Owner: Doctor Anonymous URL:http://doctoranonymous.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 10:25:14 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: Just a guy trying to find the humor in medicine and humor in life while dealing with the daily grind of the American health care system. Site statistics:Click here
Queen Meme Speaks 2007-01-22 16:31:00
If you don't already know, a meme is a list of questions that is passed around the blogosphere to the delight or detriment of those who are "tagged" by their "friends" to share in the fun. I get tagged a lot. Maybe it's because I have a lot of friends. HA!
Anyway, today, Mimi Lenox, the proclaimed Queen
of Memes, has the latest edition of the Bestest Blog Carnival. She titled it, "My Favorite Meme Carnival."
Thanks to Mimi for including my submission called the Christmas Song Meme. It was quite fun to start and see it pop up in different places in the blogosphere. Thanks to all who participated in my meme.
If you don't know, a blog carnival is an accumulation of posts from different writers usually with a theme. All of these posts are placed on one site for everyone to enjoy. So, if you haven't checked out Mimi's site today, I encourage you to do so. You won't be disappointed.
Grand Rounds 2007-01-23 12:31:00 Grand Rounds
3.18 is now up and running at Signout. Dr. Signout is a first-year resident (ie - intern) in an internal medicine residency in the US. She moved her blog recently to the scienceblogs family. Thanks to Dr. Signout for including my submission this week...
For Dr. Anonymous, uterus transplants provoke many questions, but few answers.If you don't know what Grand Rounds
is, it is a weekly compilation of the best posts from the medical blogosphere that moves to different sites each week. And, who doesn't like reading about medicine and science?
I have no idea how Dr. Signout managed to put together GR and be an intern. I know it was crazy for me when I hosted. Nonethless, great job! Next week, Grand Rounds moves to Envisioning 2.0.
Addendum: Hmmmmm... I tried to leave a comment of congrats over there and it told me I was "forbidden" to leave a comment. That's interesting. Maybe someone over there at scienceblogs just doesn't like me. Anyway, congrats on GR, Dr. Signout. Read more:Grand
Drug Rep Rant 2007-01-23 23:43:00
I'm not a big fan of pharmaceutical reps. I make no secret of that. I know that they have their place in the huge (failing) US health care system. If for anything else, they bring sample meds for those of my patients who cannot afford them and who do not qualify for indigent medication programs.
I think my real issue is that I have never liked sales people whether it's selling me a car, or selling me a pair of shoes, or selling me a drug. For the most part, sales people don't really care about you and they don't care about my patient. All they care about is one thing - Dr. A prescribing their product.
Our office has drug reps bring in lunch 2-3 days a week. For me, I'd rather go home for lunch, and not have any drug rep lunches - EVER. But, out of courtesy for bringing lunch for the office, I go into our lunch room with a smile on my face.
The rep then starts with her dog and pony show. The product today is insulin. I get to see all the funky charts and graphs of why their pro
Conflict of Interest 2007-01-25 07:01:00
Ok, ok. I guess I started this hot button topic. So, I should at least follow through on it. I should preface this post by saying that I am in no way, shape, or form - in a position of power in any health care policy organization. So, don't expect a polished statement. I'm just a peon in this mammoth health care system.
In discussions like this these, three questions always come up: How much does pharmaceutical marketing tactics make you prescribe their drug? Is this fair or unfair for your patient? Is this a conflict of interest?
Of course marketing tactics influence my prescribing habits! There have been many studies done to confirm this fact. This data is used by this medical school to forbid its docs from accepting any freebies from drug reps. This data is also used by this organization to advance its agenda of a zero tolerance policy of any acceptance of drug company free stuff.
Don't get me wrong, these are not the only groups who have this point of view. In every major med Read more:Conflict
, Interest
FoxNews.com features Doctor Anonymous 2007-01-26 07:02:00
Who is this guy? Well, he is my new best friend. LOL. I just learned that this very blog was featured in a FoxNews.com story by Dr. Manny Alvarez who is the Health News Managing Editor.
Is there a Blogger in the House? Five Great Doctor
Blogs
Dr. Blog Please Report to the Internet, Dr. Blog Please Report to the Internet...
The prescription slip with the chicken scratch you're holding may suggest otherwise, but let it be known that some doctors can actually write, and write well. You can thank the computer for the legibility, but the content comes from somewhere else.
In today's column we're featuring blogs written by doctors themselves. Doctors from all medical disciplines are blogging about their areas of expertise, their thoughts on popular health news items, as well as those appearing in medical journals, and anything else that tickles their fancy.
You may be a little more knowledgeable before the next visit to your doctor after your first visit to one of these web sites. Read more:features
Dr. A Revealed 2007-01-28 20:01:00 So, I did it. I took a small step out of the shadows of anonymous-ness (is that a word?). In the midst of my blog funk, I tried out video blogging, and the result is below.
I have to tell you, it was an interesting experience. Don't get me wrong, my blogging home is still here. I don't know how much I'll vblog. In case you're curious, here's the link to Dr. A's livevideo site.
Why reveal my big mug now and in the past be reluctant to even show my face in a picture? I dunno. As I say in the video, I've been looking at vblogs for about a month now. And, I've been really taken by them.
It was kind of like the feeling I had when I first started looking at text blogs. It took me six months to get up the courage to start this blog here. During my blog funk this month, I told myself that I was not going to wait that long again to try something new.
So, I recorded it, and waited. I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it. Should I really post this thing up there? Am
The Carmela Treatment 2007-01-29 18:01:00
No, the above picture is not Carmela. More on him later....
Carmela Bousada is believed to be the world's oldest mother. The beginning of this Associated Press story is very uplifting. Her dream has always been to have a child. She sold her house in Spain to raise the money to pay for fertility treatments in California. She gave birth to twins on December 29th.
"I think everyone should become a mother at the right time for them," Bousada said in a video of the interview provided to Associated Press Television News.Happily ever after, right? Not quite. Here's the rest of the story....
The Pacific Fertility Center in Los Angeles has a policy which states that anyone over the age of 55 years old cannot receive treatment. How old was Carmella when she became a patient there? She was 66 years old! And, she just turned 67 years old this month.
How could this happen? There are many angles on this story. I will only analyze two (or three) of them below...
Fertility Center Responsibility: Read more:Treatment
Grand Rounds 2007-01-30 17:31:00 Grand Rounds
3.19 is now up and running at the blog called Envisioning 2.0. The theme is consumer driven health care. Because I was so busy last week, I didn't have an opportunity to submit anything.
If you don't know what Grand Rounds
is, it is a weekly compilation of the best posts from the medical blogosphere that moves to different sites each week. And, who doesn't like reading about medicine and science? Next week, GR moves to Tales from the Emergency Room. Read more:Grand
Is Dr. A a quack? 2007-01-31 06:01:00 It has definitely been an interesting seven days. You may have been wondering why the comment moderation has now been turned on. I talk about what's been happening in a video I recorded over the weekend while I was out of town.
I apologize for the fair quality of the video. I had my laptop last weekend. And, of course, it's not a fast as the home desktop. The audio is pretty clear and that's Read more:quack
Flu shot rant 1970-01-01 00:59:59 It's the beginning of October in the northern United States. Usually this means that the leaves are changing colors symbolizing the fall season. The weather is starting to get cooler. Halloween is at the end of the month which means that the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are not far behind.It also means that the annual flu shot fiasco is going to start soon. You've seen this before. Once flu shots are mentioned on the morning national newscasts, the office phones will ring constantly until December. These annual news stories usually have someone from the CDC asking how bad the flu season is predicted to be. Then, typically, questions about the rumored flu shot shortages that will take place.Meanwhile, back to our office, our patients are demanding that their flu shots be given to them today. "Hey, all the local pharmacies have them. Why doesn't your office have them yet?" "Is your office going to forget to call me again this year?" "Is your office going to run out of flu shots
Fashion Police 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I've talked about professional dress before on my blog - whether it be to wear or not to wear a lab coat, or to wear or not to wear a tie.Now, the board at the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust have taken this to an entirely new level (high or low depending on your opinion). They are proposing a dress code banning things like novelty socks. The Daily Mail article states that employees could face disciplinary action if socks had "characters [such] as Homer Simpson, Mr Blobby and Wallace and Gromit."Distractions of inappropriate dress should be limited, it added. Novelty socks fall foul of the new code along with see-through clothes, clothing that is too tight or too loose and plunging necklines.Plain black or navy blue socks are deemed suitable but socks can be left off in hot weather. The board is recommended to accept the new uniform policy. Is this the same hospital that is promoting the modesty gown? I'm curious. Doesn't the modesty gown promote cultural sensitivity and toleran Read more:Fashion
, Police
, Fashion Police
Five Days until Grand Rounds 1970-01-01 00:59:59 As you can see, this whole GrandRounds
thing has taken over my blog life, at least temporarily. The Doctor Anonymous blog has kind of become "the crash course on being a GR host" blog, at least until next week.For anyone curious, here are the poll results as of this posting:Which do you prefer? (69 total votes)Grand Rounds with a theme: 42%Grand Rounds without a theme: 58%Ideal number of Grand Rounds links each week? (75 votes)Less than 25: 35%From 25-30: 47%From 31-35: 9%From 36-40: 4%More than 40: 5%I got a few more submissions Wednesday. From what people have told me, this is par for the course (sorry for the golf lingo). I read a few more GR postings from the past few months, just to get a feel of how things have been done in the past.And, in fact, a similar discussion on the number of GR links occurred about nine months ago (look here, here, here, and here). This was before I was even blogging. I don't know if it's good or bad that this discussion is coming up again. Because, t
Blog conversations 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I appreciate it very much when people include me in their blogroll. I'm even more honored when they mention me on their blog. When I do my "blog rounds," I try to leave witty and thoughtful comments. But, for the following two postings, I felt more than leaving comments, I'll talk about it here.Dinah from Shrink Rap talked about her experience attending the social function of a patient. I really didn't get into my personal thought process when talking about Jen, so I'll talk about them here. (BTW, I forgot to add Shrink Rap to my blogroll, but I'll do it now).Setting boundaries in your professional life (and personal life) is difficult. There is no magic recipe or book that you can read to find out how and when to do this. Our town measures 16 square miles and has about 16,000 people. This is significantly smaller than the city where I did my residency. So, I knew coming in that I would have to deal with being a small town doctor -- which for all purposes is a celebrity. People de
Interview 1970-01-01 00:59:59 In case you didn't have the opportunity to check out my interview from last week, here it is. Also, just to let you know, Patient Anonymous did turn on her RSS feed, so feel free to put her in your bloglines, google reader, or whatever...The "Anonymous Doctor" Finds a Voice on the WebPosted 11/21/2006 -- Nicholas Genes, MD, PhD After discovering political Web-logs a few years ago and medical blogs this year, a young primary care doctor was tempted to start his own site: Doctor Anonymous. Despite his unfamiliarity with the medium, Dr. A's humor, attentiveness, and genuine rapport with his readers quickly earned him a large, faithful audience. I'd guess those same traits would make him a good physician, but I suppose we'll never know for sure...Corresponding with Dr. A this week, I had the chance to learn a little bit more about the man and what he thinks about his online endeavors.Dr. Genes: Many blogs come and go, but few start off with -- and maintain -- the exuberant enthusiasm o
Independence Day 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Joke of the day from Late Night with Conan O'Brien: "July 4th is the day where America celebrates it's Independence
.......from Star Jones." HA!Have a happy and safe holiday.... Read more:Independence Day
Electronic records rant 1970-01-01 00:59:59 It's no secret that I'm a news junkie. You can plainly see this from my blog. In addition to my patient rounds, I do my blog rounds and news rounds. I became really upset when I read this article from the Washington Post called, "Doctors Slow to Adopt E-Records for Patients."About one in four doctors use some form of electronic health records, suggesting that a technology frequently billed as a way to improve the quality and efficiency of care has yet to win widespread acceptance, according to a study released yesterday. As these type of articles in the media go, the following paragraphs build the case why an electronic record is a good idea -- it "collects patient information, displays test results, helps doctors make treatment decisions and allows health-care providers to document prescriptions and medical orders electronically." In addition, they "improve patient care, reduce errors, curb unnecessary tests and cut paperwork."Yes, I get it. Even though I am one of the 75% of docs w Read more:Electronic
The Myth of Anonymous Blogging 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The Fall of a Blogger: Doctor A now stands for Doctor Arrogant. You could also call me Doctor Naive. On YouTube and LiveVideo, they call them the haters. Over here I've heard them called bullies. They are nameless and faceless people whose sole purpose in life is to bring people down.The media's job is to build people up only to tear them down. And, let me tell ya, there are a lot of people out there to help with the latter. You can do what you can to try to fend them off, but they will get to you eventually.I thought I could stand up to them with a vblog, but the wrath of the haters is just too powerful. I thought I was the smartest kid in the class, but little did I know how many clues I left lying around my blog for people to locate me.Both friends and enemies have e-mailed me in the last twenty-four hours. All of them have successfully listed my real name, place of employment, medical school, state medical licence number, and my memberships in professional associations. All of th Read more:Blogging
Epocrates & iPhone 2008-03-09 12:32:57 Last week, Apple finally announced the iPhone
software development kit. Many, including me, have been waiting for applications to place on my iPhone so I can finally get rid of my other PDA. While the demo for the gaming apps took most of the tech headlines, the medical community (especially those with iPhones) should take notice of an important application that was also "demoed" at last week's Apple event.I have been using Epocrates ever since I was back in residency. And, I have been waiting for this application to be written on the iPhone. In the cnet video above, they show what one epocrates engineer could do in two weeks of programming. What was impressive to me was the use of the photo of pills, which I think will be helpful in my office setting. I cannot wait to see the full product
Show 27 Wrap-up 2008-03-06 22:32:11 Thanks so much to Berci from Science Roll for being on the show. (see video post above) We had a great conversation about his life as a medical student. We also discussed his first and only trip to the United States. We was asked to do presentations in Long Beach, California and at Yale. I mean, I have never been to Yale - let alone asked to do a presentation there. Very impressive.We also talked about his opinions regarding Web 2.0 and Medicine. An interesting perspective. He has a passion for genetics and genomics. If you don't know what exactly they are, he does a good job at trying to define these complicated terms. He graduates from medical school in about a year and a half. He either wants to pursue a PhD or residency. (I think some places offer both of these tracks.)I certainly wish
Dr. A Show 27 on Talkshoe 2008-03-06 00:03:30 Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern TimeJoin us on Thursday night for Bertalan Mesko who is from the blog called Science Roll. This will be a unique show in that our guest will be live, but on an entirely different continent. I think that we have the technology working (hopefully). We will be broadcasting live on Talkshoe. For those interested, here is the Talkshoe FAQ.For first time Talkshoe listeners:*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the Talkshoe site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier. To get to my show site, click here. *Talkshoe has software called "ShoePhone" in which just by plugging in a headset, you can talk on the show without dialing a phone number. After registering your ID, I encourage you to click h
The Bertalan Mesko Interview 2008-03-04 23:41:58 For the first time ever on The Doctor Anonymous Show, we have a scheduled guest, for the entire show, who will be joining us from Europe (about 5,000 miles or 7,500 kilometers from where I'm sitting right now).Bertalan Mesko who is the author of Science Roll will be joining the show on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern Time. He will be joining us live when it will be 3am his time. So, you cannot miss this show. According to his blog, he is a medical student at the University of Debrecen, Hungary (5th year of the 6). Here is other information from his blog:I plan to become a clinical geneticist specialized in personalized genomics. I believe that the future of medicine belongs to this field. On this blog, my aim is to make medicine, genetics more readable even for those who are not t
Dr. A Show 26: Wrap-up 2008-03-04 08:33:20 Thanks so much to Dr. Doug Farrago from Placebo Journal for being on the show. We talked about what it's like being a Family Medicine physician in Maine. Talked a little bit about his boxing career and a little bit about his practice. Of course, we talked about his book, his magazine, his blog, and his youtube channel. It's great seeing a doc utilizing all kinds of new media. I'm hoping other docs do the same in the near future.Next week, I'll be taking the show over to Talkshoe which is another internet radio site. Our guest will be Bertalan Mesko from Science Roll. Very impressive blog if you have never checked it out before. He also hosted Grand Rounds this week. The link to The Doctor Anonymous Talkshoe Show is right here.I'll talk more about it soon. But, it's similar to BlogTalkRadio
Get out and vote! 2008-03-04 08:31:37 It's primary election day here in Ohio. If you have been following the news at at all, you know that the US presidential race believes that Ohio is a key state not only today but in November for the general election.I've already asked some patients this morning and they have told me that they don't vote and will never vote. The reason? Well, they do not want to be called to jury duty. What kind of lame excuse is that? (Jury duty should be from the pool of people with a driver's licence and not registered voters, anyway.) I kind of went off on someone this morning, "Then, you are not allowed to complain how high the cost of health care is. And, you are not allowed to complain about what's going on, because you did not vote."Now, people tell me that voting doesn't matter anyway. Doesn't matt
Doug Farrago, MD on The Dr. A Show 2008-02-27 23:06:37 Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern TimeJoin us on Thursday night for Dr. Doug Farrago who is the the self-proclaimed "King of Medicine" and is creator of the empire we know as The Placebo Journal. This is probably one of the only people in the medical blogosphere who is more connected than me. Not only is he an author of a book and a blog, he also has a magazine and even has his own channel on You Tube called "Placebo Television." In the above video post, he talks about Dr. Robert Jarvik who was back in the news this week. He ends each video with this signoff, "Thank you for tuning into Placebo Television, where we always keep our finger on the prostate of medicine." Can't wait to ask him about that.Take part in the chat room, which is the "show within the show." A great opportun
I'm A Blogaholic: Gone 2008-02-27 21:54:02 The I'm A Blogaholic blog was started almost a year ago during the whole Flea episode - and when Fat Doctor took down her blog (she did eventually come back). At the time, the blog was a great way for people to just talk about what was happening at the time. But, as typically happens, people move forward and move on. And, that has showed in the past few months. The number of posts and the number of visitors have decreased. So, I've decided that The I'm A Blogaholic Blog has run it's course and will be taken down in the next few weeks. So, thanks for the memories!
Google YOUR private health information? 2008-02-27 00:35:49 What if I told you that companies like Google
and Microsoft will soon have the opportunity to handle your private medical information
? Maybe this is information that you do not want anyone else to know - other than - say your doctor? Earlier this week the state of Tennessee announced a partnership with AT&T for the first statewide network to share health information.An article in today's Washington Post states that the Cleveland Clinic, in association with Google, will be starting a pilot project that is aimed at putting personal electronic health records in the hands of consumers. (I've talked about personal health records on this blog in the past)What Cleveland Clinic wants to do is have the ability to merge outside electronic medical records with their own system. For example, if I
Antibiotics overused in Alzheimer patients 2008-02-26 09:58:06 Should people with Alzheimer
's disease/dementia be treated with antibiotics? According to a new study, they say that antibiotics are being overused in patients
with dementia and antibiotic use should be considered more carefully especially in this time of antibiotic resistant superbugs. (AP)The study raises ethical questions about when it's acceptable to withhold perhaps futile treatment and let people die, and whether public health issues should ever be considered."Advanced dementia is a terminal illness," said study co-author Dr. Susan Mitchell, a senior scientist with the Harvard-affiliated Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research in Boston. "If we substituted 'end-stage cancer' for 'advanced dementia,' I don't think people would have any problem understanding this."People wouldn Read more:Antibiotics
The Shamrock Shake 2008-02-25 11:11:32 I have been a blogging slacker for the past few days. I do have a lame excuse, though. I was on call last weekend, and I have to tell you, there are a lot of ill people out there and the hospital has been hopping for the past few weeks.Anyway, as I was making "rounds" at McDonalds yesterday, the friendly drive-thru chap asked, "Would you like to try a ShamrockShake
?" Wow! It's only February, and our local McD's has already gotten out the shamrock shake. This is great stuff! If you haven't had this before, you have to try it.I do admit that I like the taste of mint. So, the shamrock shake is definitely delish to me. And, as Dr. Rob has stated recently that obsessing about anything is bad. I kind of get addicted to the shamrock shake - especially when they say "for a limited time only." Any
TBTAM on the Dr. A show 2008-02-22 16:39:12 Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 9pm Eastern TimeJoin us tonight for The Blog That Ate Manhattan. At the bottom on this post, you'll see an embed from ustream.tv. TBTAM has a great promo post saying we're going to talk about "Big Pharma, dissecting the medical literature, giving out free medical advice and discussing the insanity known as gyno-food blogging. Who knows, I may even resurrect the Vagina Blogging song for the occasion!" Wow! I can't wait for this interview.Take part in the chat room, which is the "show within the show." A great opportunity to interact with medbloggers you've only read about. You can even call into the show to talk and/or ask a question. See you tonight!For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you
You've been traded - To Japan 2008-02-20 23:44:04 It's baseball spring training time again, and I've had enough of all the talk about steroids and congressional hearings and all that stuff. I heard about the video above last night. And, it's a practical joke that had one young recruit going until the last minute.The way the video above goes, the young pitcher is brought into the managers office and is told that he is being "traded" to Japan
for a player named "Kobayashi Iwamura." You can see that this guy is totally dejected - not only because he was traded, but because he's going to have to go to an entirely different country.His next move is to let his teammates know what the news is. Of course, his team is in on the joke. Not only his teammates, but his manager, his agent, and the press who are interviewing him at the end of this video
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