Category Archives: Neurology

Dr. Schreiber sees 120 patients a week - 30% of them are enrolled directly in Medicare, while another 65% have private insurance plans that peg their payments on Medicare's rates. Only 5% pay on their own.

Medicare pays between 63-72% of the costs for Schreiber's patients.

"Martin Young still has "nagging doubts about doctors who post blogs or replies about healthcare issues without giving their names.

My blog as an extension of who I am as a doctor, putting a carefully considered face to the experience of caring for the sick, as a means of drawing attention to issues that do not get into medical journals. As do most other doctors who host their own blogs.

I often look at those replies to my postings that are anonymous and think, “Who are you? Why do you think the way you do? Why will you not put a name and face to your thoughts?” My personal belief is that the anonymous person may lack conviction, confidence or courage.

I would not accept a referral from an anonymous doctor, or give advice to one. In the same way, I may read anonymous replies to my postings, but they carry much lower weight."

Although I encourage physicians to blog under their own name, I do not think we should "force" them to do so. They should not feel obliged to host their own blog either if they can use such perfectly reasonable free services such as Blogger.com by Google and WordPress.

I assembled a short list of suggestion for medical bloggers several years ago. Here it is:

Tips for Medical Bloggers

- Write as if your boss and your patients are reading your blog every day
- Comply with HIPAA
- Do not blog anonymously. List your name and contact information.
- If your blog is work-related, it is probably better to let your employer know.
- Inquire if there are any employee blogging guidelines. If there are, comply with them strictly.
- Use a disclaimer, e.g. "All opinions expressed here are those of their authors and not of their employer. Information provided here is for medical education only. It is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice."
- Get your blog accredited by the Heath on the Net Foundation

A quantitative content analysis was performed on 398 blog posts from a constructed 1-week sample of posts in WebMD, Yahoo!Health Expert Blogs, and independently hosted blogs.

Most health and medical blog posts highlighted and provided commentary pertaining to medical issues found in external media such as books, television, Web sites, magazines, and newspapers

Only 16% contained actual health or medical information.

Distinct differences in patterns of content were evident between credentialed and noncredentialed bloggers, as well as different blog hosts.

References:
Health and medical blog content and its relationships with blogger credentials and blog host. Buis LR, Carpenter S. Health Commun. 2009 Dec;24(8):703-10.

Comments from Google Buzz:

Shabber Hussain - Now if I can some how know about those 16% medical blogs that "contain actual health or medical information", it should make my day. Feb 26

Vasopressin antagonists increase the serum sodium concentration in patients who have euvolemia and hypervolemia with hyponatremia in the short term (30 days), but their safety and efficacy with longer term administration is unknown.

In a study, 111 patients with hyponatremia received oral tolvaptan (Samsca) for 700 days.

The most common adverse effects attributed to tolvaptan were pollakiuria, thirst, fatigue, dry mouth, polydipsia, and polyuria.

Mean serum sodium increased from 130.8 mmol/L at baseline to greater than 135 mmol/L throughout the observation period.

Responses were comparable between patients with euvolemia and those with heart failure but more modest in patients with cirrhosis.

In conclusion, prolonged administration of tolvaptan maintains an increased serum sodium with an acceptable margin of safety.

From TED Talks/TED Med: Traditionally, David Agus explains, cancer treatments have had a short-sighted focus on the offending individual cells. He suggests a new, cross-disciplinary approach, using atypical drugs and computer modeling.

With a 500-million large audience, many practices find that creating a Facebook presence can be an easy -- and free -- way to stay in touch with patients or attract new ones.

Businesses, including physician practices, can create something similar: pages (previously "fan pages"). Anyone on Facebook who elects to "become a fan" or like your page receives, on his or her own home page, any updates, photos, videos or Web links that you post.

Rather than having patients "friend" you on Facebook, you can direct them to this page. Having a moderator is important, because having someone dedicated to responding to people makes them feel more connected and encourages respectful and on topic discussions.

References:
Amednews: How Facebook fan pages can connect with patients.