Do you see anything wrong with this picture? (Hint: right column) It is certainly true that atrial fibrillation management guidelines needed an update; the last comprehensive update was in 2006. Much has changed in AF therapy, including the expanded role of catheter ablation and the soon-to-be warfarin substitutes. I guess the European electrophysiologists couldn’t wait […]
Category: Doctoring
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When docs are "taken-up"…
It is that time of year again. School is back in session; the little virus vectors are out of their basements, off their video games and back amongst themselves in classrooms. In harboring infections, school-age children are like petri-dishes. Yes, as if there was need for further proof that doctors are human, I present as […]
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Questions…
The patient asked me–in a very serious tone–a series of unusually frank questions. “You look young, how many ablations have you done? How many years of experience do you have? “I have read the success rate is 90% at ___ institute… What is your success rate?” Honestly, it caught me by surprise. For a brief moment, […]
The memo is in all caps and a bold font. It rests on my office keyboard, not to be missed. It is from a senior business office staff member who recently attended a two day medicare coding meeting. It said… To: ALL Physicians RE: Medicare Meeting Aug 2010 Just a few things that I learned […]
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Dutch Cardiology…
There is always one, or at most a handful of crazies that would consider such folly. But in the Netherlands, 27 cardiologists have decided to ride (a charitable ride) to the European Society of Cardiology meeting. Amsterdam to Stockholm…and the answer is: 1000 miles. They even have a legendary Dutch cyclist as a coach, and […]
Will he get to play, or not? Dear Coach, (or administrator, or secretary, or school legal department.) I have seen and examined, Mr. “Joe Teen.” (name changed for HIPPA) He came to me for a school physical because he is deathly embarrassed over the check for inguinal hernias. He is a healthy teen. This I […]
I present interesting cases to colleagues often. Because it is educational and good for patient care, and because I like to. But it has been many years since I was mandated to present a case. It seems that I am not the only doctor exasperated by this pesky new barrier to patient care: “doctors-in-cubicles.” An old […]
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When in Rome…
In the quiet of the exam room, the patient’s cell phone obnoxiously chimes to life. “Hold on a minute Doc, I’ve been expecting this text.” You think, but dare not say, “you are kidding me, right?” This scenario is just one of technology’s canker sores. Undoubtedly, the new world of always-on communication has irreversibly redefined […]
The first link from an email source of medical news reads, “better patient-centered care reduces mortality risk.” It made me think, exactly what do they mean with this new verbiage, “patient-centered care?” And so I learned. Thank goodness, I think my care is indeed patient-centered, even though the terms patient- and family-centered are news to […]
The man on the other line sits in a cubicle in a far-away city. He is a physician, another “provider,” as we are called on their website. The accent is British (how ironic), and his voice suggests to a trained observer, he is older. All I wanted to do was a simple stress test with […]
The heart of a woman may be much different than that of a man. The “Go Red” campaign would surely agree. As would most masters of the obvious. But in the case of whether female hearts garner the same benefit from a prophylactic implantable defibrillator (ICD), women may be much different than men. As published […]