Shout Outs

Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active. 

Medgadget is the host for this week’s issue of Grand Rounds! You can read this week’s edition here.

Welcome to Grand Rounds, the weekly recap of the best in the medical blog universe! And welcome to Medgadget, where our team of researchers, doctors and engineers cover the world of medical devices and health-related technology news.

For Grand Rounds this week, we suggested bloggers send us technology-related material, and they rose to the challenge; we received some amazing links. Of course, there was great non-techie material too. It’s all below, loosely categorized, with photos and quotes lifted from posts of note.   …….

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Amazing story from BBC science reporter Neil Bowdler: Bionic hand for 'elective amputation' patient (photo credit)

An Austrian resident has voluntarily had his hand amputated so he can be fitted with a bionic limb.

The patient, called "Milo", aged 26, lost the use of his right hand in a motorcycle accident a decade ago.

….. what is called a "brachial plexus" injury to his right shoulder left his right arm paralysed. Nerve tissue transplanted from his leg by Professor Aszmann restored movement to his arm but not to his hand. ….

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angienadia, MD, Primary Dx, has written a thoughtful post on resident work hours which can be read both on her blog or on KevinMD: New ACGME work hour regulations for interns: friend or foe?

…..Libby highlighted what was and is wrong with medicine today. Private physicians cannot and should not be allowed to manage patients who are sick enough to be admitted by phone – ………

The solution stares us in the eye – interns need a stricter cap on the number of patients they can admit or care for at one time. …... Sixteen-hour shift is not the answer – it only aggravates the actual source of the problem

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Sandnsurf, LITFL, give praise to an inspiration patient: Nathan Charles

Patients are often a source of inspiration and hope.
One such stand out individual is Nathan Charles.

I first met Nathan in January of this year in my role as team doctor for the Emirates Western Force rugby union team. Nathan is a 21 year old elite athlete playing number 2 (hooker) for the Western Force. But what makes this achievement even more admirable is that he has cystic fibrosis. …………

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NPR’s Robert Krulwich writes about women in science: The Ghost Of Madame Curie Protests...

……….. I got to thinking about the not-so-subtle way women have been treated in science, even the most celebrated ones.

A few months back, I wrote a post about how the Nobel Committee (a committee of guys) in 1911 tried to get Madame Curie NOT to come and collect her second Nobel Prize. ……….

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From @enochchoi via twitter:   my #TedXHayward talk on Disaster Medical Relief http://ow.ly/4ZTt2

Disaster Medical Relief on Prezi

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Fellow medical blogger @DrJohnM wrote about some things he observed on his recent trip to Germany:   A Kentucky Doc goes to Europe

……..For now, may I highlight a few of the more striking differences between Europe and the States, as noted by a Kentuckian on his first trip across the Atlantic?

(I realize that sophisticated well-traveled people already know this stuff, but I can’t help myself.)

First...The transportation system in Europe uses much smaller vehicles……….

Second…The bikes! I was stunned by the sheer numbers of smart-looking people pedaling around on the sidewalks and streets of Hamburg……….

On healthcare:

(A disclaimer: I am only making observations and asking questions; I am not suggesting we adopt the German healthcare system after a five-day visit.)

I quickly learned that all German citizens get free healthcare. But those who desire ‘more’ care can buy additional private coverage.  ……….

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You can find some of my iPhone photos here. They are not nearly as good as the ones in this HuffPost Arts article from John Seed: The Art of iPhone Photography in Orange County (PHOTOS)

If Cartier-Bresson was still taking photos today, he would ditch his Leica and be taking photos with an iPhone. At least, that is the view of Knox Bronson, a curator, composer and iPhoneographer who has been gathering a stunning gallery of iPhone photos on his site: P1XELS the art of the iPhone.

Bronson, who is a purist, is only interested in collecting photos that have not in any way been manipulated outside of the phone by a computer:

This is one of mine (Instagram photo app with Inkwell filter of a pink rose in full bloom):

Shout Outs

Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active. 

ePatient Dave is the host for this week’s “TEDx Maastricht” issue of Grand Rounds! You can read this week’s edition here.

Welcome to Grand Rounds for May 10, 2011!
I have a confession: I’m new at this. My initial exposure to Grand Rounds a while back gave me a warped view, and as I worked on this project, I was a little bit graceless. (Those of you who wrote to me about it know what I mean. I meant well…)
This week’s theme is the TEDx Maastricht conference that happened April 4. But first -
These news highlights were submitted:

• Dr. Ed Pullen’s “Medical blog for the informed patient” is not thrilled about Vimovo, a new drug for osteoarthritis. Pullen believes in letting people know what’s going on behind the scenes. …

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Congratulations to fellow physician/blogger Dr. Chris Coppola (@chriscoppola) who shared this tweet recently:

Some exciting news! 'Coppla: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq' has won the 2011 Montaigne Medal, the Eric Hoffer award... http://fb.me/AE0vuaIA

Chris blogs at “Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq”

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Shared on twitter by @EllenRichter “Wonderful way to end Nurses Week! What an honor! "First #Nurse Nominated as Army Surgeon General" http://goo.gl/IJq3A” (photo credit)

Maj. Gen. Patricia Horoho would become the first nurse and the first woman to serve as the Army Surgeon General if the Senate confirms her nomination and simultaneous promotion to lieutenant general, which were announced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday.

Horoho currently serves as Army deputy surgeon general and 23rd chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. …

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Did you every read “The House of God” by Samuel Shem, MD? Fellow blogger @inwhiteink shared a link on twitter to a wonderful essay by Shem: Fiction as Resistance (pdf)

I was a writer before I was a doctor. From an early age I was concerned with suffering and understanding, and I often turned to stories for solace. I loved stories long before I knew they were an essence of good doctoring—shared stories that bring solace, understanding, and healing to others. …... My early answers to the question, “What is healing?” came from these stories. I still have a piece of an envelope on which I copied part of a letter Chekhov wrote to an editor who had criticized his story “Ward Number Six”: “The best of writers are realistic and describe life as it is, but because each line is saturated with the consciousness of its goal, you feel life as it should be in addition to life as it is, and you are captivated by it” (1).

Life as it should be in addition to life as it is. Without
realizing it until many years later, this would become the motor of my writing. ……….

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This past Sunday I caught this interview by CBS Sunday Morning of Christy Turlington discussing her life and her new project “Every Mom Counts

Later the same morning, I saw this tweet from @DrJenGunter

RT “@CTurlington: Pls rd my @HuffingtonPost blog posting"Sacrifices of Motherhood" 4 #MothersDay huff.to/lVYMR4 @everymomcounts”

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Ever wonder what type of tree you have encountered in the park or on a walk? Nick Genes, MD (@blogborygmi) tweeted about a new (free) iPhone app which identifies trees from photos of the leafs from on twitter: For The High-Tech Naturalist: LeafSnap Identifies Leaves Using Your iPhone’s Camera (photo credit)

I’d like an app like this for identify edible wild greens/foliage.

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Just How Dangerous Is Sitting All Day? [INFOGRAPHIC] (photo credit)  --  Remember to get up and move!

Dynamed/Skyscape

Updated 3/2017--  all links (except to my own posts) removed as many are no longer active and it was easier than checking each one.

A week ago I attended a lunch lecture on Mobile Medical Apps given by Krystal Boulden, MLIS at UAMS.  I knew about most of the ones she talked about:  Epocrates, Clini-eGuide, PubMed on Tap, PubMed for Handhelds, and RefWorks.  Of those, I only use Epocrates.
The one I didn’t know was the first one she highlighted:  Dynamed (the actual app is Skyscape).

DynaMed - Clinical reference tool provided by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Area Health Education Centers' Libraries (AHEC), Arkansas Children's Hospital Library, and the UAMS Library. Registration is required for access and renewal is required annually. Training is available through the Area Health Education Centers' Libraries and the UAMS Library. To register for DynaMed click here. To access DynaMed click here.

DynaMed is free to use, but registration is required.  It is evidenced-based, often with links to related articles.  It provides information related to the disease, diagnosis, and treatment.  I have only recently registered and been given my user/password, but with the limited “playing” around I have found it full of useful information. 

The medical app, Skyscape, is free for download from iTunes.

Choose content from top publishers, current guidelines, drug guides, interactive algorithms, calculators and much more.

Skyscape can help you find the information you are looking for:

Table of Contents Search

Incremental Search
SmartSearch™
History
Related Topics
SmartLink™

I haven’t downloaded the app so I can’t give you a personal review.  If anyone has used it, what do you think?

Looking around the UAMS Library website it appears I have not been taking full advantage of the resources they offer:

Online Resources
·  eResources | eJournals
·  eBooks | eReserves
·  Clinical Resources
·  UAMS Library Catalog
·  Mobile Devices
·  HRC Digital Collection
· Image Resources

On twitter:

@UAMS

@UAMSlibrary

Shout out to a couple of guys from MD2P.net whom I met at the meeting:  Simon Lee (@simonslee) and John Malone (@JJMal_One )

i-Surgery Notebook App Review

Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active. and it was easier than checking each one.

Thanks to Vijay for suggesting I do a review of this rare iPhone app for surgeons:  i-Surgery Notebook. 

@scanman RT @rilescat: A rare find! An iPhone app for Surgeons http://bit.ly/58MtJR - Maybe @rlbates will review it?

The app was developed by Justin Steullet.  It has been available at iTunes since October 28, 2009.  There are six reviews on iTunes as of this writing which range from “don’t buy this app it’s fatally buggy” to “nice app” to “good, not great yet.  would like to be able to add categories:  ie tourniquet time, implants used, and coding (ICD-9/CPT)”  The app costs $$4.99 but is currently on sale for $2.99.  I paid for mine.

I added the app this past week and have played around with it enough to decide on several good and weak points from my standpoint.   All the screenshots come from here.

After signing into the app, it is fairly simple to add a case.  It has crashed on me twice.

I like that as I have added the names of my hospitals/surgery centers they become a menu choice rather than needing to enter the name each time.

I like that the same happens with procedure choices, but wish that it did for the diagnosis.  It would be nice to have the ICD-9/CPT codes available.

I wish that you could add more than one diagnosis and assign the corresponding diagnosis to the correct procedure when more than one thing is done for a patient on the same day.  For example, a patient with breast ptosis who has a mastopexy but during the same encounter she has two moles removed from her face.  The only way I see to do this is to enter the patient twice with the correct diagnosis for each single procedure.

I wish the default for Emergency was no rather than yes.  There is a notes section which I used for implant type used and implant volume  (RT/LT).  I, also, used this for Tumescent volume used in liposuction along with fat aspirated.  It’s good enough for me that there is a note section for those, but if I wanted that info to be a searchable database then it wouldn’t be.

I wish there was a way to edit information once you have “saved” it for that patient.  For instance, I didn’t add anything under “service” as it’s just me in my solo practice.  That turns out to be one of the options in exporting cases, so I went back to add one like “plastics” and was unable to do so.

Because there is no way to edit the information, I would suggest you make sure you have time to get it all entered without interruption or the information will be incomplete and you won’t be able to correct it.  Editing should be allowed.  After all this is notebook to aid in dictation or billing, not a medical record.

Exporting is not completely intuitive, but turned out to be easy once I played around a little.  To export all the cases rather than just one procedure type for the day or week, you need to select the date and then hit export.  Don’t bother with filling in all the options, just the date >>export.  The information will be sent via email.  It would be nice if it was sent in the form of an Excel spreadsheet.  Still it would be useful to get information to your billing person. 

I did not try the photo section, but have feedback from a twitter acquaintance @gastromom who did:

@rlbates Review of #Isurgeon notebook. Needs a lot of work. Photo did not show up. I see potential though. Love to help customize for GI.

A previous tweet from her:

@rlbates Just downloaded the Isurgery app for the iPhone. So far,crashed twice. If it works it will be perfect for GI... Update tomorrow:)

Overall, I think it is a useful app with potential.  Good, not great.

Grand Rounds, the iPhone Edition

Updated 3/2017-- all links removed as many no longer are active.

You don't have to stand in line for this iPhone 3G edition of Grand Rounds. Just head on over to MyThreeShrinks (Shrink Rap) and settle in.

Welcome to Grand Rounds, Volume 4, #40 (see future GR schedule). If you missed our first Grand Rounds last year, with our amazing Clicky Brain, then feel free to pause and enjoy. This year, since the anticipated release of the Apple iPhone 3G is just around the corner (July 11), we asked for submissions to have some connection to the iPhone, no matter how twisted the logic is to make the connection. The bloggers obliged. So we are including, free of charge, our Clicky iPhone, which will let you visually navigate this week's Grand Rounds submissions. Of course, below that is the regular text for you old-schoolers. And if you have low vision or prefer to LISTEN to your Grand Rounds, you can get our PODCAST of it HERE.

Their Clicky iPhone is wonderful! You really need to head on over there and try it out.

Now, a request from me. I am trying to decide whether I am tech savvy enough to use the iPhone (and all it's features). I am not an Apple user. Will I be able to get it to work easily with my Windows PC to "sync" my calendar, addresses, etc? I have gotten some input from a few friends (Vijay, Symtym, Laura), but any other would be appreciated. I really want one, just want to be able to do everything without too much frustration. I don't think I am very tech savvy. Thanks for your input.