Articles
Purchasing Considerations For Surgical Camera Systems
April 12, 2010 8:27 am | by Evan Krachman, Marketing Manager, Camera, Storage & Surgical Applications, SONY Medical | CommentsWhat are the top three considerations surgical professionals should make when purchasing surgical cameras & video systems? I believe image quality should be the first and foremost important consideration when choosing a new surgical camera. That being said, it’s not always easy or a good idea to choose a camera based on the manufacturers specifications.
Doctors And Patients, Lost In Paperwork
April 12, 2010 6:25 am | by Pauline W. Chen, MD | CommentsIn “The Hostile Hospital,” from the Lemony Snicket “Series of Unfortunate Events” books, the three young orphans at the center of the story visit the fictitious Heimlich Hospital, where Babs, the head of human resources, asks them if they know what the most important work done in a hospital is.
The Hippocritcal Oath
April 9, 2010 7:35 am | by Zoe Kiren Deol, MD, FACS | CommentsI am a physician, and a neophyte political activist. These are two separate titles that I keep wrapped up in two distinct packages. When I graduated from medical school, I took an oath to care for my patients called the “Hippocratic Oath”. One line from that oath proclaims, “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone”.
Real Healthcare Rationing
April 7, 2010 6:32 am | by Kristina Fiore | CommentsUrologists have come up with better ways to bring attention to themselves. Some have advertised in urinals at baseball games. Others have lured patients for a vasectomy, promising a prescription of mandatory bedrest during March Madness. Dr. Jack Cassell, on the other hand, had to go create a national scandal.
Health System Improves Efficiency With Lean Management Solutions
April 7, 2010 6:27 am | CommentsAfter exploring several manufacturing companies and hospitals that were applying the Toyota Production System (TPS) to improve processes and eliminate “waste,” St. Joseph Heath System-Humboldt County in California developed their own focused commitment on improvement called “The Humboldt Way.
If They Could Only All Be Taken To Rampart Hospital
April 6, 2010 7:09 am | CommentsTrauma surgery for me is a whole lotta non-operative care interspersed with occasional surgery for things like a ruptured spleen. This is because I don't practice in a large urban center, and most of the trauma patients I care for have suffered blunt force injuries rather than penetrating ones. For most of the non-physician population, the idea of trauma surgery is heavily influenced by television—shows like "E.
Sharps Injuries Increase In Surgical Settings After Passage Of National Needlestick Legislation
April 6, 2010 7:05 am | CommentsA recently-published study finds that many surgical teams and hospitals are not using devices and procedures proven to reduce the risk of accidental needle sticks in the OR. April 6, 2010 The operating room (OR) is a high-risk area for occupational sharps injuries and bloodborne pathogen exposure.
Humans
April 5, 2010 6:09 am | by Dr. Rob | CommentsOn the Facebook page of my podcast, I recently asked for readers to tell me some of the “war stories” they have from the doctor’s office. What are some of the bad things doctors do wrong? I quickly followed this with the flip-side, asking readers to comment on the best interactions that they’ve had with their doctors.
The Embryonic Heart: Imaging Life As It Happens
April 5, 2010 6:03 am | CommentsKirill Larin, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at UH, works in his lab documenting the formation of the mammalian heart through a high-resolution, noninvasive imaging device, providing perhaps the best live imagery taken of the vital organ. Kirill Larin, assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the Cullen College of Engineering at UH, and his colleagues in the Texas Medical Center are documenting the formation of the mammalian heart through a high-resolution, non-invasive imaging device, providing perhaps the best live imagery taken of the vital organ.
Turning Away
April 2, 2010 8:20 am | by Bruce Campbell, MD | CommentsThe e-mail message about my long-term patient was disturbing. In retrospect, her initial cancer treatment had been nothing short of a miracle. A large tumor of the mouth was completely controlled with a limited surgery and radiation therapy. When her cancer recurred again a few years later, treatment again came to the rescue.
A New Chance To Strengthen An Eroding Bond
March 30, 2010 6:25 am | by Pauline W. Chen, MD | CommentsAt a wedding recently, I met a woman, a freelance photographer in her early 40s. She was intrigued by my work as a doctor and began asking me questions related to her own health. When she showed me a picture of herself with her four children, I realized why. This gaunt woman had lost almost 20 pounds in the month since the photo had been taken and, despite efforts to stop the weight loss, was still losing more.
Surgical Brainstorm
March 30, 2010 6:21 am | by Sheila Judge, Business Development Manager, Pressurecare for Trulife | CommentsWhat are some key considerations surgical professionals should make when purchasing patient positioning equipment? March 30, 2010 1.Identify the high-risk areas. Evaluating the patients current medical condition is vital as there are many intinsic factors (e.
What If Other Parts Of Life Were Like Healthcare?
March 29, 2010 8:27 am | by Dr. Rob | CommentsHealthcare is bizarre. Anyone who spends significant time in its ranks will attest to the many quirky and downright ludicrous things that go on all the time. But I am not sure people realize just how strange our system is. Perhaps it would be interesting to see what it would be like if other parts of our lives were like healthcare.
An Hour A Day
March 26, 2010 6:14 am | by Crystal Phend, MedPage Today | CommentsIt took a few years of reporting on the copious health benefits of regular physical activity for me to decide that my sedentary job and utter lack of exercise was going to catch up with me. Of course it's worth the time and effort now to reduce my later risk of a heart attack, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and even cancer.
Safely Position Your Patients
March 26, 2010 6:13 am | by Peggy Forcelli, National Accounts Manager for Action Products, Inc., Medical Products Group | CommentsCompliance. Ensure your facility is following the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses’ (AORN) Recommended Practices for positioning the patient in the perioperative practice setting. As hospitals look at their statistics of hospital acquired pressure ulcers (HAPU), a new focus is turning toward looking at the surgical patient population and the realization that a certain percentage of these patients may have OR acquired pressure ulcers (ORAPUs).
