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.