Cutting the Cord (Phone, Cable, Water, Electric, Gas)

Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net This past week, during a lull in the operating room, I mentioned how I decided to cancel my Comcast cable service in my home in order to save $80 per month. Half the operating room staff stated that they already did this 1-2 years ago whereas the other half was horrified by the perceived self-inflicted deprivation. Then came the discussion of what we all have done to try and become more self-sufficient in the pursuit of going off-th…

9/22/2018 0

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Can Cell Phones Cause Brain Tumors?

I first blogged about this possibility in 2010 [ link ], but at that time, there were too many conflicting studies that definitive conclusions could not be made though precautions were advisable. However, in May 2016, the National Institute of Health  released partial findings from a 2 year study that exposed rats to the same radio-frequency non-ionizing radiation given off by cell phones. The study found that exposure to mobile phone radiation significantly increased the prevalence of heart…

10/01/2016 0

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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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Hearing Test Administered Over the Phone

I was just made aware of this service in a Washington Post article published May 16, 2014. This screening hearing test is taken over the telephone and accomplished by listening to three-digit sequences presented in a background of white noise. The test-taker has to then enter the digits using the telephone keypad. Based on accuracy of the response, the test than adjusts the next query. Normally, the cost to take this telephone hearing test is $8, but at least for the month of May 2014, it …

5/18/2014 0

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HIPAA Compliant Text Messaging (for Free)

Let's face it... Physicians love to text message given it is fast, easy, and convenient. However, regular instant messaging (SMS, MMS) that comes with your smartphone is not secure, saved unencrypted on a server somewhere (forever), and most importantly not HIPAA or HITECH compliant. Enter the encrypted and HIPAA compliant messaging services. Though most of these services cost a nominal fee per month, there are a few and growing number of services which offer free and secure instant…

12/09/2012 0

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Sheryl Crow Blames Brain Tumor on Cell Phone Use

On the inaugural episode of Katie Couric's new talk show Katie , Sheryl Crow described her history with a brain tumor called meningioma which was found in her right temporal lobe. This diagnosis was reported in a previous blog post . Most interestingly, during the show, she blames the meningioma on excessive cell phone use years ago when she was on the phone for hours promoting her records using one of those archaic analog cell phones. The relationship between cell phone use and brain…

9/26/2012 0

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Sermo iPhone App Review

Sermo is an online physician-only forum where doctors ask other doctors for advice. It's where we post particularly thorny/difficult medical issues we encounter in our patients (no patient identifiers of course) and pick the brains of thousands of other doctors across many different specialties throughout the Unites States for assistance. For example, as an ENT, I can post a particularly unusual patient presentation that has me stumped... for example a weird rash on the face... and p…

7/05/2011 0

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Do Cell Phones Pose a Health Hazard? Do Cell Phone Companies Know About Them?

With all the recent news about increased glucose metabolism in the area of the brain in proximity to cell phone antennas  (study abstract here ), I thought it worth re-printing this blog article I wrote back in November 2010 regarding the possibility that cell phone makers may know more about health risks associated with cell phone use than they may be letting on. There's another blog article I wrote regarding what studies ARE already out there regarding risk of developing brain tumors …

2/26/2011 3

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Cell Phones Causes Brain Tumor (Acoustic Neuroma)

In 2004, there was a Swedish study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology where researchers found that the risk of developing a benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma was almost double for those who started to use phones before their diagnosis. In addition, the tumor risk was almost four times higher on the side of the head where the phone was held. An acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor that causes symptoms or ringing of the ears ( tinnitus ) as well as hearing loss.…

8/17/2010 0

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Our Practice Now Has a QuickMark Barcode!

Not sure what to do with it however at the moment, but given I am starting to see it plastered in more places, newspapers, magazines, etc, I thought I better jump on the bandwagon as well. For those not familiar with QuickMark, it is the new 2 dimensional barcodes in the shape of a square meant for mobile phone deciphering. iPhone has a couple apps to decipher using the camera. The barcode you see to the left is one for our practice... Try it out! There is a more sophisticated QuickMark …

8/05/2010 0

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New Voice-Mail Phone # for Patients With Difficulty Hearing

Due to patient demand, we have established a voice-mail phone number that our patients who have difficulty communicating over the phone due to hearing loss can call and leave a precise message on a voice mail. This service is available everyone whether new or established with our office. This avoids frustration and difficulty communicating when talking to our front desk (because you can't hear what we say over the phone). We will check this voice mail several times a day. The Audiology Voic…

11/05/2009 0

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Fauquier ENT Now Available on Your Phone!

Fauquier ENT has deployed a website optimized for viewing on a cell phone. In essence, it is a stripped down version of the main practice website. The web address for phone users is: www.FauquierENT.mobi Check it out here ! This blog you are reading has also been converted to a mobile version which can be found here . For those curious, the mobile website was created using MobiSiteGalore with some additional tweaks using Dreamweaver.

6/20/2009 0

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Voice On-Hold for Cheap!

I recently struggled with an un-named company to try and get a voice on-hold system working in our office. For those who don't know, a voice on-hold system allows there to be background music or service/product announcements to be made over the phone while a person is put on-hold. It is a captive audience good for marketing purposes. With this un-named company, we had to pay $499 to get it set up followed by a subscription of $89 per month thereafter to use a pre-recorded script made profes…

4/08/2009 0

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Phone Reminder System Upgrade

We have recently upgraded our practice's phone appointment reminder system to Televox . We hope that people like this system better than our prior system. Appointment reminders will be called 2 business days prior to a scheduled appointment. Also, we will begin calling patients who are giving themselves allergy shots at home when their allergy vial is soon going to expire. As allergy patients should know, using an expired allergy vial is dangerous and requires one to re-build back up to mai…

4/20/2008 0

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