Shout Outs

Dr. Romanzi's Urogynics Blog is the host for this week’s “International Health” issue of Grand Rounds! You can read this week’s edition here.

Welcome to Grand Rounds May 3, 2011, the official blog of Better Health: smart health commentary.

This week’s medical blog sampler brings you fresh perspectives on

INTERNATIONAL HEALTH

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Dr. Wes has been doing a great job of investigative reporting on the issue of  the use of RFID tags at meetings:

What They Know (April 6, 2011)

ACC Explains the Use of RFID Tags on Attendee's Name Badges (April 20, 2011)

The Implications of Physician Tag and Release (April 24, 2011) – read the comments on this one, including the AMA’s

ACC Responds (Again) to Why They Track Their Membership (April 29, 2011)

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Shared on twitter by @docgurley -- “Here's an article every American should read: An outsider's view of our journalists' coverage of healthcare reform: http://ow.ly/4I0bQ”

As a Brit looking back on the AHCJ conference which ended just a week ago, I have to say that the overwhelming impression I took away was that Americans appear to love their health insurance companies more than almost anything else, and that US health journalists appear to be less critical and analytical in approaching health reform and health policy than when they report on new drugs and treatments. …….

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Another link shared on twitter.  This one via @Berci to an article on gene expression:  The royal wedding and outbreeding 

In the wake of the post from earlier this week on the inbreeding within the House of Windsor (and current lack thereof), Luke Jostins, a subject of the British monarch, has a nice informative post up, Inbreeding, Genetic Disease and the Royal Wedding. This tidbit is of particular interest:

In fact, eleventh cousins is a pretty low degree of relatedness, by the standard of these things. A study of inbreeding in European populations found that couples from the UK are, on average, as genetically related as 6th cousins (the study looked at inbreeding in Scots, and in children of one Orkadian and one non-Orkadian. No English people, but I would be very suprised if we differed significantly). 6th cousins share about 0.006% of their DNA, and thus have about a 0.06% chance of developing a genetic disease via a common ancestor. …..

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Did you read the post on KevinMD by Chris Rangel, MD: “Why some EMR programmers think physicians are stupid”?  The first paragraph:

Every major industry is now computerized with one glaring exception; health care delivery. Thirty years after Steve Jobs began selling personal computers out of his garage, far less than 50% of physician practices and hospitals have converted to any form of electronic medical record.

I read the article, but kept coming back to this one paragraph.  Do you know of any other industry who is not allowed to raise their fees to pay for the implementation of adding this new technology to the business?  I can’t think of any.   Cost is one of the big barriers here. 

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The winner of the Alliance for American Quilts 2011 contest has been announced.  To see the full winners list  go here (photo credit)

And the Grand Prize winner is...Jamie Fingal of Orange, California! Jamie's quilt, "Soul Sisters," a tribute to her friendship with fellow quiltmaker Leslie Tucker Jenison…..Congratulations to everyone who made a quilt. Paducah audiences love your quilts!

Mine does not even compare.  Great work Jamie!