I’m starting this Grand Rounds with a confession: I completely suffered of lack of time for this Round’s preparation. Maybe you are wondering why, since this blog carnival is perfectly scheduled. Well, the thing is that here in Argentina winter has arrived and things are starting to get a bit more complicated than we thought. I think that most of you guessed what I am talking about. Yes! The current pandemic of Influenza A(H1N1) has settled in South America and I was hired to cover night shifts in a local hospital.
I can’t stop wondering if it’s a rational decision to give every patient above 15 years old who is symptomatic oseltamivir, as some authorities are discussing here. This time I don’t think the pharmaceutical industry had to push too hard to make authorities and patients feel the need of their product, the paranoia generated by the media is enough. What seems very clear is that as in most diseases, the best treatment is prevention.
If you are wondering what is healthcare like in Argentina , I highly recommend an analysis made by the American Evan Falchuk when he visited Buenos Aires.
Anyway, I think it’s enough of South America for now. For all of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, a real meet and great for bloggers organized by Dr. Gurley:
Now we’re calling all San Francisco Bay Area Health Bloggers – it’s time for a first, local Health Bloggers’ Meet and Greet. That’s right, we’re talking actual face-time (gasp). The date? Tuesday, July 21. The time? 5:30pm-8pm. For more details, send a link to your blog and an email to docgurleyatgmaildotcom. Join us for food, fun, friendly faces, and fomenting ideas!
Posts patients will find interesting
Barbara Kivowitz, from In Sickness and In Health, shares ideas about what to say to yourself when you relapse from a chronic condition.
Alison, from Shoot Up or Put Up feels amazed about the fact that not even a spoonful of insulin can make such a big difference in someone’s daily activities.
A recent trip was the catalyst to remind Laurie Edwards, from A Chronic Dose, that she can leave the "patient" role behind and find a new one.
Nurses always impart some wisdom
Man-Nurse talks about the ethics of giving good maternity care to women who abuse drugs, are known to be poor mothers, or are otherwise frustrating.
From Australia, Nurse Ausmed thinks that good suction technique can help save HDU and ICU admissions, but there must be sufficient staff, time, and education.
Barbara, from On your Meds, writes about how the Institute for Safe Medication Practices got it’s start at the dinnertable of two remarkable front line clinicians.
Residents’ first month experiences
Anonymous Doc has started a blog about his/her first experiences as a first year resident. I hope he/she can keep up with two time consuming tasks such as residency and blogging. Enjoy the first day!
Mudphudder is also starting residency, and he is trying to feel normal.
On Lantus and Cancer
From a librarian perspective, Laika sees that the results of some studies do not support a causal role for Lantus in cancer, but do give reason for some serious concern in a subset of patients.
From a patient point of view, Amy Tenderich gives us her insight on the topic.
Healthcare and insurance, controversial topics
Kim from Emergiblog feels frustrated trying to understand health care insurance.
Thanks to Dr. Kim now I am quite familiar with the concept of concierge medicine and its ethical implications.
Rich Elmore, from Healthcare Technology News analyzes electronic health records impact on failure-to-inform rates.
Doctors may be concerned about the fact that CMS proposes 21.5% physician pay cut, according to HealthBlawg.
That would be all for this edition, I thank everybody who contributed with their submissions. I wish I had some more time to include some other excellent posts, my apologies to them.