Information and Critical Thinking for Your Health
(Snippets from the frontline) Decreasing life expectancy After rising 26 years, US life expectancy decreased for the second straight year. News reports attributes opioid fatalities as a contributing factor to … Continue Reading →
(Snippets from the frontline) Sepsis In hospitalized patients, experienced doctors and nurses instinctively recognize imminent death, and that awareness makes them act immediately to save a life. This instinct is … Continue Reading →
(Snippets from the frontline) Elder suicide We’ve heard these words before: “He died peacefully in his sleep.” As a geriatric physician, I fear that an elder senior has committed suicide … Continue Reading →
(Snippets from the frontline) Being au naturel Sometimes statistics are baffling. Why do many autoimmune diseases (fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, etc.) effect significantly more women than … Continue Reading →
(Snippets from the frontline) Readmission If you are admitted, discharged, and return with the same diagnosis within 30 days, hospitals are penalized by Medicare for the readmission. Nowadays, hospitals are … Continue Reading →
(Snippets from the frontline) The easy way out “Take this pill.” Words patients like to hear from their doctor assuming it will solve all medical problems. Likewise, grabbing fast food … Continue Reading →
(Snippets from the frontline) The other gateway drug Many states are on the road to legalizing medicinal and recreational marijuana. Much of this is related to change in cultural attitudes, … Continue Reading →
(Snippets from the frontline) Overtime Doctors know when a patient breaks a hip, surgical intervention is quickly needed to control pain and avoid complications like anemia, fat emboli, deep vein … Continue Reading →
(Snippets from the frontline) Computer reality My patient visited New York and had a heart attack. Upon his return, it took 6 weeks to get medical records snail-mailed back to … Continue Reading →
(Snippets from the frontline) Dehydration Every day patients arrive in the emergency room with confusion, weakness, and low blood pressure, and are diagnosed with infection. Intravenous fluid and antibiotic are … Continue Reading →