Video: Routine Miracles with Dr. Conrad Fischer: Oncology I

"This book covers medical advances that would once have been called miracles but are now merely routine. The patients' stories within this book yield hope, optimism, and triumph. This is the best time to come out of medical school and training. This fact will inspire and uplift everyone in the medical profession as well as all of us who must, at some point, rely on the art of medicine to see us through." -- Conrad Fischer, M.D.

Visit http://seefisch.wordpress.com for more information about Dr. Fischer and Routine Miracles or follow Dr. Fischer on Twitter: @SeeFisch

See all videos of Routine Miracles with Dr. Conrad Fischer on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2TPUkU

Food Examples in Radiology

From Twitter account of @scanman, a radiologist in India:

scanman Food examples in radiology - apple core, scalloping, berry aneurysm, lemon & banana (Chiari II), hamburger sign, coffee bean, dinner fork… 27 minutes ago from Tweetie

scanman More… Onion skin (Ewing's), sausage digit (sarcoid), eggshell rice grain & popcorn calcification, pepper pot skull, honeycombing, donut… 24 minutes ago from Tweetie

scanman My personal favourite is "licked candy stick appearance" of psoriatic arthropathy 23 minutes ago from Tweetie

scanman Omental cake, pancake vertebra, celery stalk metaphysis, millet seed (miliary TB), cottage loaf sign (traumatic diaphragmatic rupture) 22 minutes ago from Tweetie

Related:
Selections from the Buffet of Food Signs in Radiology. Clare J. Roche et al. November 2002 RadioGraphics, 22, 1369-1384.
“Milk of Calcium” and Food Signs in Radiology. Lee A. Shratter, MD. May 2003 RadioGraphics, 23, 686.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

Average family health plan premiums top $13,000. 22% of workers with employer coverage in 2009 had an annual deductible of $1,000 or more. http://bit.ly/2KGuWq

Women with diabetes may be 26% more likely to develop atrial fibrillation http://bit.ly/9ffvB

Semen sorting technology now used to breed female calves may one day let parents choose their baby’s sex. NYT http://bit.ly/IGG52

High Risk of Confusion in Dosing Tamiflu Oral Suspension in Children http://bit.ly/wV4TX

The American Way of Dentistry: The story of my teeth. Slate's 7-part series http://bit.ly/vwR5j

NYT: Health Concerns Are Raised Over Use of Popular Contraceptives http://s.nyt.com/s/CmtI-LlE

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

Social Media Related Tweets and Insights

From my Twitter account:

ER doctor: Why I sent a guy with a normal EKG to the cath lab http://bit.ly/JaSqB

Illustrating Differences between Eastern and Western Lifestyle http://bit.ly/inEy5

NYT: Unemployed in U.S. exceed number of jobs available by 6:1 ratio: http://rurl.org/1xto -- Getting the unemployment rate back to 5% in 5 years would require average monthly job creation of 250,000. http://bit.ly/3bzw0i

9 Workspaces Where Famous Folks Get Stuff Done http://bit.ly/jjLDv

Ask-A-Librarian Column: What Exactly Do You Do? A Clinician’s Guide to the Medical Librarian http://bit.ly/jGEU3

A Week in the Clouds Without a Notebook http://bit.ly/iXXSj

New prototype from the NYT serves up custom RSS feeds - you choose the topic http://bit.ly/SUjO5

"Partisan Political Contributions by U.S. Companies" http://bit.ly/6xN8k and http://bit.ly/2b2pTU

Video: Expand Your Blog By Adding a Book http://bit.ly/4DGwNA

Know When People Stop Following You on Twitter http://bit.ly/2iOlz4

Ortho surgeon @hjluks: "saw 2 patients in office today because I responded to their DM !! 3 patients from website" - What's you experience?

Google Docs has added an equation editor so students can complete math problems within a document http://bit.ly/23HQxd

Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Why you should write a blog for yourself rather than for a shifting audience

An RSS subscriber just unsubscribed from my blog citing "content no longer relevant". Yet the content has never been more relevant to me :)
When you blog and/or tweet, you will always gain and lose subscribers and followers. It's a normal process.
When you write an educational blog, it is probably better to write for yourself - if you find the content useful, others will probably find it useful too.

And if you keep it up, the number of readers, subscribers and followers will gradually grow. I started with zero RSS subscribers in 2005 and that number has now surpassed 18,000.

However, this is not the main point. In the process, you will meet people you would have never had the chance to meet if you were not a blogger.

In general, when you blog, you always receive more than what you give in terms of information and knowledge.

There is no single rule how to use social media right. See how @common_squirrel has 63,000 Twitter followers with tweets such as "run run run run - eat eat eat - stare" - We are doing it wrong :)


Does this squirrel really have a walking stick? Click here to see the larger size photo on Flickr: Walk in the woods. Originally uploaded by Roselea.

Related reading:

Who? Me?
A Squirrel with a Walking Stick?
Has Blogging Peaked?
Using a Blog to Build an Educational Portfolio
How to write a medical blog and not get fired?

As A Busy Physician, Why Do I Even Bother Blogging? http://goo.gl/fSF3 - Excellent summary.Image source: Wikipedia

Comments from Twitter:

John Mandrola, MD @drjohnm: RT @DrVes: Why you should write a blog for yourself rather than for a shifting audience j.mp/JjF5vA --Agree strongly. Thx for sayin

Best websites for Kindle (mobile) - please add more

This is a list of some of the best websites for Kindle (mobile) - please add more to the wiki at Google Docs - it is open to anybody to edit http://j.mp/kindle33

Best Websites for Kindle - mobile
(please add more below)

NYTimes
http://m.nytimes.com

WSJ
http://m.wsj.com

USA Today
http://m.usatoday.com

CNN
http://m.cnn.com

FT
http://m.ft.com

Reuters
http://m.reuters.com

Google Mobilizer (makes websites mobile-friendly)
http://google.com/gwt/n

Gmail
http://m.gmail.com

Skweezer (makes websites mobile-friendly)
http://skweezer.com

TIME
http://mobile.time.com

Twitter
http://m.twitter.com


Video: What Can Amazon Kindle 2 Do for You?


Image source: Amazon.com.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

PSA cannot distinguish between lethal and harmless prostate cancer, leading to overdiagnosis and overtreatment - BMJ http://bit.ly/1AseSi -- Prostate specific antigen (PSA) concentrations below 1.0 ng/ml virtually ruled out a prostate cancer during follow-up. http://bit.ly/1AseSi

HIV vaccine reduces infection rate by a third, study shows http://bit.ly/StbUG

BMJ: Rebecca McKnight was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa at age 15 but is now a qualified doctor with a healthy weight http://bit.ly/AuBxN

Increased prevalence of septal heart defects among children whose mothers were prescribed an SSRI in early pregnancy http://bit.ly/2kpWds

A low thigh circumference (small thighs) associated with increased risk of developing heart disease or premature death http://bit.ly/AVgOy -- BMJ editorial: Thigh circumference and risk of heart disease and premature death but association needs further research http://bit.ly/2xJ4Wg

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

Pre-test: Check to see if you have the brain for science

Do not take this seriously.

Pre-test: Check to see if you have the brain for science. Do you understand what this PubMed abstract is about? http://bit.ly/zkbss

(trans-1,4-bis[(4-pyridyl)ethenyl]benzene)(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) complexes and their supramolecular assemblies with beta-cyclodextrin.

Toma SH, Uemi M, Nikolaou S, Tomazela DM, Eberlin MN, Toma HE.

Inorg Chem. 2004 May 31;43(11):3521-7.

Two novel ruthenium polypyridine complexes, [Ru(bpy)(2)Cl(BPEB)](PF(6)) and ([Ru(bpy)(2)Cl](2)(BPEB))(PF(6))(2) (BPEB = trans-1,4-bis[2-(4-pyridyl)ethenyl]benzene), were synthesized and their characterization carried out by means of elemental analysis, UV-visible spectroscopy, positive ion electrospray (ESI-MS), and tandem mass (ESI-MS/MS) spectrometry, as well as by NMR spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry for the mononuclear complex showed three set of waves around 1.2 V (Ru(2+/3+)), -1.0 V (BPEB(0/)(-)), and -1.15 (BPEB(-/2-)). This complex exhibited aggregation phenomena in aqueous solution, involving pi-pi stacking of the planar, hydrophobic BPEB ligands. According to NMR measurements and variable-temperature experiments, the addition of beta-cyclodextrin (betaCD) to [Ru(bpy)(2)Cl(BPEB)](+) leads to an inclusion complex, breaking down the aggregated array.

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Hypertension Paradox and Treatments Reviewed in NEJM

Hypertension Paradox: Despite better recognition & treatment of HTN, prevalence of untreated HTN continues to increase http://bit.ly/Pnmkv

Figures and tables:

Advances in the Treatment of Hypertension, 1940s-2000s http://bit.ly/YuKm1

Algorithm for Management of Hypertension - NEJM http://bit.ly/SYi1A

Risk Factors for Hypertension. http://bit.ly/3nGdNP

Comparative Drug Trials in Patients with Hypertension http://bit.ly/zBcR7 - See what works.

Image source: BP device used for measuring arterial pressure. Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.

Social Media Related Tweets and Insights

From my Twitter account:

Squidoo Backs Down On ‘Brand Campaign’ As Many Are ‘Not so Happy’ About It http://bit.ly/3LSvCk -- Brands in Public: Mayo Clinic http://bit.ly/iBnaI asks "Love or Hate - What do you think of Mayo Clinic?" - Is there anything in between? This ‘Brand Campaign’ does not look like a good idea in general. The companies can opt out of the program however. It is strange how they ask people to comment with "love or hate" - it is quite polarizing...

Best Websites for Kindle (mobile) - please add more to the wiki at Google Docs - open to anybody to edit http://j.mp/kindle33

Did you know there's now a year view in Google Calendar? Check out this and other Labs here: http://bit.ly/bLNEq via @googlecalendar

BuzzVoice Makes Blogs TALK on Your iPhone http://bit.ly/1eGVk9

Faces of the World: U.S. President and First Lady With World Leaders at the Metropolitan Museum in New York http://bit.ly/4y4Wzl

"Geolocation Publishing Freaks People Out - Scoble checks into the Ritz hotel near his home when he’s home" http://bit.ly/8olKQ

Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

Google Scholar replaces author names in articles with P Login (for Please Login) and P Options (for Payment Options) http://bit.ly/hA6SW -- Google’s algorithms create phantom authors for millions of papers. http://bit.ly/hA6SW

"Google Scholar - A Personal Journey" by John Sharp http://bit.ly/27kS1V

Using fMRI machines, researchers try to guess what's in someone's head and "build a functional brain-reading device" http://bit.ly/1avDZP

Januvia and Janumet to change the prescribing information to note reports of acute pancreatitis http://bit.ly/dBcZh

DeBakey made the first Dacron vascular graft on his wife's sewing machine, used it for an aortic aneurysm the next day http://bit.ly/1nVg7J

"Typical professor of surgery: ebullient, extrovert, and confident" - The Lancet http://bit.ly/5UZjo

Tobacco smoking is a sad testament to humankind's propensity to self-harm http://bit.ly/2wWAPQ

Pop star Nick Jonas talks about his diabetes type 1 diagnosis http://bit.ly/l2JWm

Alcoholic hand gel removed from prison after inmates use it to make 'hooch' http://bit.ly/61quO

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

Video: Presenting to an Attending physician

The video below was created by Nova Southeastern University - College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) to help second-year medical students prepare for communicating patient information to an attending physician.



Presenting to an Attending physician

Video: Routine Miracles with Dr. Conrad Fischer: Rheumatology

"This book covers medical advances that would once have been called miracles but are now merely routine. The patients' stories within this book yield hope, optimism, and triumph. This is the best time to come out of medical school and training. This fact will inspire and uplift everyone in the medical profession as well as all of us who must, at some point, rely on the art of medicine to see us through." -- Conrad Fischer, M.D.

Visit http://seefisch.wordpress.com for more information about Dr. Fischer and Routine Miracles or follow Dr. Fischer on Twitter: @SeeFisch

See all videos of Routine Miracles with Dr. Conrad Fischer on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2TPUkU

Social Media Related Tweets and Insights

From my Twitter account:

@BoraZ asks: "Has any science blogger ever pre-published a paper on their blog?" - Many journals will not accept your paper if "pre-published." I regularly publish ideas on my blog that become abstracts/papers but never full manuscripts.

View online files using the Google Docs Viewer http://bit.ly/4bmisd

Day in the Life of a Google Docs Student: Practical Examples http://bit.ly/PX5wz

Multidimensional Twittology from The Washington Post and The Colors of Dreams http://bit.ly/4Mm6R

A mnemonic more complicated than the content to be remembered: http://bit.ly/38PFV4 - Defeats the purpose.

LIFE magazine now available on Google Books http://bit.ly/wVfIm via @LanceUlanoff

Math and Science Tutoring on YouTube http://bit.ly/4BajaK - Khan Academy has 800 videos http://bit.ly/3JD0Bk - What is "Khan Academy"?

Yahoo Brands Flickr: “Flickr from Yahoo” - Users Retaliate http://bit.ly/12tJ6I

Emergency Medicine MCQ http://bit.ly/3vU65H

10 Best Things We'll Say to Our Grandkids http://bit.ly/AeuxC

Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

Flu Shot More Effective Than Nasal Spray http://bit.ly/uk9S2

More than 124,000 people in Europe developed cancer last year because they are overweight. Women who had weight-loss surgery were 42% less likely to develop cancer during a 10-year study http://bit.ly/46Nb4U

A small but statistically significant number of patients die each year when junior doctors start work http://tinyurl.com/mlmgdy

WHO: Growing resistance to artemisinin - used to treat multi-drug resistant strains of falciparum malaria http://bit.ly/IrRB2

Patients who feel rushed through a medical exam have lower satisfaction rates. http://bit.ly/18IoBb

iPhone FoodScanner Makes Calorie Counting a Breeze http://bit.ly/NpDQ5

Public Misunderstanding Of Studies http://bit.ly/ROOBR

Meet the ancestors: Indian population history from gene screening http://bit.ly/QCmvw

"Death by Caffeine Test: How much of your favorite energy drink, soda, or caffeinated food would it take to kill you?" http://bit.ly/WtL3f

BBC: 'Tweeting' medics expose patients, many postings included profanity and discriminatory language. http://bit.ly/rCHnS -- I suggested this long time ago: medical students should be taught about risks associated with social media.

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

Doctors add expert insights and comments about websites in Google Sidewiki

From Google:

"As you browse the web, it's easy to forget how many people visit the same pages and look for the same information. What if everyone, from a local expert to a renowned doctor, had an easy way of sharing their insights with you about any page on the web? What if you could add your own insights for others who are passing through?

Google Sidewiki allows you to contribute helpful information next to any webpage. Google Sidewiki appears as a browser sidebar, where you can read and write entries along the side of the page."



Here are two examples how doctors add expert insights and comments about websites in Google Sidewiki:

- Michael Roizen http://bit.ly/132azY

- Steven Nissen http://bit.ly/10HWLk

Both are prominent physicians at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic.

A few comments on this new Google service are posted below:

Google Steps Where Many Have Stumbled: Sidewiki http://bit.ly/2fxwqC

@Scobleizer: "Google Sidewiki is latest attempt by big company to make money off of my content on my blog. I really hate companies that let people put stuff on top of my content without my consent."

Google Launches Sidewiki — More Like a Universal Commenting System http://bit.ly/nMwvN

Related:
How to Claim Your Website’s Google Sidewiki http://bit.ly/6m89E

Updated: 10/04/2009

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

Downward mobility tied to depression in immigrants http://bit.ly/FXsFm

Doctors add expert insights and comments about websites in Google Sidewiki: Michael Roizen http://bit.ly/132azY and Steven Nissen http://bit.ly/10HWLk

Many cancer patients who receive chemotherapy report "chemobrain" - often described as difficulty thinking. http://bit.ly/2inRU5

Women with vitamin D deficiency are 3 times more likely to have high blood pressure http://bit.ly/4Etcgl

Bob Wachter: Board Certification for Hospitalists: It’s Heeeere! http://bit.ly/wdw2W - In about a year.

Are Medical Student Tweets Breaching Patient Privacy? http://bit.ly/2HD1q5 - Are we blaming the medium instead of the people using it?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN: "I went to Afghanistan and all I got was H1N1" http://bit.ly/eKnLX

Inventor of fried Coke and fried cookie dough is ‘back with a vengeance’ - Deep-fried butter is here http://bit.ly/BbNpp

Bizarre case of hypernatremia: a suicide attempt by a Japanese man who drank massive amounts of soy sauce. http://bit.ly/2naYoJ

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

Rule of Twitter: When one million followers is actually... zero

From Twitter account of David Pogue of NYTimes:

Pogue 1 million followers today. A little scary: that's more than read the Times, more than watch CNBC, more than read my books... NO PRESSURE! 21 minutes ago from TweetDeck

Pogue via @ridgeley: 1M followers for @pogue, but most are spam. [DP sez: Probably true. Rule of Twitter: # of followers, divided by 10?] 8 minutes ago from TweetDeck

Pogue OK, you guys are telling me: 1/2 of my 1M followers have moved on. 25% are spam. 25% are auto-follow. So that comes to... NO FOLLOWERS! :) 6 minutes ago from TweetDeck

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

Some Medical Students Break Confidentiality of Patients on Facebook and YouTube http://bit.ly/ruSya -- 60% of medical schools reported incidents of students’ posting unprofessional content online http://bit.ly/1oHJ3 -- Medical schools report unprofessional online postings by students, but still don't not have adequate policy in place http://bit.ly/10fsIu

Apparently healthy people with normal or even low cholesterol might benefit from taking a statin if their CRP is high http://bit.ly/niu8k

Mediterranean diet is heart healthy, but expensive, maybe even prohibitively so http://bit.ly/1e6j8B

Tired, and Stressed, Doctors Make More Mistakes, Study Finds http://bit.ly/TvV4I -- Among internal medicine residents, fatigue and distress are associated with self-perceived medical errors. http://bit.ly/11WhJ9

2 new blood tests (SYNE1 and FOXE1) may help to make the diagnosis of colon and other GI cancers simpler http://bit.ly/Lf7Ip

The Number of New Twitter Hospital Accounts Reaches a Flat Line http://bit.ly/1ayn1N - Not unexpected.

"Hand Washing 10 Times a Day May Help Keep Flu Away" http://bit.ly/11ka8W

"7 ways to fewer wrinkles" http://bit.ly/GiFaJ

F.D.A. Bans Sale of Flavored Cigarettes but Consumers Switch to Flavored Cigars http://bit.ly/119nbi

Camel logo is back advertising Camel Snus, a tobacco packet that wedges in the upper lip http://bit.ly/8MZJT - R. J. Reynolds is test-marketing “dissolvables” Camel Orbs, finely ground tobacco in small mint pellets like Tic Tacs. Snus has been used in Sweden since the early 1800s, 19% of Swedish men (and only 4% of women) use snus. Smoking for men in Sweden is among the lowest in Europe, 12%, compared to France 30%, Germany 37% and Greece 47% http://bit.ly/7cNqQ

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

Video: World's tallest man had a pituitary tumor as a child

CNN video: Don Riddell meets the world's tallest man, who lives in Turkey, and finds out why it's tough at the top.

Social Media Related Tweets and Insights

From my Twitter account:

Who is Doc Ernie? "In 2004 while bicycling Dr. Franz was struck at nearly 50 mph by an intoxicated teen driver" http://bit.ly/2U2sD

Electronic Portfolios with Google Apps http://bit.ly/3R1ckc

New Picasa 3.5 scans photos in your computer's collection to create groups of similar faces http://bit.ly/21vmSC

Google Has A Solution For Internet Explorer: Turn It Into Chrome http://bit.ly/sqIT1

Push Gmail for iPhone and Windows Mobile with Google Sync http://bit.ly/2n48kt - Do you still need a BlackBerry now?... :)

Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

If deaths due to smoking were excluded, U.S. would rise to the top half of the rankings for developed countries http://bit.ly/P0djw

Head-injury patients are less likely to die if they have drunk alcohol, though they experience more complications http://bit.ly/BWh1c

Influenza may account for a 35 percent to 50 percent rise in heart attack deaths during flu season http://bit.ly/2xsFwe

"Should you keep patients from commenting online?" http://bit.ly/EKQ92 - The answer is simple: No... :)

Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why. http://bit.ly/zeD1Y

NYT: Squeamish? A Nature Video Not to Watch http://bit.ly/1sttl2 and http://bit.ly/1VbAa7

Chilling: Final statements of prisoners executed by the State of Texas are available on a government Web site http://bit.ly/H0tEV

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

How to Prepare a Physician for a Media Interview (TV, radio, etc.)

A physician friend asked: "I am invited to a local TV channel to answer the viewers' questions on pneumonia this Wednesday, it will be live. They just told me that today. Do you ave any experience on this? How should I prepare? Do you have any idea?"

Here are few links and videos to help you:

Asthma TV News Spot. Doctor Anonymous.

Interview techniques and tips for doctors: How to sound and look good on camera. The Doctor's Channel.

Preparing Physicians for Media Interviews Helps Them Communicate More Comfortably and Effectively. The Permanente Journal, Kaiser Permanente.

1. Be prepared.
2. Expect off-the-wall questions.
3. Speak in plain English.
4. Be concise.
5. Guide the interviewer.
7. Don't guess.
8. Nothing's off the record.

Media Tips From Your PR Doctor For Effective Electronic Media Interviews.

Image source: Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.

White House Video: The Obama Health Plan in 4 Minutes

White House Video: The Obama Health Plan in 4 Minutes.

Myths About Health Care Around the World

From the Washington Post, 5 Myths About Health Care Around the World http://bit.ly/2kHpEb

Have a look at some somewhat surprising facts below:

Germans can sign up for any of the nation's 200 private health insurance plans - a broader choice than any American has.

In Austria & Germany, if a doctor diagnoses a person as "stressed," medical insurance pays for weekends at a health spa.

In Japan, waiting times are so short that most patients don't bother to make an appointment.

U.S. health insurance companies have the highest administrative costs in the world; 20 c per $ for nonmedical costs.

Japanese go to the doctor 15 times a year, three times the U.S. rate. They have twice as many MRI scans and X-rays.

In the United States, an MRI scan of the neck costs about $1,500. In Japan, the identical scan costs $98.

"Foreign health insurance plans exist only to pay people's medical bills, not to make a profit."

700,000 Americans go into bankruptcy/year because of medical bills. Number of medical bankruptcies = zero in France, Britain, Japan, Germany.

Comments from Twitter:

vasculardoc @DrVes my uncle was an FP in austria and he told me he regularly prescribes a spa for stress relief.hoping he will write 1 for me 4 2 weeks! about 12 hours ago from web in reply to DrVes

mariawolters @DrVes Germany has both private and "public" insurers. You can only go private if you earn well. Good choice of insurers in both sectors. about 9 hours ago from mobile web

mariawolters @DrVes public insurers also cover kids for free, spouses if they are unemployed. about 9 hours ago from mobile web

mariawolters @DrVes rich public insurers help finance those with many high risk, poor clients. about 9 hours ago from mobile web

Related:
U.S. Life Expectancy Shorter Than 41 Countries
Image source: Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

Darusentan, an endothelin-receptor antagonist, is a new drug for high blood pressure. Darusentan reduces blood pressure in patients who have not attained treatment goal with 3 or more antihypertensives http://bit.ly/153pdq

Antivirals did not provide added benefit compared with steroids alone in patients with Bell’s palsy http://bit.ly/2dm6Q

Only 13% of doctors would choose to disclose mental illness to another health professional http://bit.ly/FYjeN

What doctors earn in the UK: 7 doctors at different stages in their careers talk candidly about their income http://bit.ly/EUzNe

University of Chicago researcher dies from infection possibly caused by plague he was studying http://bit.ly/Wht9e

Social networking sites: a novel portal for communication http://bit.ly/18VTdc - The authors made some too optimistic conclusions.

Growing number of drug makers are offering coupons that help reduce the out-of-pocket costs of some prescription drugs http://bit.ly/1fPVJ0

A patient chronicles their anaphylactic reaction to a wasp sting on Flickr http://bit.ly/fne4G - Not safe and definitely not a recommended thing to do.

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

Social Media Related Tweets and Insights

From my Twitter account:

Twitter Etiquette, Top 10 Dos and Don'ts of Twitter - http://bit.ly/N6XtJ

What level of Twitter user are you? http://bit.ly/2fYVml

"How to Turn Your Camera Phone into a Police-Style Dash Cam" http://bit.ly/qdj8N

Sydney international food festival: food flag ads http://bit.ly/WEjKW

Dan Brown's 20 Worst Sentences" http://bit.ly/1w9Qz

Bent Objects Promo Video http://bit.ly/G8a9C

"The eGFR Consult" - PCP refers an elderly patient to a nephrologist based solely on an eGFR determined to be abnormal http://bit.ly/3WQQS

RT @scanman "Medicolegalspeak Reports http://bit.ly/Vt2Xc My reports aren't like this. Malpractice litigation is almost non-existent here"

Scripps Clinic: What are the goals of your social media program? Is there a particular Social Network that you prefer for your hospital program? http://bit.ly/1cFdiE

Quick primer on the proper way to interact at conferences http://bit.ly/YpgJZ

A family portrait http://bit.ly/1kVDwL

Simple solution to polyuria from China Daily http://bit.ly/33ybV4

An example of a false scientific conclusion... :) http://bit.ly/wmrbG

ePatient Dave: "Give patients (that’s you) access to all their (your) data – so they can help" http://bit.ly/25CDPq

RT @Pogue: "1 million followers today. A little scary: that's more than read the Times, more than watch CNBC, more than read my books..."

Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Texting while driving increases crash risk 23 times

From the NY Times:

Texting while driving Lifts Crash Risk by Large Margin, far surpasses the dangers of other driving distractions. When the drivers texted, their collision risk was 23 times greater than when not texting.

36 states do not ban texting while driving; 14 do, including Alaska, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.

95% of drivers said that texting was unacceptable behavior. Yet 21% had recently texted or e-mailed while driving.

50% of drivers 16 to 24 said they had texted while driving, compared with 22% of drivers 35 to 44.





Related:
CNN: Boston trolley driver was texting at time of crash which injured 20 people http://bit.ly/11vRN6
Stay Alive, Don't Text and Drive
Americans turning their cars into wired offices claiming efficiency far outweigh the risk of a wreck. http://bit.ly/h7PdH

AT&T Don't Text While Driving Documentary (video).
Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Video: How to Interview for Medical School

The videos below were created by Nova Southeastern University - College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) to help medical school applicants prepare for their interview at any medical school.


How to Interview for Medical School Part 1


How to Interview for Medical School Part 2

This video is not from NSU-COM:


How to Interview for Medical School: The three A's. ARRIVE on time; your APPEARANCE; your ATTITUDE. It's the biggest day of your working life; do it RIGHT. Prepare.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:

Touching your nose, mouth, or eyes with your unwashed hand gives you a 31% chance at getting sick with the flu. Having a person sick with the flu cough directly into your face gives you more than a 50% chance of getting sick. Inhaling the tiny particles in the air from a flu-infected person's cough or sneeze gives you a 17% chance of infection http://bit.ly/1YU9E

Medical Editors Push for Ghostwriting Crackdown - called "ghostbusting" http://bit.ly/4hmUmb

A 50-year-old smoker with high blood pressure and high cholesterol can expect to die a decade earlier. 3 major risk factors (smoking, HTN, HLP) recorded on a single occasion in middle aged men = 10 years shorter life http://bit.ly/5o2HM

Inhaled Utensil Removed From the Lung of a Patient. The source: Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers http://bit.ly/1KTfk4

Caring for aging parents can quickly put the savings of adult children in jeopardy. NYT http://bit.ly/2sjirn

Farm waste is the biggest polluter of American rivers and is largely unregulated http://bit.ly/3I8NZF

Photos of boxers before and after fight http://bit.ly/2JyATN

Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Follow me on Twitter:

Social Media Related Tweets and Insights

From my Twitter account:

RT @jeffjarvis chronicles his prostate cancer surgery and encounter with the big robot: http://bit.ly/ojyi5

Doctors and dictation errors: http://bit.ly/3l8MxN

Dr. Charles Analyzes the Hippocratic Oath http://bit.ly/j2TOj - See who's most famous doctor in history of medicine http://bit.ly/363YDB

Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.