Canadian Medical Blogs and the Medical Blogosphere
Rebuttal: Do nurse practitioners pose a threat to family physicians?: NO
Rebuttal: Do nurse practitioners pose a threat to family physicians?: YES
Can Fam Physician 2009 55: 22 .
Tags: nurse practitioner
Medical Journal Club article for July 29, 2008:
Frying up hospital cafeteria food | Canadian Medical Association Journal -
“Remarkably, despite nutrition’s indisputable role as one of our most important determinants of health, grassroots calls for hospital cafeteria reform often face resistance from hospital administrators and even some allied health professionals.”
Should nutritional information be posted on menu boards?
Tags: cafeteria food
More doctors are looking at this alternative mode of medical practice.
The physician shortage is forcing doctors to work more hours per week and shorten patient encounters in an attempt to be more efficient with patients. An exasperated patient’s three hour wait is a hurried doctor’s overtime and missed lunch.
In his book’s, Stephen Covey explains the concept of Efficiency vs. Effectiveness.
You can be efficient with things but not people. With people you must be effective.
Time – Giving Patients the VIP Treatment
…but many American patients feel the same way — like they’re just a number in line at the butcher’s shop.
Are there other solutions to the problem that will not penalize those unable to pay?
image courtesy of Rob Lee
Tags: concierge, efffective, Stephen Covey
Far-infrared saunas for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors ; Medical Journal Club article for July 2009:
Far-infrared saunas for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors | Canadian Family Physician Journal -
“Because infrared heat penetrates more deeply than warmed air, users of far-infrared saunas (FIRSs) develop a more vigorous sweat at a lower temperature than users of traditional saunas. The cardiovascular demand imparted by thermoregulatory homeostasis is similar to that achieved by walking at a moderate pace.”
Is the absence of blinded placebo-control groups a limitation of the studies reviewed?
Medical Journal Club article for January 2010:
DSM revision surrounded by controversy | Canadian Family Physician -
“Former editors of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) have publicly declared their concerns that the ongoing revision process of the influential publication has been cloaked in secrecy.”
Do we really need a DSM revision?
Tags: DSM-IV, DSM-V, Psychiatry
Medical Journal Club article for February 2010:
New United States mammogram guidelines ignite debate | Canadian Family Physician Journal -
“On Nov. 16, 2009, the United States Preventative Services Task Force, a 16-member panel of experts appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services, released new guidelines for breast cancer screening. The guidelines recommend that women aged 50–74 have mammograms every two years instead of annually. The most controversial update, however, is the new guideline suggesting that regular breast cancer screening begin at age 50 instead of 40, as was suggested in the old guidelines.”
What are the Canadian guidelines?
Tags: breast cancer, guidelines, mammogram
The history of diabetes at Doctor’s Review – Diabetes then & now – 2009, March.
The year 1922, when Canadians Banting and Best injected pancreatic extract into a diabetic boy, is only the middle of the story. Luckily, we have gone beyond the urine tasting era!
The accompanying video is a rapid read-along.
Related Links:
Sweet Urine Test – MedicalJoke.com,
Changing behavior in diabetics -Diabetes and Exercise.
A Survey of Health-Related Activities on Second Life – Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Second Life is an online virtual reality 3-D world which is populated by avatars. Researchers from Ottawa and Toronto identified health-related sites on Second Life.
“The most common type of health-related site in our sample (n = 68) were those whose principle aim was patient education or to increase awareness about health issues.”
For example, the Ann Myers Medical Center has information on breast self examination and mammography.
Second Life mammogram
Related Links:
Second Life Medicine
Breast exam videos
Beard L, Wilson K, Morra D, Keelan J
A Survey of Health-Related Activities on Second Life
J Med Internet Res 2009;11(2):e17
URL: http://www.jmir.org/2009/2/e17/
doi: 10.2196/jmir.1192
Tags: computer, mammogram, Second Life, video games
Medical Journal Club article for May 2009:
Cutaneous larva migrans | Canadian Family Physician Journal -
“Cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) is a serpiginous eruption usually occurring on the skin of the feet, abdomen, buttocks, hands, and genitals.”
Can you identify this condition?
Tags: CFP, Cutaneous larva migrans
Medical residents in Quebec believe 24-hour call violates Charter rights -CMAJ April 28, 2009.
Related Link:
Extended work shifts and the risk of motor vehicle crashes among interns.
N Engl J Med. 2005 Jan 13;352(2):125-34.
These findings reveal that the schedule of present-day resident physicians in the United States is far different from that of resident physicians 60 years ago who lived, worked, and slept in the hospital in order to follow the evolution of the illnesses of patients who were hospitalized for extended periods.
Driving home is not required if you live in the hospital!
Tags: 24-hour call, Medical residents
As a Canadian, I would not place my private medical information in a site based in the United States such as Google Health. On this site you can input information such as your age, your medication list and your personal medical history.
TechCrunch – Google Health: A Quick Hands-On Look
The big competition here is between Google Health and Microsoft’s HealthVault.
Among its provisions, the Act increases the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial and other records
Patriot Act haunts Google service
For instance, a Lakehead researcher with a Middle Eastern name, researching anthrax or nuclear energy, might find himself denied entry to the United States without ever knowing why.
Patriot Act seen as threat to Canadians’ privacy
Considerably more could be done to prevent foreign governments, Washington in particular, from collecting personal information about Canadians, Canada’s privacy commissioner said in her annual report.
Tags: Google Health, PATRIOT Act, privacy
Medical Journal Club article for June 17, 2008:
Industry handouts: enough is enough | Canadian Medical Association Journal -
“In an effort to combat the perception that medical education has become largely tainted by the influence of the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries, an Association of American Medical Colleges task force argues that medical schools and teaching hospitals should adopt a similar zero-tolerance approach to industry handouts and simply forbear junkets to exotic resorts, financial payments, sumptuous meals, golf club memberships and even such innocuous goodies as the proverbial donut and coffee.”
Show me the money?
Tags: Industry handouts
Medical Journal Club article for February 12, 2008:
Cigarette ads return to Canadian magazines | Canadian Medical Association Journal -
“For the past 10 years, however, one product has been absent from Canadian magazine ads: cigarettes. Now, much to the chagrin of anti-smoking advocates, they’re back.”
Can a ban on tobacco advertising reduce smoking rates?
Tags: cigarette ads
Medical Journal Club article for January 2009:
Complications of nonphysician-supervised laser hair removal | Canadian Family Physician Journal -
“Characteristic lesions typically appear on the neck, face, forearm, and groin as hyperpigmented macules; other side effects include skin pigmentation, scarring, reticulate erythema, and ocular complications. These side effects are more common when procedures are carried out by untrained personnel.”
Are there any long-side effects?
Tags: CFP, Laser hair removal