January 6th, 2012 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Research
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It’s time for some good news! A study that looked at online patient ratings about their physicians from 2004 through 2010 showed that the average physician rating was 9.3 out of 10. That is amazingly high and shows that patients (at least the ones who posted on Dr.Score) are very content with the care they receive from their doctor. Even though some patients will post a nasty comment about the doctor, the overall patient satisfaction is high. Seventy percent of doctors earned a perfect 10.
The survey asked patients to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
December 31st, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in News, Opinion
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| Kwashiorkor in Niger |
Is it plausible that one small hospital in rural Northern California treated 1,030 cases of Kwashiorkor within a two year period?
Before you answer that, let me explain what Kwashiorkor is. It is a severe form of protein malnutrition…starving to death actually. It is the type of starvation you see in African children. It is so severe that the patient needs special nutritional support including special re-feeding with vitamins and it occurs mainly in children ages 1-4. Adults can starve to death, but they do not develop classic Kwashiorkor.
Medicare pays hospitals a flat rate based on diagnosis codes for patients. Patients with more severe coded illnesses get paid at a much higher rate. Shasta Regional Medical Center, located in Redding, Shasta County, California is under the microscope for billing Medicare (our tax dollars at work) for 1,030 cases of Kwashiorkor to the tune of $11,463 for each diagnosis. This medical center is Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
December 25th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Health Tips
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Severe osteoarthritis of the hands
One of my patients came to see me today with severe right knee pain. This is not a new problem, and in fact, we have been dealing with flare ups of her osteoarthritis for years. It mainly affects her knees and hands and today her right knee was swollen and felt like the “bone was rubbing together” with each step. She could hardly walk because of the pain.
Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative arthritis and it is one of the most common maladies of aging joints, affecting millions of people. The cartilage in joints wears down and inflammation causes the bones to build up spurs and small micro tears. It affects women more than men and the cause is unknown. There are likely genetic factors as it tends to run in families. Arthritis can occur in any joint but the most common are the fingers, wrists, hips, neck and spine and knees. Stiffness (especially in the morning) and pain are the main symptoms that limit mobility.
You can see Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
December 18th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Health Tips, News
2 Comments »
Women have been told they should have screening for cervical cancer with a pap test every year. The visit to the gynecologist or internal medicine physician has been a right of passage for most young women and most are very compliant with that annual visit throughout their lives.
Well, the times they are a-changin’ because new guidelines issued by the US Preventative Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society say women should undergo screening NO MORE OFTEN than every 3 years starting at age 21. To further strengthen this recommendation, even the American Society for Clinical Pathology (those folks that read the pap smears) agrees with the recommendation. They also recommend stopping routine pap smears after age 65 for women who have had 3 negative Pap test results in the past 10 years. These women are just not at high risk.
So why the change? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
December 13th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Research
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A study published in the journal Academic Pediatrics reveals that 93% of California children’s hospitals offered unhealthy food to outpatients, visitors and staff in the cafeteria and snack bars. Said another way, only 7% offered healthy food. What did these foods consist of to be called “unhealthy”? Try fried food, sweetened beverages, burgers and lots of sugary sweets.
The study found that 81% of the cafeterias placed high-calorie, high-sugar items like ice cream right by the cash register, a well known marketing plan to tantalize and increase selection. Forty four percent didn’t even offer low calorie salad dressing and fewer than 1/3 had no nutrition information.
Health care workers, like the rest of America, suffer from increasing obesity. One study showed over 54% of Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
It’s time for some good news! A study that looked at online patient ratings about their physicians from 2004 through 2010 showed that the average physician rating was 9.3 out of 10. That is amazingly high and shows that patients (at least the ones who posted on Dr.Score) are very content with the care they receive from their doctor. Even though some patients will post a nasty comment about the doctor, the overall patient satisfaction is high. Seventy percent of doctors earned a perfect 10.
