Monthly Archives: February 2014

TRENDS: Immobile without the mobile

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24 February 2014| last updated at 09:18PM

I CLEARLY remember when I was young and in those more laid back days, a mobile phone was practically unheard of. Sure, I saw some men in suits carrying a small attache case-like portable phone and most of the time, these sharp looking men tend to drive an imported German marque.

Meeting up with friends used to be a rather linear affair as a gentlemens agreement was drawn up prior to the appointment with date, time and venue already set in stone, verbally at least. At the appointed rendezvous point and time, the earlier person tends to pace around, or at least settle down with a good book while waiting for the other person to show up. Last minute changes were practically unheard of, as we were unable to reach one another.

Fast forward to this day, and how things have changed. Mobile phone penetration in developed and even developing countries has grown to such a level that it is nigh impossible to find someone without a handset, never mind if it is high-end, mid-range or entry level. Leaving the house used to mean remembering the wallet or handbag and the essential bunch of keys. These days, the mobile phone is absolutely essential. Which brings us to the topic of nomophobia, an abbreviation for no-mobile-phone phobia. This particular word was coined after a study by the UK Post Office on how mobile phone users suffered from higher anxiety levels when they did not have any mobile phone contact.

Nomophobia is an interesting topic as it really depends on what constitutes nomophobia. I am quite sure that we would not want to live or work in an area where it is nearly impossible to receive a signal on the handset, although a small minority of us might find ourselves in such a situation. For most of us, we tend to move within areas that have network coverage and never mind the wallet when we leave home, do not ever forget to bring your mobile phone with you!

The advent of smartphones as well as cloud services on a mobile platform has also increased our dependency on the smartphone which no longer just carries our contacts list but also our cache of emails and allows us to conduct online transactions.

To add another selling point the ever more affordable mobile data plans and the explosive popularity of mobile versions of social networks like Facebook, VoIP service such as Skype and micro blogging site Twitter, and thus you have quite an indispensable modern-day tool for homo sapiens.

The ever increasing quality of cameras inside smartphones also help increase the value of carrying a handset around with you at all times after all, you can never quite tell when you need to snap a photo and upload it on your Facebook for all and sundry to see. With some countries introducing NFC (Near Field Communications) technology in mobile phones that come in handy for monetary transactions, you might no longer need to carry your wallet in the future.

Nomophobia can also occur under different circumstances, i.e. running out of battery, not having enough credit or even losing ones handset.

I have suffered the loss of three mobile phones to date, due to carelessness as well as theft. Those couple of days spent without a handset in my pocket raised my anxiety levels so much I thought I was going through a mid-life crisis a couple of decades earlier than expected. It was rather hard to concentrate on work until I had gotten my new SIM card and smartphone, and going out with friends was a whole lot more inconvenient as there was no room to negotiate last minute changes in plans. That would be my personal brush with nomophobia, and I am not ashamed to say that these days, the smartphone goes into my pocket before the wallet and house keys prior to heading out for an appointment.

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TRENDS: Immobile without the mobile

Concierge Medicine Today Releases 2014 Educational Guide, The Patient's Guide to Concierge Medicine

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Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) February 24, 2014

There is an estimated 5,500 concierge practices nationwide according to author and editor, Michael Tetreault of Concierge Medicine Today. And, about two-thirds of these doctors charge less than $135 a month. In a new book, The Patients Guide To Concierge Medicine, by Concierge Medicine Today, explains in detail why these practices are so popular and how affordable they really are. This a comprehensive resource and introductory guide for anyone wanting to learn more about concierge medicine, direct primary care and cash-only medical clinics from a consumer/patient perspective. The 2014 Edition offers a comprehensive list of services and information, an easy-to-read Q and A format, the 41 questions you should ask a concierge doctor and the resource everyone can use to locate a doctor.

Released by Concierge Medicine Today, the private-pay medical industrys oldest news and information trade journal, Atlanta-based healthcare writers, Michael Tetreault and Catherine Sykes have released the 2014 Edition that addresses important healthcare topics such as: The Cost of Concierge Medicine; What Is Direct Primary Care; Services Offered; Pros and Cons; How does concierge medicine work with Insurance; Health Benefits; Research and Data; What To Expect; and more.

The field of concierge medicine and direct primary care is still relatively young but the ideology pre-dates the telephone and even the Andy Griffith era medicine whereby a doctor comes to your aid, day or night, theres no-copay, deductible or appointment required, says Michael Tetreault, Editor of Concierge Medicine Today. Concierge Medicine physicians and direct-pay doctors stand in the gap for you. Theyre reducing hospitalizations significantly, compatible with nearly every insurance plan in America and people are saving more money on their healthcare costs each year. We see the growth rate of doctors entering this type of practice in the coming years being around 7%-15% per year due to low insurance reimbursements, the Medicare fee schedule and the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on doctors offices. More people are enrolling in high-deductible health insurance plans that cover major, unforeseen events, leaving the everyday expenses to the consumerjust like auto and homeowners insurance.

People typically choose a doctor based on a personal recommendation of a trusted friend or relative. The Patients Guide To Concierge Medicine is available to help patients decide for themselves if this model of healthcare meets their needs. Regardless of what they might have heard or already know, this publication can help guide them through the decision-making process of choosing their next doctor.

This book will educate healthcare consumers about the benefits, value and cost and help them to understand the role and responsibilities of a concierge doctor, adds Catherine Sykes, co-author. It gives people the tools and information they need to make an informed decision and find a doctor in order to get the best results. The Affordable Care Act will enable self-employed and self-insured individuals and companies to move their coverage to these doctors in a faster, more timely manner. With the introduction of mandated health insurance coverage, long lines at the doctors office and the uncertainty of keeping their physician, choosing a concierge doctor or direct-pay physician is a real, affordable and simple option for the families, companies and individuals who will be looking. This book is the first step to understanding this new form of healthcare.

The Patients Guide To Concierge Medicine is available for sale now for $9.95 at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and on Kindle eReaders. For more information or to order a copy, visit http://www.ConciergeMedicineToday.com.

To Find A Concierge Doctor

Visit: http://www.ConciergeMedicineToday.com or http://www.DirectPrimaryCare.com.

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Concierge Medicine Today Releases 2014 Educational Guide, The Patient's Guide to Concierge Medicine

Medical school gig a healthy challenge for actors

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David Solomon lay in bed, a sheet draped over his legs.

His darkened bedroom was silent, except for the ticking of a clock on the wall. A box of tissues sat on a bedside table; a Hebrew-and-English siddur, or prayer book, rested on his lap.

The cancer that the 70-year-old cosmetics merchant had held at bay for 12 years was no longer responding to chemo. His breathing was labored, and his morphine-addled gaze wandered. It took all his effort to focus on the white-jacketed medical student who stood next to him.

"Even though we're done treating your lymphoma, we're still here to help," the student said, gently.

"I want to talk about hospice," Solomon croaked.

He had signed paperwork urging doctors to withhold interventions such as a feeding tube during his final weeks and thought he wanted to die here, at home. At the same time, he worried how his decision would affect his family.

"Do I want my family to walk into this room and the last memories be saying goodbye to me?" he asked.

The room fell quiet again. The medical student was still. Two of his classmates, in chairs nearby, dabbed their eyes. One reached past Solomon, grabbed a tissue and blew her nose.

"Time out!" their instructor shouted.

The patient sat up in his bed, pulled a canary-yellow yarmulke off his head and smiled.

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Medical school gig a healthy challenge for actors

Medical students play charity hockey game

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Three teams used pairs of ice skates, hockey sticks and pucks to try to change the world by raising $14,500 for patients of pediatric cancer.

In the 2014 Winter Classic Hockey Game on Friday, the Medwings, students and alumni of the New Jersey Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, competed against the Bitewings, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine students and alumni, to fundraise for charity in the Amerihealth Pavilion at Newarks Prudential Center.

This years charity match raised funds for the Sean Hanna Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 by RWJMS senior Jessie Hanna in honor of his brother, who died of pediatric cancer at the age of 20.

The organizations purpose is to alleviate burdens from patients of childhood cancers by providing financial support and assistance to them and their families. It also offers undergraduate scholarships to patients and their siblings, Hanna said.

Hanna feels a sense of responsibility toward every family who turns to him for assistance, but he said he has never failed anyone.

My brothers life has inspired me to help other children suffering from cancer, encouraging them to live their lives to the fullest and combat the disease until the end, he said.

The Sean Hanna Foundation is exempt from federal income tax. The organization employs volunteers, therefore all the funds directly benefit the patients and their families.

Additionally, the organization supports pediatric oncology research at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which devotes its time to discovering innovative approaches for the disease and ultimately finding a cure.

As an undergraduate student, Jessie Hanna was president of Sigma Phi Epsilon while also involving himself in various organizations, including sports clubs and church groups.

He engaged in volunteer work in the Middle East through the international health care organization Project HOPE, Health Opportunities for People Everywhere, which provides general medical assistance. Such an experience reinforced his passion for the medical field.

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Medical students play charity hockey game

Giving medical school students a head start

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NOXEN -- Identifying a heart murmur for the first time in her medical career, second-year medical student Brianna Shinn, of Clarks Summit, experienced firsthand the value of an early mentoring program between The Commonwealth Medical College and local medical practices.

The Continuity Mentor program with TCMC offers students a unique opportunity to develop a learning relationship with northeastern Pennsylvania doctors and patients. The integrated learning atmosphere helps to reinforce what the student is learning academically with supervised hands-on experience.

The in-field training only occurs once a week during a three-week period known as Community Weeks for first- and second-year students. The students shadow the physicians -- learning how to interview the patients and identify any history of family health issues -- and begin to perform the initial exam.

Third-year students continue the program but add the responsibility of figuring out the symptoms of the patient to develop a plan of action. By their fourth year, students will be expected to present a plan of treatment to their mentors.

Shinn and classmate Stephanie Veit, of Chesterfield, Mo., spent Tuesday at the Monroe-Noxen Health Center, a primary care facility in Noxen, with Drs. Krista Civiletti and Gwen Galasso.

The program covers 16 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Wearing the standard white physician's jackets, Veit and Shinn visited with incoming patients.

"I love this office because you see a variety of things," Shinn said.

Shinn's excitement of recognizing a heart murmur comes after just finishing a cardiology and pulmonology unit in class.

"We just finished cardiology and pulmonology," she said. "We had a patient today with COPD and just being able to listen and understand what I was hearing was great."

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Giving medical school students a head start

Computerized checklist reduces type of hospital infection, Stanford/Packard study finds

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

24-Feb-2014

Contact: Erin Digitale digitale@stanford.edu 650-724-9175 Stanford University Medical Center

STANFORD, Calif. - A computerized safety checklist that automatically pulls information from patients' electronic medical records was associated with a threefold drop in rates of one serious type of hospital-acquired infection, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.

The study, conducted in the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit, targeted bloodstream infections that begin in central lines - catheters inserted into major veins. The infections are a preventable cause of illness and death, and hospitals across the country are working to reduce their frequency.

The automated checklist, and a dashboard-style interface used to interact with it, made it fast and easy for caregivers to follow national guidelines for keeping patients' central lines infection-free. The new system combed through data in the electronic medical record and pushed alerts to physicians and nurses when a patient's central line was due for care. During the study, the rate of central line infections in the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit dropped from 2.6 to 0.7 per 1,000 days of central line use.

The findings will be published online Feb. 23 in Pediatrics.

"Electronic medical records are data-rich and information-poor," said Natalie Pageler, MD, the study's lead author. Often, the data in electronic medical records is cumbersome for caregivers to use in real time, but the study showed a way to change that, said Pageler, who is a critical care medicine specialist at the hospital and a clinical associate professor of pediatrics. "Our new tool lets physicians focus on taking care of the patient while automating some of the background safety checks."

Central lines have many uses, such as administering long-term antibiotics or chemotherapy and providing access to the bloodstream in patients who need kidney dialysis or frequent blood draws. The Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on medical errors, To Err is Human, identified central line infections as a key target for reducing harm in health care. Approximately 40 percent of patients in the pediatric intensive care unit have central lines at some point during their hospital stays.

The research team collaborated with engineers from HP Labs to program the checklist and build a dashboard interface that displayed real-time alerts on a large LCD screen in the nurses' station. Alerts - shown as red, yellow or green dots beside patients' names - were generated if, for example, the dressing on a patient's central line was due to be changed, or if it was time for caregivers to re-evaluate whether medications given in the central line could be switched to oral formulations instead.

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Computerized checklist reduces type of hospital infection, Stanford/Packard study finds