By ABBY GOODNOUGH and KATIE ZEZIMA Published: July 16, 2011 Doctors say the new drug that people call “bath salts” has unusually dangerous and long-lasting effects. Dr. Jeffrey J. Narmi could not believe what he was seeing this spring in the emergency room at Schuylkill Medical Center in Pottsville, Pa. people arriving so agitated, violent … [Read more...]
An Alarming New Stimulant, Legal in Many States
GOP Bill Would Create Health Care Tribunals
Washington -- New House legislation aims to curb the overuse of health care by establishing clinical best practices for physician services and creating health care tribunals to hear medical liability cases. "The practice of defensive medicine adds billions of dollars of unnecessary costs to our health care system and diverts doctors' focus away … [Read more...]
Benefits of Physicians Pairing Up with ASCs
How could pairing up with ambulatory surgery centers help providers of physician services? Well, according to Lanson J. Hyde, chief operating officer of Surgical Development Partners, based in Franklin, Tenn., there are five excellent ways patient care providers can benefit from teaming up with ASCs. In the recent article, "5 Reasons … [Read more...]
“The July Effect”
I was reading "CNN Health" online today and was taken back a bit when I stumbled across the lead sentence in the article titled, "Why you should never go to the hospital in July." The lead sentence reads, "Do not get sick in July. Why? You might die." Well, if that doesn't grab one's attention, I'm not sure what would. After reading the … [Read more...]
Doctors Utilize ‘Pain Contracts’ to Monitor Narcotic Use by Patients
A friend of mine was put on an opioid to manage chronic neck pain, which she had suffered as a result of an auto accident. She takes the narcotic daily, and is concerned when she is about to run out, because she experiences withdrawal symptoms. The accident happened more than a year ago and she knows that she does not need the medicine anymore, but … [Read more...]