Family Medicine Notes

January 30, 2002

Looking into logos for

Looking into logos for family medicine & found these on google

I kinda like the family thing in the Boston University log A picture named images.jpg o above ..

The computer one here is nice too .. but I guess it's a bit too nerdy ..

A picture named fp7.jpg .. and the "family" ones are OK ... A picture named fp9.jpg A picture named fp6.jpg A picture named FP3.jpg

A picture named fp5.jpg A picture named FP2.jpg I kinda like this one with the hands too ...

A picture named fp4.jpg

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 12:15 AM | Permalink

January 27, 2002

Testing a mirror to blogger.com.

Testing a mirror to blogger.com. Cool. It works!

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 12:19 AM | Permalink

January 26, 2002

BioMail manual: "BioMail is a

BioMail manual: "BioMail is a program that simplifies and automates searching for biological and medical literature. BioMail will search PubMed, the largest publically available online database for biomedical journals, using your search terms. BioMail then e-mails you the results weekly, biweekly or monthly as you choose."

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 11:30 PM | Permalink

From the CDC: Risk Factors

From the CDC: Risk Factors for Otitis Media and Carriage of Multiple Strains of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae: "Carriage of multiple genetic types of H. influenzae was associated with child's age, antibiotic use, exposure to smoking, and history of allergies. Carriage of multiple genetic types of H. influenzae may be an intermediate step in the biologic pathway leading to otitis media and may explain the increased episodes of otitis media observed in children with allergies or children exposed to smoking."

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 11:11 PM | Permalink

I just started using the

I just started using the Radio UserLand : RadioExpress. It's awfully good.

I'll try from work tomorrow to see if I can edit remotely too.

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 10:47 PM | Permalink

January 21, 2002

Trolling the web for family

Trolling the web for family medicine logos ... I like this one from Sugarcreek Family Medicine:

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 11:37 PM | Permalink

Tonight, I'm writing a business

Tonight, I'm writing a business case for a project at the hospital. It's a tough sell. Here's the concept: physicians, nurses, PAs and NPs are health-care providers. We make decisions with/for our patients using the information that we gather.

Information:

History
Exam
Lab data
radiology
Medical knowledge (we learned this at some point)

today
last week
last month
last year
in medical school
not yet

But we can look it up

If we're trying to gather information using a computer, the usability of that computer for information retreival becomes important ... even vital.

But where's the case for this? There may not be an easy sell for spending money on a better UI so that more people can have the "nice" view of the information. Gotta make the case that the "nice" view is really much more than "nice." It's about enabling users to find the right information quickly. On the web, I found: Business Case for Usability, a well thought-out discussion of UI conepts. Not bad, but not enough.

I'll keep looking

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 11:16 PM | Permalink

January 20, 2002

Postgraduate Medicine: Pearls: ""Socks first"

Postgraduate Medicine: Pearls: ""Socks first" deters spread of infection Patients with tinea pedis should be reminded to put on their socks before their underwear when getting dressed. Failing to do so can lead to contamination of the groin with dermatophytes. "

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 08:14 PM | Permalink

Postgraduate Medicine: Patient Notes are another

Postgraduate Medicine: Patient Notes are another useful source of well-written patient information handouts.

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 08:12 PM | Permalink

FDA Panel Rejects Pravastatin/Aspirin Combo.

FDA Panel Rejects Pravastatin/Aspirin Combo. Bristol-Myers-Squibb made a play for this comibation to maintain a market share for pravachol ... which will go generic soon. Nice try.

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 07:47 PM | Permalink

Docnotes is my old weblog. Haven't

Docnotes is my old weblog. Haven't updated it in a long time. Radio 8.0 is better than conversant .. though there certainly are things that I liked about Conversant.

Now trying to figure out how to import the old site over here ... along with the (very) old blogger stuff too.

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 07:16 PM | Permalink

January 18, 2002

I have a few patients

I have a few patients on Serzone. There is a new warning about it that I think you should read. I'm gonna get my patients off of it. You should too. Just in case.

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 10:48 AM | Permalink

January 17, 2002

What is a family

What is a family physician?

Lots of misunderstandings about this.

Like most days, I helped some of my patients understand what it is that I do for a living.

If my patients don't know ... I'd be surprised if my colleagues do. My colleagues in Orthpaedics, Ob-GYN, internal medicine, pulmonology, gastroenterology, hematology, etc.

Why don't they know? Because many of them never took a family medicine rotation in medical school.

To parents of my very young patients, they are surprised to learn that I care for adults.

To my pregnant patients ... they are surprised to learn that I care for men.

For my "old-man-with-diabetes-and-high-blood-pressure" patients .. they are surprised to learn that I deliver babies.

... and everyone in-between.

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 01:58 AM | Permalink

January 16, 2002

Long day at the office

Long day at the office today. I'm getting the hang of it again .. and indeed I find it very enjoyable. Lots of bronchitis. No antibiotics! ..

Lots of babies today too. Jessie is 6 months old. So inquisitve. Life is a big journey ...he's DISCOVERING .. as we all are .. but it seems so much more clear when he does it. Very cool.

Several new patients. I keep hearing that "no doctor has ever really LISTENED to me before" ...

I do try to listen to my patients. Seems so necessary. I can't imagine NOT listening. Don't we need to HEAR what our patients tell us.

Yes, it gets time consuming. Marian Stuart writes a great guide in The fifteen minute hour. Yikes. $72 on Amazon.

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 09:49 PM | Permalink

January 12, 2002

Antibiotic overuse remains a problem

Antibiotic overuse remains a problem in most outpatient practices. A recent article in BMJ suggests that handouts .. to provide good information about the condition and about appropriate antibiotic use ... DO reduce antibiotic prescriptions.

There are a few handouts I use often.

Bronchitis - from the American Academy of Family Physicians
Acute Otitis Media - from the New York State Hepartment of Health

.. more tomorrow ...

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 11:34 PM | Permalink

Evelyn was born so peacefully

Evelyn was born so peacefully yesterday morning. As she emerged, we quietly dried her off and handed her to her mom ... who was, of course, glowing. The exhaustion and exhiliration of childbirth always amazes me.

What a privilidge it is to be able to witness such important events -- to be invited into these most intimate moments.

Intimate, too is the other end. Josphine was only 72. Last week, Jennie called me. "Mom's not looking so good. She's decided that she wants to come to the hospital." Jennie and I had talked the day before. Josephine had pneumonia and had preferred to stay home. Until now.

I met them at the hospital. I think it was about 11:30. Josephine looked tired, but she was clearly relieved to be in the hospital. She had lost weight since the last time I had seen her. Wearing two hooded sweatshirts, and a pair of sweatpants, her small face poked out from the hood like Nanook on the tundra.

We talked for a long time that night. Longer, I think, than we had in the past. She told me she was happy that she came to the hospital. She felt safe. She didn't want to die yet.

Chuck sent an e-mail out to family and friends over the weekend. He sent a picture too. There she was in the hooded sweatshirt.

Josephine's spirit was alive. Her mind was clear, and focused, and bright. She wasn't ready to die. But She hadn't been the same since she went to the hospital in September. Not eating enough, not doing her physical theray exercises .. she was simply too weak to fight off the pneumonia.

It is these times of high-tech medicine, we physicians often find ourselves ordering tests and using expensive tools (?toys?) to treat our patients. Yet the special moments are what makes it all so valuable. Michael Murphy, in his recent book on Dying and living, clearly outlines how important and how valuable all of the facets of our life experiences are -- including death.

Posted by Jacob Reider, MD at 04:02 AM | Permalink