April 5th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
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We learn from the healthcare reform bill that the federal government will help subsidize Medicaid funding for all the new patients who qualify, but they will only do it for two years. After that, the states are on their own. Medicaid unfunded liabilities will crush state governments everywhere.
Why is Medicaid so expensive and going bankrupt? I’ll give you one example why. This is played out day after day, night after night in communities all across our country. And the only ones paying for it are you and me. The ones spending all the money have no incentive to stop.
I’m in the ER the other day when I see a chief complaint fly by on the radar. What is that chief complaint, you ask? Let me tell you a story.
Refused By Detox
The patient was so drunk even the community detox center refused him. So how did this play out? The patient was taken by ambulance from his home to a small-town community ER for altered mental status. There he was checked into the ER and seen by a small-town community ER physician, family practice resident, or PA or NP.
Diagnosis: Acute alcohol intoxication. Plan: Discharge to community detox center. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
November 14th, 2009 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Quackery Exposed
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Yesterday, the real-life mailbox brought the Pharmboy household the Fall 2009 issue of DukeMedicine connect, a biannual publication on current news from the Duke University Health System. Produced by DUHS Marketing and Creative Services, it “strives to offer current news about health topics of interest” to its readers. This issue is not yet online but you can see the Spring 2009 issue here.
What caught my eye was a cover teaser titled “Detox Delusion” and an article on detoxification diets focusing on an interview with Beth Reardon a nutritionist with Duke Integrative Medicine. (The articles sadly don’t have bylines so I can only give credit to the editor, Kathleen Yount.)
The article focuses on the fallacy of detoxification diets, extreme and sometimes dangerous regimens of purges, enemas, supplements, herbs, with the misguided goal of clearing one’s body of “toxins.” These amorphous toxins are never named, much less denoted with an IUPAC chemical name, but prey upon the fears of our “chemical” environment. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata - PostRank (PostRank: All)*
April 9th, 2009 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Quackery Exposed
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I got this in the mail today.
The spam filter didn’t work 100%. I know.
Why even post it? Just to comment on a society where people ask me “is it safe?” when I prescribe a medication for them and yet value the fact that people in Hollywood do something. Most of the people in Hollywood are idiots and are surrounded by more idiots.
Let me reassure you:
- Your body is not “full of toxins.” When it is, your liver and kidneys are designed to handle those “toxins” and will do so far better than anything someone tries to sell you.
- Diets only work when they restrict calories.
- Your colon is fine and does not deserve to be regularly “cleansed.” Colonics have been around since the early 1900’s (maybe earlier) and the fact that they are still being used is only evidence of the gullibility of humans.
- Never trust something that claims to “strengthen the immune system.” It is an impossible claim to prove or disprove, and so is made with impunity.
- Look for the word “supports.” Phrases such as “supports prostate health” or “supports a healthy immune system” are big signs that you are being BS’d.
- I never give patients medicines I would not take myself in the same circumstance. I know no doctors who do. It is fine to say “why do I need this medicine?” or “Is this medication really necessary?” but to ask “is it safe?” or “doesn’t this destroy the liver?” is kind of insulting.
- I guarantee that any plan like this one will cause significant weight loss…in your wallet.
Sorry. Had to rant about this. People believe many dumb things and will until the world’s end. I feel bad for the people brought in by this and am angered at the hucksters that are fattening their wallets and misleading the uninformed.
End of Rant
*This post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind.*
