Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Grand Rounds, Vol. 2 Issue 3

This week’s PSA (courtesy of drdeborahserani):
National Depression Screening Day was October 6
World Mental Health Day was yesterday, October 10

______________________________________________

“A feller wiser than myself once said, 'Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar, he eats you.’” –The Big Lebowski

This week’s Grand Rounds is meditation on symbiotic relationship between law and medicine. I mean, without medicine, what would lawyers do? And without lawyers? Well, probably some aspect of medicine would be worse off than it is now.

Editor’s Picks

Sound Practice.net sets the tone for this week’s Grand Rounds with Under Promise and Over Deliver: Why Patients Sue Doctors. He writes, “I think part of the cause of malpractice is the public's need to believe in their doctors, and their disappointment when bad things happen. The lack of transparency and communication between physicians and patients only adds to the size of the gap that devastates the family when outcomes are poor.”

Insureblog submitted a post about which questions insureds should ask about their premiums; I prefer to link to this slightly older post, which gets us thinking about an ethical (and legal) question: “When one donates money on behalf of a specific person (or cause) is it wrong if that money is diverted to something (or someone) else?”

Interested Participant gets double points for submitting a post that is both on topic AND has a Canadian theme (Happy Thanksgiving. I am listening to k.d. lang’s Hymns of the 49th Parallel in honor of the occasion!): Unsatisfied Canadians heading to the U.S. for surgery because they can get appointments 18-24 months sooner than in their native country. Could they bring some of those low-cost meds with them?

Docket Review

In a lesson many Justices and judges could learn from, DB’s Medical Rants shows how to separate one’s personal philosophies from application of constitutional law. He argues that Oregon’s right to legislate approval of physician assisted suicide should remain a state- and not a federal-level decision, no matter how ethically deplorable he finds the practice to be. The end does not always justify the means.

Newcomer PharmaGossip keeps us posted on the Vioxx trial, with only a wee bit of snarky commentary: “was there some sort of LOTTO draw and good ole Briggs was the winner/loser/hero/patsy (delete as appropriate)?.”

Two writers, Kevin, M.D. and The Mommy Blawger, react to the JAMA’s article on “Implications of Cerebral Palsy Litigation.”

Advisory Memos

RedStateMoron highlights the SorryWorks! coalition and their efforts to mediate the malpractice crisis we’re mired in, but questions whether legislation is the right tool for the problem.

Without calling it “patient rights,” Joan at Oasis of Sanity, has a lot of suggestions for improving patients’ understanding of their situation in “the problem with labs:” “I’m referring to the labs, or laboratory reports, that list a bunch of incomprehensible words and acronyms, along with a bunch of equally incomprehensible numbers, that delineate exactly what was found in a blood sample.”

Barbados Butterfly doesn’t say it can help dodge a lawsuit, but nonetheless points out the difference experience makes in a surgical team’s ability to transact urgent business without alarming the patient:
“Surgical Registrar to Anaesthetic team: How are you going up there?
Junior's interpretation: The surgical reg values my contribution to this operation and wants to exchange greetings.
Senior's interpretation: Something's wrong. Probably some blood loss.”

Tired of illegible, incomplete or absent patient drug records, Over!My!Med!Body! has taken matters into his own hands and created a website where patients can list, track and print out a list of their medications. Med!Body!, please be careful the Good Samaritan in you doesn’t hang you out to dry in the liability department.

What happens when you can get a gallon of milk, one hour photo developing and a rapid strep culture all in one place? Aggravated DocSurg considers the possibilities, big box malpractice suits among them.

Approaching Ripeness

Trent McBride, writing at Catallarchy, takes on individuals who deny AIDS is caused by HIV.

Clinical Cases and Images directs our attention to a video post from Medscape General Medicine that calls medical blogging “anarchy.”

Amicus Briefs

Kim at Emergiblog shares her story of nursing burnout and offers a few tips to others for avoiding it. Further examples are available from ImpactEDNurse, who discusses “deep nursing” and on-the-job techniques for mindfulness, meditation and meaningful caregiving.

The Health Business Blog reconsiders the wisdom of consumer directed care after reading that multiple gestations persist in the IVF business despite the medical, ethical and financial “wisdom” of restricting the number of implanted embryos.

And what about consumer directed prevention? Parallel Universes hopes the plain monetary cost of smoking will serve as a deterrent.

A Difficult Patient writes from experience on Domestic Abuse.

Political Calculations tells us how U.S. blood donations are faring in the wake of hurricane Katrina.

Docaroundtheclock directs us to an article on health care, childbirth specifically, during the Brezhnev era in communist Russia.

Dicta

Orac at Respectful Insolence shows his stripes on the issue of “alternative medicine” in “How to Succeed at Quackery.”

Relatedly, GruntDoc shares tips on how NOT to act in the ER if you’re there to scam some drugs.

Healthy Concerns reflects on gender and reactions to a promised phone call that never comes.

The Cheerful Oncologist delivers a death allegory that is beautiful, and more than a little unsettling.

Res Gestae

doulicia asks that you visit this post at SageFemme to see what legislation and malpractice threaten to take away – at least from women who prefer to birth in the hospital.
_______________________________________

Mea Culpa

To all the excellent bloggers whose posts I omitted this week, please continue writing and submitting. When I volunteered to host, I had no idea I would receive so many submissions, all of them excellent. I tried to present a collection of pieces that resonated with the theme or with each other. That meant not including some stellar posts. If yours was one, I appreciate your sharing it with me. I promise to be similarly empathetic when I’m left off Grand Rounds.

Next Week

Grand Rounds will be hosted by Diabetes Mine.

26 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great job. Your hard works shows. Thanks for hosting.

5:58 AM  
Blogger Henry Stern, LUTCF, CBC said...

.
What a terrific job! And I'm flattered that you found my older post still relevant (I do, too). Depending on the comments I get due to your link, I may even post my own take ;-)

Oh, and Thanx for a new word, too; I'd never heard the term "labor doula" before, and looked it up. Neat!

7:46 AM  
Blogger Milliner's Dream, a woman of many "hats"... said...

Great job, doulicia...you make doulas look smart...because we are...I'm proud to be a colleague, in that and in blogging.
Hh

9:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great job! Thank you for your help. I will try and be a little less "snarky", but the Vioxx trial brings out the worst in me!!

Insider at PharmaGossip
http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com

5:11 AM  
Blogger doulicia said...

Nothing wrong with snarky!

Thanks all for your encouragement and submissions. It was a lot of fun to do Grand Rounds; don't miss the opportunity if you haven't hosted yet!

7:31 AM  
Blogger Julie said...

Woo-hoo! You go, girl!

11:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The connection of medicine is outlined in the laws provided by the government to protect the interest of the patients and the welfare of the doctors. Law is an important element, which regulates medicine. Medicine although an independent body has to be in line with what the law provides.

9:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's true Wong, weird name you have by the way.

7:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great blog I hope we can work to build a better health care system as we are in a major crisis and health insurance is a major aspect to many.

11:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Often people ignore the fact that complementary and alternative medicine reduces your healthcare costs by providing natural remedies and healthy solutions for many health concerns as well as practical strategies for self-care and prevention.

2:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good post.
I was searching the internet for cheap internet phone service (Voip) and found a company called Via Talk. They are cheaper and just as good as Vonage.

They are now offering 1 year phone service Free when you purchase 1 year – for a limited time. Check it out at Via Talk

12:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice blog.
If you’re interested in free weight loss tips please visit this site.

4:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice Blog. I will continue reading........................

Tip For All Bloggers:

If I can sum up in three words how anyone or any website can totally "DOMINATE" the search engines and get to the very "TOP" of the search engines is: blogs, links, and content, period. That's all it takes. But you need "LOTS" of blogs, links and content.......................MajorEnterprise, Carael Knight

For more information, visit:

The Internet Marketing Genius, Carael KnightThe Most Powerful Internet Marketing Resources On The Web!

10:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What more can be said? I think it has been wonderful.There is a serene and peace-ful feel about being here. Makes you want to stick around for a while. Protect-your-computer-from-spyware

1:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Everyone, watch out for a program called 3000 a day the easy way. I signed up for it and they have not kept any of their promises such as the guaranteed sign up or the money back rebate. I highly recommend you stay away from that program as well as their sister program which is a guaranteed sign up program. For more reviews and resources, check out http://www.globalhbrc.com it is a free website with resources, tools, ebooks, software and online business reviews.

7:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a great Blog! Pardon if I landed on the wrong blog.
As a newbie I just can’t help sharing the following
url with you. It made al the difference to my financial
Situation. For only $7.00 you get your own
ATM Machine. Just follow the link below!

9:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a great Blog! But health care costs money.
If you want to supplement your income you need
a simple method. Even with the severest handicap,
you can work at home with a system that is as good
as owning your own ATM Cash Machine!
ATM CASH

8:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a great Blog! But internet marketing costs money.
If you want to start for the price of a burger to supplement
your income you need a simple method. No PPC cost, no list!
Just some of your time! You can work at home with a system
that is as good as owning your own ATM Cash Machine!
ATM CASH

12:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Domin8 MySpace with myspace proxies. Check out www.domin8myspace.com

3:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

These comments have been invaluable to me as is this whole site. I thank you for your comment.

4:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

for great weight loss articles
specific carbs for weight loss information, check us out

11:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have the pleasure to visiting your site. Its informative and helpful, you may want to read about obesity and overweight health problems, losing weight, calories and "How You Can Lower Your Health Risks" at phentermine site.

1:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The disease called erectile dysfunction has strengthened its roots among the human breed mainly because of the reason that people are not very willing to share it willingly. viagra for sale These people can get all the information in the ED info sites. Through this information you can do away with their ED.

3:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cool web....


buy viagra

6:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thats unfortunate that so many people are uninsured.

11:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No prescription generic drugs RX
Unlike generic drugs, a large part of the costs incurred by original manufacturers of brand name drugs are for research and development and advertising. The expense of obtaining FDA approval alone in the U.S. is enormous. Manufacturers of generic drugs do not have to absorb or recover these costs. Consequently, significant cost savings can be passed along to you.

Buy prescription Drugs RX
Order prescription drugs online for anxiety, blood pressure, depression, diabetes treatment, also for weight loss, pain relief and quit smoking.


Order Pharmacy online - no RX needed!
As soon as you place an order at our site, you are automatically enrolled in our discount program and start enjoying savings with your next orders. Your discount will grow with every new order you place.

Buy trusted RX drugs online
We are proud to be able to bring you our wide selection of medicines, all of them are available to you online, 24x7. No Waiting for Doctors, you will enjoy Complete privacy, and you can order anytime, in your Own time, with No prior prescription needed!


Order prescription drugs online
Our order process could not be simpler, just select the medicines you need, fill in our medical questionnaire, and submit your order. Our U.S Licensed Physicians will review your order and issue your prescription.


Cheap Soma Online
Soma is a muscle relaxant used to relieve the pain and stiffness of muscle spasms and discomfort due to strain and sprain.

3:58 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home