New Physician Directory Smartphone App

I don't know about you, but one of the most frustrating things about online doctor info sites is that they bury key information like phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses, etc. As such, I've developed a new online physician directory called NovaDr. com that has all this information within 3 clicks, whether online or thru the smartphone app. Currently this directory contains doctor information for only 5 hospital systems in Northern Virginia including Fauquier Health , Haymarket M…

9/23/2015 0

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Doctors Incorrectly Diagnose Symptoms 10-15% of the Time

Although we all like to think doctors are infallible... we are far from it. Studies on doctors' diagnostic skills have consistently shown error rates around 10-15% based on different approaches. Why aren't we better? It's because human biology is complex and doctors are human. When a patient comes in with a symptom... let's take dizziness ... there are numerous possible causes for this particular symptom: stroke, medication side effect, alcohol intoxication, BPPV , Meniere…

7/18/2015 0

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Christopher Chang, MD Doppelgangers

Every once in a blue moon, I ( Christopher Chang, MD ) get contacted meant for one of my doppelgängers who has the same name as me and also a physician. However, I recently received one phone call that was particularly interesting as it came from the surgery department of INOVA Fairfax, a hospital system 45 minutes east of where I work. As I was talking on the phone, mentally I was thinking... What in the world is the person talking about? Plastic surgery? Need to attend a meeting? WHO IS T…

7/04/2015 0

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Why are Magazines So Old in Doctor Waiting Rooms?

It certainly is a complaint in our practice... Why is it that magazines in doctor waiting rooms (including ours) tend to be so outdated??? And not just old, but the "boring" ones? One factor is that an office staff member has been negligent in replacing old magazines with new ones. Another is that... gasp... patients are stealing the new ones??? Researchers in New Zealand set out to study this common complaint and did find that new magazines tend to "disappear" resultin…

12/13/2014 0

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Lawsuit Over Neck Cancer Misdiagnosed by Smell

In December 2012, a physician assistant (PA) excised a 3 cm right neck mass from a patient. In perhaps one of the more bizarre steps taken in this case, the physician assistant than smelled the excised mass, declared it non-cancerous, and threw it out in the garbage. Unfortunately, it was actually cancer which was correctly diagnosed 6 months later after the mass which had regrown was excised and sent to pathology by a doctor. The patient ultimately underwent a radical neck dissection and …

8/01/2014 0

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Malpractice Lawsuit for Nerve Damage Sustained After Neck Cyst Excision

Earlier this month, a malpractice lawsuit resulted in a $4 million dollar award to the patient plaintiff who suffered permanent nerve damage after a family practice physician excised a cyst from the neck. [ link ] Briefly, the patient visited the family physician in July 2009 for a lump in his left neck . The family physician recommended that the mass be surgically excised which was subsequently performed by the same family physician (not a surgeon) in the office. After the procedure, the p…

9/06/2013 0

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