Categories
Atrial fibrillation Dabigatran/Rivaroxaban/Apixaban Doctoring Health Care Reform

Doctors play an important role in improving US healthcare woes

Elisabeth Rosenthal, a reporter with the New York Times, is doing American doctors a favor. Her series, Paying Till it Hurts, is forcing us to face our role in the US healthcare problem. That’s a good thing, because, as it goes in the practice of Medicine, the first step to achieving good outcomes is identifying […]

Categories
Doctoring Health Care Reform Knowledge

Dear Senator/Representative — US healthcare needs more knowledge

If you had to write a one page memo to a Senator/Representative detailing the one thing they could do to improve US healthcare, what would it be? For me, it’s improving the wastefulness of our system. Here is my attempt at a memo: Comparative Effectiveness Research is a win-win: Knowledge always is. US healthcare is […]

Categories
Doctoring Reflection

Film recommendation — Amour teaches important lessons about humanity

It goes without saying that having an appreciation for humanity is critical for doctoring. One of the areas of medicine that is most tragic is how we treat the elderly. If I could change one thing about medical care, I would make the care of the elderly more gentle. Dr Dan Matlock (@Dan_Matlock) is a […]

Categories
Social Media/Writing/Blogging

Social Media as an agent for change in healthcare information

I am going up to Indianapolis this Saturday to talk with a group of medical student leaders. I was asked to present on the role of social media. Along these lines, I have to show you something that I found this morning. I was studying the FDA review panel’s evaluation of the Block-HF trial, when […]

Categories
General Medicine Health Care Healthy Living Nutrition Uncategorized

Health lessons from Reverend Al Sharpton…

However you see the Reverend Al Sharpton, one thing is certain: you see less of him now. His Twitter pic tells you he is proud of his 167-pound weight loss. Good for him, he should be. If you care about health, the disappearance of the Sharpton-of-old is worth mention. His story teaches us a lot, […]

Categories
Doctoring Knowledge Reflection

Love the wisdom of physician colleagues

Let’s be honest: If you are bold enough to hit the ‘publish’ button, it’s normal to care what readers think. I write about Medicine; I like doctors; I respect doctors. So it matters how colleagues react to my words. I was both proud and concerned when the Greater Louisville Medical Society decided to republish my […]

Categories
Doctoring Hospice/Palliative Care Reflection

New post up over at TheHeart.org: Compassion and Control — Lessons from Dr. Donald Low

As some of you may know, theHeart.org has merged with Medscape Cardiology. This will be my first post on the new site. Dr Donald Low was a prominent Canadian physician. When Toronto faced a deadly SARS outbreak a decade ago, Dr Low was a voice of calm and reason. His research in cell signaling and […]

Categories
Doctoring Health Care Health Care Reform Reflection

Thoughts on being a flexible doctor

Flexibility… -Bend easy without breaking. -The ability to be easily modified. -Willingness to change or compromise. Social media physician leader Dr. Bryan Vartabedian wrote a post last week in which he called flexibility a necessary skill of the 21st century doctor. He got the idea from another physician leader, Dr. Eric Topol. I’ve been thinking […]

Categories
Doctoring General Cardiology ICD/Pacemaker Reflection

End of life care – A great American tragedy.

“Why don’t we die the way we say we want to die? In part because we say we want good deaths but act as if we won’t die at all.” Katy Butler, WSJ There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding right now in nearly every hospital in this nation. Aggressive life-prolonging care of the elderly too […]

Categories
AF ablation Atrial fibrillation

Atrial Flutter — 15 facts you may want to know.

I get a lot of questions about atrial flutter. Atrial flutter is a common arrhythmia that shares many similarities to its next of kin, AFib; but there are important differences. Let’s go over 15 basic facts and important points about atrial flutter. (In plain English.) 1. Atrial flutter is defined as a rapid but organized […]

Categories
Doctoring Reflection

Changing the culture of American Medicine — Start by removing hubris

This may be the most important post I have ever published. I’m going to tell you about a study that should change the entire way doctors approach patients, and how patients should think of prescribed treatments. These findings should begin a culture change in American medicine. Background: I used to think Medicine would get easier […]