Grand Rounds XL
Welcome to Grand Rounds XL, this week's best of the medical blogosphere.If you think HMOs are tough, wait till you hear about DrTony's encounter with a Glock-wielding dope fiend.Kevin, M.D. laments that defensive medicine means you can't treat anything over the phone anymore. Is that why DrTony's patient was so worked up?If you're wondering whether The Well-Timed Period merits its tagline, "At the intersection of medical fact and fiction," read Fetus in Fetu, about a 16 year old boy carrying his twin brother in his body, and all doubts will vanish!Information is Free explains that "the terror threat system doesn't work, on a basic logical, psychological level." Luckily the rest of the Federal government is working so smoothly.Anyone reading from pharma product development? GruntDoc wants to know, Where are the combination products for drug resistant bacteria? The recommended treatment is two drugs and pharma loves combination products --so what's up?Catallarchy picked up where my Health business blog left off on the role of technology in driving up health care costs. Turns out things are not so simple!Iatremia: The Chaplin.News reports on an innovative scheduling scheme to comply with laws limiting house staff to 80 hours per week.Despite all the abuse, Respectful Insolence (a.k.a. "Orac Knows") just can't help making one more post challenging attempts to link thimerosal and autism.Red State Moron writes about the difficulty of establishing quality measurements in OB and the pervasive culture of perfection in medicine.Turns out doctors use Google, too, according to Clinical Cases. (Maybe that's why the stock's up to $300.) Luckily, most physicians are a little more discerning than the typical layperson and don't make decisions based on what they read on blogs!Although the country has a nonviolent reputation, apparently you can get away with murder (or at least manslaughter) in Canada, as long as you're a pharmacist. Interested Participant tells us all about it.In case that's not bad enough, I pointed out in the Health business blog earlier this week that Shopping Around for the Best Prices Can Kill You.Different River tells us that providing food and beverage can be considered "heroic measures," that can be denied.Two (presidential) terms later summarizes the resolutions passed at this year's AMA meeting.Aggravated DocSurg is bent out of shape about spending public dollars on chiropractic services.In case you're stuck, HealthyConcerns has a three-part series on how one doctor is trying to escape the "trap." (He didn't have to resort to gnawing his leg off.)In the Examining Room of Dr. Charles, we learn about one man's unpleasant encounter with a ten by eleven centimeter "stool ball." (Threat level: Orange.)Insureblog wants us to give Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's compulsory health insurance plan a chance. If nothing else, it will be a good preview of Mitt's rumored run for higher office.A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure comments on the success of anesthesiologists in improving patient safety and reducing their own malpractice premiums, but laments that it may be more difficult and less successful as surgeons try to follow in their footsteps.Dr. Jennings wants us to know about Pulmonary Roundtable, a new blog for discussion of cases about pulmonary or critical care medicine.Dr. Bob writes a touching tale about a family that lost its children in a tragic plane crash in Alaska. Has anyone else noticed the number of fatal small plane crashes in Alaska? It's not a coincidence --it's dangerous.MSSPNexus Blog reflects on the competence of older physicians, drawing a parallel with firefighters. The problem sometimes isn't age, but complacency.Speaking of danger, Parallel Universes provides an update on the status of malaria in the Philippines. You can't always keep the mosquitoes away, so avoid places where malaria is endemic.Who's that lurking in the corner (and will he buy my staff some pizzas?) The Krafty Librarian reports that drug companies are keeping tabs on every prescription doctors write.Next week's Grand Rounds XLI will be hosted by self-described Connectologist, Tim Gee at Medical Connectivity. In this post, he discusses the Current State of Medical Device connectivity in hospitals.