Funding Intact Dear Colleague, As a participant in ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1726573 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:19:05 +0100 1726573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1669385&cid=t_369653_115_f&fid=37661&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnottotallyrad.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fwtf-cme.html Although I attend quite a few radiology meetings, the bulk of my continuing medical education (CME) comes from a much different source. Staid organizations such as the AMA call this "point-of-care" CME. Personally, I prefer the term: "WTF CME™". It works like this:1. You read through a worklist of images (or hey, actually see a patient) and spot some finding you can't explain. As the image above suggests, you then ponder this finding and its significance.(N.B.: If you are not au courant with the latest in internet abbreviations, let's just say that WTF stands for "What's that finding?")2. If you work with other radiologists, you ask their opinion. They either know the answer, or utter a quizzical remark similar to yours.3. If none of you know, you head for a website like Google or PubMe... Not Totally Rad blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1669385 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:43:00 +0100 1669385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1300325&cid=t_369653_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F03%2Fpets-welcome-pharma-not-at-oregon-cme.html The Oregon Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) is hosting its 61st Annual CME Weekend at Salishan Spa and Golf Resort in Glendale Beach, OR this May. There'll be plenty of golf, tennis, beach activities, spa rejuvenation, wining and dining, kiting, and shopping at this "pet friendly" lodge, but pharmaceutical companies are verbotin!A Deluxe Guestroom goes for a mere $165 per night and $195 for a Premier Guestroom. Even with the one-time additional charge of $25 per pet, this is a pretty sweet deal for a room such as the one shown below!No Room at This Inn for Pharma!As the program guide says, this event is "Pharma Free: The OAFP is 100% free of any pharmaceutical company funding or support. Consequently, this CME conference has dispensed with a traditional exhibit hall."Presumably, what wo... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1300325 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:06:00 +0100 1300325 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1003557&cid=t_369653_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Fonline-cme-growth-is-bad-news-for.html It's very instructive to peruse ACCME's annual report data if you want to understand the trends in pharma support of physician continuing medical education (CME). ACCME stands for Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. It's an organization that allows other organizations to provide "accredited" CME credits through educational programs. Doctors need a certain amount of CME credits to maintain their licenses.The ACCME data includes information about the number of physician participants in CME programs, the CME hours delivered (1 credit usually means one hour of educational activity as estimated by the CME provider), etc. And it breaks this information down according to the type of CME provider (medical school, for-profit company, medical society, etc.).I recently perused the... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1003557 Mon, 05 Nov 2007 12:44:00 +0100 1003557 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=675612&cid=t_369653_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Ffree-cme-without-direct-pharma-support.html Yesterday, in a post about about pharmaceutical company support of continuing medical education (see "Welcome to the CME Laundromat"), I made a suggestion that, like the rest of us mortals, physicians should pay for their own professional education credits.This straightforward "solution" to the problem of pharma influence over CME received some attention from other bloggers and their physician audience.Medical Weblog (Kevin, MD), for example, suggested that "Realistically, if physicians had to pay to attend their own CME lectures, no one would go."This elicited several comments with different points of view, including the following:"Realistically, if physicians had to pay to attend their own CME lectures, no one would go."Speaks for itself, doesn't it?Wow . . . just wow . . . what a sterli... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=675612 Fri, 15 Jun 2007 11:41:00 +0100 675612 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=675613&cid=t_369653_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fwelcome-to-cme-laundromat.html In a New York Times Op-Ed piece, Daniel Carlat, a professor at Tufts Medical School and editor in chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report, characterizes pharma-sponsored Continuing Medical education (CME) as "a new twist on that well-known instrument of corruption, money laundering.""[CME] content," says Carlat, "is rarely developed by the identified experts. Instead, it is developed by the undisclosed communication company, which is paid by the sponsoring pharmaceutical company." (see "Diagnosis: Conflict of Interest")Them's fighting words says Robert Goldberg in a post to Drug Wonks:"Daniel Carlat has a near hysterical piece about that equates pharmaceutical and biotech funding of CME to money laundering. Which I guess makes all the academics, researchers and clinicians who particpate...cr... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=675613 Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:52:00 +0100 675613 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=602481&cid=t_369653_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fdollars-for-docs-more-scrutiny-needed.html My fellow blogger Peter Rost over at Question Authority continues to milk an Astrazeneca internal newsletter for stories. First it was the Zubillaga Affair, then the Missy Moran's MUMS Miasma, followed by The Pink Cupcake Caper. Now it's the Doctor Freedland Fee Fest! (Sorry, doc, your name will forever be linked to this issue in Google searches.)"Medical Bags of Money"The Astrazeneca newsletter reports that Dr. Stephen Freedland -- faculty member of the Duke University School of Medicine -- was number one among the "Top 3" Casodex (a prostate cancer drug) speakers in 2006, speaking 68 times on behalf of Astrazeneca. Number 2 spoke only 21 time! Freedland is set to best that record in 2007, having "moderated 21 programs" at the time of publication of the newsletter.Rost calculates that at ... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=602481 Wed, 09 May 2007 11:07:00 +0100 602481