How Much Paperwork for a Doctor and Other Professions?

Image courtesy of Gualberto107 at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net The Annals of Internal Medicine recently published a paper which investigated how much time a doctor spends on paperwork after following 57 U.S. physicians in family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, and orthopedics who were observed for 430 hours, 21 of whom also completed after-hours diaries. The conclusion was during a typical day, 27.0% of their total time was on direct clinical face time with patients and 49.2% on "…

12/17/2016 0

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How Fast Should an Emergency Tracheostomy Take?

Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net When faced with an emergency airway situation, a surgical airway may be required in order to save a person's life. Such surgical airways include emergency tracheostomy or cricothyroidotomy. The main question here is how quickly should such a procedure take in order for it to be considered a success? Clearly, it should take less than 4 minutes given that is how long a brain can survive without oxygen before permanent damage sets in…

2/04/2016 0

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Germs Are Winning the Antibiotics Arms Race

When human scientists develop a new antibiotic to kill a germ... how long do you think it takes before germs develop a resistance to the antibiotic? 10 years? 20 years? If only that was true... In reality, it's only a few years now (typically less than three years). Check out this table made by the CDC that shows when an antibiotic was created by humans on one side and when germs develop a resistance on the other side. Some interesting things to note from the table: - Penici…

1/05/2016 0

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The Fallacy of Hard Work for Determining Healthcare Costs

Image courtesy of stockimages at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net One day, I lost the key to a safe deposit box I keep in the house. I called the locksmith who came and got the door to the safe open with his lock-picks in under 3 minutes. The charge? $400. For many people, this charge may seem outrageous. $400 for 3 minutes of work? If it had taken the locksmith an hour, most people would probably not have complained about a $400 charge, because he put in a lot of "hard work." What peo…

9/10/2015 0

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Hearing Loss Over Time

It is well-known that professional musicians have a higher risk of hearing loss and tinnitus compared to non-musicians. According to one study , the risk for musicians is 1.5x for hearing loss and nearly 4x for tinnitus. And although people understand that as you get older, hearing loss increases, what is less clear is how quickly hearing loss occurs over time. After analyzing over 3 million subjects , here is the graph of hearing loss with age. Intuitively, I thought there would have bee…

5/03/2014 0

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Unhappy with Your Appointment Day/Time with your Doctor?

A common complaint for patients is how long it may take to get in to see a medical specialist. A new patient appointment may be 1-2 weeks away when an earlier appointment may be desired. What to do? Of course, one can call around to every single specialist office in the region to see who has the next earliest appointment. Other options which may work just as well include the following: • Do NOT limit yourself to a specific day of the week and time. Always use the phrase "the very…

8/24/2013 0

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Why Do Culture Results Take So Long? [video]

One of the most common questions I get after obtaining a culture of pus whether from the ear or the nose is how long it takes before the culture results are back... especially when MRSA is a concern. Does it take a few hours? 24 hours? Days? Disappointingly, it can take up to 5+ days if not longer. You want to know why? Well, rather than explaining, watch a  6-minute video  that explains the numerous steps that goes into providing a diagnosis after a culture has been obtained... in th…

4/02/2013 0

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Why Do Biopsy Results Take So Long? [video]

One of the most common questions I get after a surgical procedure is how long it takes before biopsy results are back... especially when a mass was removed and there is a cancer concern. Does it take a few hours? 24 hours? Days? Disappointingly, it can take up to 7 days if not longer. You want to know why? Well, rather than explaining, watch a 6-minute video that explains the numerous steps that goes into providing a diagnosis after a mass is removed... in this particular case, a neck …

2/28/2013 1

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How to Save Time Doing Healthcare Social Media: A Primer for Physicians

Followers, friends, and colleagues of mine often think that I spend HOURS doing social media everyday; reading, writing, and posting to all the various social media outlets I participate in including Blog (the one you are reading), Twitter , Facebook , YouTube , Google+, and LinkedIn. Nothing can be further from the truth. Beyond writing blog posts which does take time... I probably spend about 30 minutes daily reading and sharing. My reading lists typically is from customized Twitter list…

7/07/2012 0

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For a Physician, When is the Best Time To Tweet or Publish a Blog?

According to professional bloggers and tweeters, timing of content publication is important in order to maximize getting noticed and shared. From a general topics viewpoint (not healthcare specific; data taken from here ): 4PM Eastern is the best time to Tweet Friday is the best day to Tweet 9AM Eastern is the best time to Facebook share Saturday and Sunday are the best days to Facebook share In the morning is the best time to blog Publishing a different blog article multiple times thr…

12/11/2011 1

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Home Allergy Shots

DISCLAIMER: This post is not meant to condone or promote allergy shots to be given at home. It is meant to promote discussion and make patients aware of the issues involved. Allergy shots , unlike medications like claritin and flonase , offer patients with significant allergies a way to potentially be cured of their misery without the need for daily medication use. However, there is a small, but substantial risk for anaphylaxis and even death with allergy shot administration. After all, a…

3/20/2011 0

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Disfigured Teen on Cover of Time Magazine To Receive Reconstructive Surgery in US

As reported on MSNBC on August 6, 2010, the Afghan teen on the cover of Time Magazine (Aug 9, 2010) will receive reconstructive surgery to repair the disfigurement of her face. The surgery will be done by Dr. Peter Grossman , a plastic surgeon. For those who don't know, the teen's nose was cut off as punishment from running away from her abusive husband.

8/07/2010 0

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