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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

An Ethics Nightmare - Health Care Law

Well, the health care community is now bringing up that topic that makes us all cringe...the "I-hate-when-my-patient-comes-into-the-office-and-demands-a-certain-test-or-a-certain-medication." It's true. My Mom does that. She googles all her symptoms and tells her clinician what she needs. Funny thing is...sometimes she is right! But Doctors would never admit that! The point is, some medical tests are not necessary for some symptom presentations, even if a patient demands a certain test. And if the doctor orders the "unnecessary test," then we waste money. All the news outlets are writing about how this new health care law will need an infinite budget, because if you make a budget, it means someone somewhere will be denied something. So there's talk of making health care guidelines, and CNN has an article today where some doctor said there should be a payment system that denies reimbursement for unnecessary medicine and protect doctors from malpractice. What? So let me get this straight...in other words...some doctor can decide I don't need an MRI for my headache, and because that doctor says it's "unnecessary," then if I end up with an undetected brain tumor, I can't sue him???? Ridiculous! Bottom line...this new health care bill has opened a huge can of wiggling ethical worms. How are we going to pay this infinite budget? And if we need to make a budget...who is going to decide what is paid for and what isn't? Obama was negligent to sign this into law before examining the ethics piece. Look how long we have been debating stem cell research. This is no different. It needed to be examined by a medical ethics board and debated by professionals. We should sue Obama for malpractice and negligence for signing the bill.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Legal Marijuana better than legal alcohol

California wants to legalize marijuana. Good idea! Why not? You can drink lots of liquor and get impaired and drive...so why not smoke lots of pot and get impaired and drive? Last night Fox News had Nancy Pelosi's daughter on talking about how she would have a problem with people smoking pot in a bar, getting high, and then getting behind the wheel. Really? But she is ok with people drinking in the bar, getting intoxicated, and then getting behind the wheel? What's the difference? Actually, as an NP in an ER I can tell you there is a BIG difference. The ER is filled on a daily basis with drunk people seeking help. Withdrawal from alcohol is lethal...deadly. Withdrawal from pot is...nothing. Alcohol withdrawal costs the hospital millions of dollars yearly and takes up the majority of inpatient beds! The average person does not know this fact. No pot smokers are tying up hospital beds. The Lancet just published an article stating that raising the price of alcohol can reduce consumption, illness, and premature deaths in drinkers and reduce the burden on health care systems. There have been days I've gone to work and every ICU bed was filled with a person in severe, life-threatening, alcohol withdrawal. No pot smokers in the ICU. The political talking heads should be asking the health care professionals about legalizing pot. Nancy Pelosi's daughter has no basis for her decisions regarding legalizing pot. Alcohol is far more dangerous and eats up far more health care dollars than any other social issue. The politicians are in the dark about this topic. I think we should legalize marijuana. I think we should tax alcohol, not soda. Smoking is smoking, the cancer risks are there for pot just like cigarettes. Just give the people the information...tell them the risks of alcohol and the risks of smoking pot. Then let the people decide if they want to drink and smoke. Then tax it. I can see it now...going to a local bar and having a "back room" where you can smoke pot. Where the bartender can take your keys if he/she thinks you are too impaired to drive. The potential for entrepreneurs is limitless!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Throwing Tea Bags at a Party vs. Getting a Job

The tea pot is boiling over! People are gathered at poor Harry's house, and somewhere someone broke a window. Sarah Palin enticed the crowd to "reload." Well this is hard for me because I'm all for having a gun and I'm all for protests. But this tea party thing is...I don't know...maybe misguided? I like Sarah Palin too! But I'm thinking that so many people are showing up for the tea parties because they all got extensions on their unemployment and therefore have no incentive what-so-ever to find a job. It seems that too many people have too much time on their hands. Here's a helpful hint, if the government wants the tea parties to cease...then the government needs to stop giving handouts so that people will need to spend their free time job hunting and writing their resumes...not rioting in Harry's neighborhood. It's just like having an after-school-program for kids...when the kids are busy with sports and extracurricular activities, then they aren't smoking pot and doing crimes! See how easy this is! Stop extending unemployment benefits, and watch the tea party madness end. Change won't come from reloading and rock throwing...change will come when it's time to vote, that's when Americans can make a difference.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

New Health Care Laws DON'T Create Better Health Care Access

Well it's signed, sort of a done deal for now, even though the States will appeal it all the way to the Supreme Court. You know what I'm talking about...Health Care Legislation. So now ALL Americans will have to purchase health insurance. But those of us in the health care business know that having health insurance doesn't equal having access to care. Just this month, The journal Cancer, revealed research out of Dartmouth Medical School that states, "When African American and white cancer patients are treated at similar specialized cancer care institutions, mortality rates are roughly equal," yet overall cancer mortality among African Americans is significantly higher that among white patients. This study shows what those of us in health care already know...where patients are treated can greatly influence outcomes. So Joe Smith who lives in rural North Dakota and Jane Doe who lives in New York City can now have the same health insurance plans thanks to Obama...but in the end it doesn't matter, because the disparity in access to care has not changed, and Joe Smith is more likely to die...even though Joe and Jane have the same illness. Oh, and because Joe Smith and Jane Doe were forced by the government to buy insurance, Joe's family doesn't have any money left over to pay for his funeral.

Physical Feelings From Relationships

Martha's question: I'm 24 & have been dating my boyfriend for about 5 months & every time he can't reach me he lashes out so hard. I noticed recently when he says he is coming I start choking, running out of breath, my heart starts pounding sometimes I just detach from myself. Does it mean I have a Panic disorder even if its just with him & how do I get help? thanks!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Another 30+ Years of Sex

Well this is some good news right!?! So healthy people in their 30s will have
another 30 years of mind-blowing bedroom antics! As I read the study, it got even better for us older folks...at age 55, we can expect 10-15 more years of sex. But then I read more and it said, "Men appear to have more sex for a greater part of their lives because women tend to live longer than men, thus outliving their marriages." Then it got worse...in the age group 75-85, "38.9% of men were sexually active versus 16.8% of women and 41.2% of men were interested in sex versus 11.4% of women." Kind of depressing for us ladies don't you think? Luckily, I can offer some research realities. Numbers can fit into any statistic you want. Your own perception is your reality. And I know there are plenty of 70-something hot mamas having sex and enjoying it! So forget the stats...let's create our own future!

Thanks to:

Tessler Lindau S, Gavrilova N "Sex, health, and years of sexually active life gained due to good health" BMJ 2010; DOI: 101136/bmj.c810.

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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Dangers of Alcohol Withdrawal

I think my boyfriend drinks too much. He drinks pretty much every day! When I bug him long enough, he'll stop drinking and then after a couple of days he complains that he's seeing things! He says he sees bugs and people that aren't there and then he says he needs to drink again to make the "visions" go away. Is he making that up just so he can drink again?

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Doctors Don't Get Paid Enough?

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/11/news/economy/health_care_doctor_incomes/index.htm


Well boo-hoo-hoo! Doctors are crying because nurse anesthetists now make more money than they do! And this CNN article states that without any primary care doctors, "who is going to triage?" I can answer this question! The Emergency rooms will! As an NP in an ER, I can tell you, when people can't get appointments with community doctors, they come straight to the ER for their care! So here we are, running around the same circle in this health care debate. Whose gonna do what? To all the MDs out there, join a union! You want better things for yourselves...unionize! I'm not kidding here. Historically speaking, when times got tough for the masses of worker bees, they rebelled, they collected, and one big voice was able to push back management. Sorry to disappoint all the MDs who thought they were above such blue collar shenanigans. Join the ranks, because guess what, doctors charging outrageous fees and engaging in fraud is what led the insurance companies to cap them. Who doesn't love that old-time saying...shoot yourself in the foot! That's what happened! So suck it up and unionize. Seriously...it's your only hope.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

New Sixth Taste Synonymous With Old Sixth Sense?

So an Australian study was just published in the British Journal of Nutrition claiming that we all have a 6th taste. Yup...we can taste sweet, sour, salty, bitter, protein-rich...and now FAT. So this study states that people who are sensitive to the taste of fat tend to eat less of it and are less likely to be overweight. They claim this new discovery will be key to reducing obesity! But weight...I mean wait! I think this is simply a new spin on an old sense. Hear me out on this one...you have a 6th sense, which is intuition. You know that feeling, it's a hunch, a gut feeling about how you should proceed with something. So when you get that feeling, you know the one, the hunch that you should quit eating the chips cause you're getting fatter by the minute...is it your 6th sense or your 6th taste? You be the judge!

Dementia and Risperdal

My mother is in a nursing home and has dementia. Why are they giving her risperdal? Isn't that for people with schizophrenia?