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 'family doctor'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:38:01 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107601&cid=t_121270_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F08%2Fantidepressants-overprescribed-in-primary-care%2F Antidepressants have long enjoyed a reputation as being a quick and “easy” treatment for all types of depression — from a mild feeling of being a little down, all the way up to severe, life-debilitating depression. But like all medications, they have side effects and instances where they should not be prescribed. Hence their continued need for a prescription after seeing a doctor. So what does it mean when primary care physicians are handing them out like candy? It suggests that your family doctor doesn’t really understand how antidepressants work, or what they are approved to treat. In short, it suggests that antidepressant medications are being over-prescribed by well-meaning doctors who are simply not using very good judgment. Melissa Healy, writing for the LA T... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107601 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:35:31 +0100 5107601 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4554651&cid=t_121270_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F03%2F06%2Fpsychiatry-doesnt-do-psychotherapy-anymore%2F Despite a trend that started as early as the late 1980s, Gardiner Harris writing in The New York Times yesterday seems to bemoan the fact that most psychiatrists don’t practice psychotherapy any longer. Perhaps Harris should have interviewed Dr. Danny Carlat, who nearly a year ago wrote about his experiences as a modern psychiatrist (in the The New York Times Magazine, no less). Psychiatrists nowadays are generally poorly trained in psychotherapy, so they spend most of their time prescribing psychiatric medications. (Dr. Carlat’s book, Unhinged is well worth the read for further background about modern psychiatry.) So I wasn’t sure why I was reading this in the “Money and Policy” section of the Times. Surely it’s not news that psychiatry is no longer pra... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4554651 Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:16:39 +0100 4554651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118934&cid=t_121270_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-big-picture-benefit-of-primary-care%2F2010.10.28 Her eyes were bloodshot. She responded to my casual greeting of “How are you?” with a sigh. “How am I? I’m alive, I can tell you that much for sure.” She went on to describe a situation with her adult son who’s in a bad marriage and has struggled with addiction. She sighed again: “I feel weak. I don’t know if I can deal with this one. I’ve had so many hard things in my life already. When will it stop?” “Many hard things” — yes, I agree with that assessment. She’s been my patient for more than a decade, and I’ve had a front row seat to her life. Her husband died a few years ago (while in his 40′s) of a longstanding chronic disease. Her daughter also has this disease, and has been slowly declining over time. I’ve watched her bear that burden,... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118934 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:00:29 +0100 4118934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3798610&cid=t_121270_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F07%2F28%2Fwithdrawing-from-psychiatric-medications%2F This article offers only the most basic of introductions to this topic, because others have covered this area far more extensively than I have. A great place to start is this psychiatric drug withdrawal primer. While not succinct, it does contain all of the information you’ll need to know to successfully end your psychiatric medication treatment. I cannot emphasize this enough — discontinuing psychiatric medications on your own is not recommended. You should enlist your doctor in your efforts to stop the meds. (Source: World of Psychology) World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3798610 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:30:19 +0100 3798610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603595&cid=t_121270_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-an-empowered-patient-finds-a-new-doctor%2F2010.05.26 What if the average patient (person) knew what healthcare insiders, providers and expert patients know? Take the process of looking for a new personal physician. Conventional wisdom tells people that when looking for a new physician they need to consider things like specialty, board certification, years in practice, and geographic proximity. Online services like Health Grades allow you to see and compare the satisfaction scores for prospective physician candidates. But industry insiders know different. Consider those patient satisfaction scores for physicians. In reality, “one can assume that the quality of care is actually worse than surveys of patient satisfaction would seem to show,” according to a 1991 lecture by Avedis Donabedian, M.D.: “Often patients are, in fact, overly pati... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603595 Wed, 26 May 2010 16:00:23 +0100 3603595 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538094&cid=t_121270_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Frelational-medicine-the-joy-of-primary-care%2F2010.05.05 I was happy when I looked at [the day's] schedule. Two husband-and-wife pairs were on my schedule, both of whom have been seeing me for over 10 years. Their visits are comfortable for me — we talk about life and they are genuinely interested in how my family is doing. They remember that I have a son in college, and want to know how my blog and podcast are doing. I can tell that they not only like me as a doctor — they see me, to some degree, as a friend. Another patient on the schedule is a woman from South America. She has also been seeing me for over 10 years. I helped her through her husband’s sudden death in an accident. She brings me gifts whenever she goes on her trips, and also brings very tasteful gifts for my wife. Today she brought me a Panama hat. I know these pe... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538094 Wed, 05 May 2010 20:00:58 +0100 3538094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3533842&cid=t_121270_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-to-choose-a-great-doctor%2F2010.05.04 As a practicing family doctor, it’s easy for me to figure out how to choose a great doctor. Let me tell you the secrets in finding the best one for you and what I tell my family and friends. Look for the following: – Board certification – Report card on quality – Licensing/public reporting As a doctor, I know many doctors who have great bedside manner but aren’t particularly reliable in giving the right medical care you deserve, and these traits separate the so-so doctors from the truly excellent ones. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3533842 Tue, 04 May 2010 16:00:00 +0100 3533842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2954553&cid=t_121270_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F11%2F03%2Fwhat-health-care-reform-means-for-mental-health%2F Now that it looks like some form of health care reform will be passed this year — barring a catastrophe like Joe Lieberman — we have some idea of how the eventual act will affect mental health services. All of the plans now under consideration will mean some real improvements for mental health consumers, and there doesn’t seem much likelihood of these improvements being cut out before passage. However, it appears that individuals and employers will still have to purchase their insurance from private insurance companies, without competition from a strong public option like Medicare available for everyone. Nevertheless, the “reform” aspect of the bill would require private insurers to make some real changes in how they treat mental health issues. Key Benefits Parity for m... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2954553 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:08:39 +0100 2954553 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1484843&cid=t_121270_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fdownside-of-family-doctoring.html Some of my partners live on the patch. Should that be "in" the patch? I live a mile away from my practice area. No distance for on-call, but at least I use a different supermarket. Dr Theresa Chan is a rural doctor in California who uses the same supermarket as her patients:It was very kind of you to inquire after the state of my garden when we bumped into each other at Safeway this morning. We haven't seen much of each other lately and I was pleased to hear your early peas are already flowering. We waved good-bye to each other and went about our business. Or so I thought. Moments later, you cornered me as my food items were being scanned and asked me "What do you think about all this stuff they're saying about Fosamax? Should I stop taking it?" I was unprepared for such a question, becaus... NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1484843 Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:42:00 +0100 1484843 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=637989&cid=t_121270_87_f&fid=34882&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbreathspakids.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fare-gps-being-nibbled-to-death-by-ducks.html I've been in Wales, attending a wedding and staying with friends. I knew that my friends weren't online but they promised me that neighbours had already agreed that I could use their connection. I'll draw a veil over the attempts and say that a Windows 95 system with negligible memory and something like a 56K dial-up connection don't play nicely with anything (it seems that they don't use the internet as such - the children are dotted about in India and Africa and they use the modem for faxes).There were medics from several countries at the wedding. There were several points of interest that will probably make it into a series of posts. One frequently recurring theme was that most of them felt that their professional autonomy was being eroded. Some of the GPs and family physicians mentione... Breath Spa for Kids blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=637989 Thu, 24 May 2007 10:13:00 +0100 637989