Simple, easy, doable. You have the power to improve your health without spending a dime.
23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health? (by DocMikeEvans via @CBM)
Doctors, are you aware of your online reputation?
Go, Google yourself, I’ll wait…
So, what did you find? Your practice website? A review on Yelp? You should be cognizant of what is out there with your name on it, and how you can tailor that information to attract potential patients and ultimately to your advantage.
Today’s patient is an “e-patient.” In greater and greater numbers, patients are searching for health information on their own before seeking help from a healthcare provider. They have a specific symptom, they have a specific insurance, and they want to know who in their region is best suited to treat them, and when they can schedule an appointment.
Acknowledging the needs of these empowered patients and engaging in the rapidly growing social media discourse will only serve to improve the health of your patients and the success of your practice.
“When it comes to Web sites for services providers, there is a simple formula for success: Establish your expertise. Gain the trust of your visitors. And give them an easy way to get in touch with you.” - Gabriel Shaoolin
Great (potential) news on the horizon for those afflicted with an autoimmune disease, stem cell treatment may be a verifiable option in your future disease management plan…stay tuned for more news & click on the link below to get a firsthand account of the recipients experience.
November 22, 2011: Researchers in China, Japan, Germany, South Korea and the United States have started studying the effects of STEM CELL infusions in autoimmune patients. The good news? IT WORKED. The treatments were successful in Lupus/RA patients, MS patients and for patients whose hearing was lost due to autoimmune disease (their hearing RETURNED COMPLETELY) without any side effects. Though this is not a cure, it is a huge step towards better disease management and a better understanding of these diseases. Hopefully this treatment will become more accessible to the rest of us that don’t have $25,000 laying around.
“Other autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis, atopic dermatitis, and rheumatoid arthritis were not able to be treated with existing medication. However, these illnesses became manageable with stem cell treatment.” It has also been used for Crohn’s and various other AA diseases, even Fibromyalgia.
To read a detailed account of one man’s treatment experience with this new therapy, check out this article.
Quit smoking now. Your body will thank you.
Smoking ages you by up to 19 years.
Here’s the best way I know to quit.
(by Hungry Man UK)
"When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a half-dozen years ago that preteen girls be vaccinated against human papillomavirus, two things happened.
A lot of parents and some conservative groups were jarred by the idea of immunizing young girls against a sexually transmitted virus. And uptake of the vaccine has been poor — only about a third of 13- to 17-year-old girls have gotten the full three-shot series.
Now, in the wake of a CDC expert panel’s recommendation to extend vaccination to 11- and 12-year-old boys, there’s reason to think things might be different this time.
“There’s been a surprisingly muted reaction,” says Dr. Don Dizon, a Brown University oncologist. “We tend to believe that girls are chaste and are going to ‘save themselves for marriage.’ But, you know, sexual activity is something that’s almost expected of boys."
A lot of parents and some conservative groups were jarred by the idea of immunizing young girls against a sexually transmitted virus. And uptake of the vaccine has been poor — only about a third of 13- to 17-year-old girls have gotten the full three-shot series.
Now, in the wake of a CDC expert panel’s recommendation to extend vaccination to 11- and 12-year-old boys, there’s reason to think things might be different this time.
“There’s been a surprisingly muted reaction,” says Dr. Don Dizon, a Brown University oncologist. “We tend to believe that girls are chaste and are going to ‘save themselves for marriage.’ But, you know, sexual activity is something that’s almost expected of boys."
— Why HPV Vaccination Of Boys May Be Easier : Shots - Health Blog : NPR (via robot-heart-politics)
(via lauraemily)
Tomorrow at 11 a.m. Secretary Clinton will be delivering remarks on HIV/AIDS. We hope the ‘positive announcement’ she makes is that more people will be put on treatment to #reverseAIDS. New scientific evidence shows that treatment is also a form of prevention, as it reduces the risk of transmission of HIV from one person to another by 96 percent.
The Clinton camp to release new HIV/AIDS info tmrw @11am, stay-tuned! #reverseAIDS
Did You Know
Initial gains seen in strength are not due to muscle strength? It is actually due to neural adaptation where the nervous system learns to more efficiently fire existing or activate more motor units during contraction.
(Source: NASM)
Malaria Vaccine
Not very surgical, but very important in society today, and since I’m learning about the virus that causes malaria in school right now, it must get posted.
Each year there are more than 225 million cases of malaria, with 780 thousand people dying from it. A vaccine for malaria was hard to create because the virus exists in many different forms, sporozites, merozoites, and gametocytes, living mainly inside cells escaping immune system detection. Also its’ very high rate of mutation, leads to constant evolution of drug-resistant strains.
But, Final-stage trial data released on Tuesday showed new vaccine gave protection against clinical and severe malaria in five- to 17-month-olds in Africa, where the mosquito-borne disease kills hundreds of thousands of children a year.
This is still a trial, but it looks more promising then ever. There is no such thing as impossible for medicine.
click-through for more.
(Source: mediclopedia)
Better red than dead
Red blood cells (or erythrocytes, derived from the Greek erythros for “red” and kytos for “hollow”) are the most common type of blood cell in the human body. They are also enormously abundant: Roughly one-quarter of the estimated 50 to 100 trillion that comprise a human body are red blood cells.
Erythrocytes live relatively short, fast lives. Approximately 2.4 million are produced every second in a person’s bone marrow, a process called erythropoiesis. It takes about seven days to make a mature cell. Each lives for approximately 100-120 days before being recycled.
Red blood cells have one essential job: To take up oxygen in the lungs and release it while completing a circuit through the body. Each circulation takes just 20 seconds.
Their color and shape are indicators of what they do. Each erythrocyte is basically a small bag of cytoplasm (unlike other cells, they lack a nucleus) rich in hemoglobin, an iron-containing biomolecule that temporarily binds to oxygen molecules. It’s the iron that gives the cells their reddish hue. Their concave or dimpled shape is a product of efficiency: It allows for carrying the maximum amount of oxygen while still permitting each cell to speed quickly and unhindered through the tiniest of capillaries, roiling along with millions of its peers.
Doctor.com - Connecting You With Care™
Doctor.com is dedicated to helping patients connect with the health care providers best suited to address their specific needs and preferences. Our easy-to-use interface and powerful search tools help people and businesses find and connect with the medical professionals who can best meet their needs.
Patients can explore more than two million profiles of doctors, dentists, phychologists, therapists, alternative medicine practitioners, and other medical professionals in the United States. Users can filter their searches by location, specialty, accepted health insurance plans, and other highly-specific criteria.
Doctor.com also focuses on establishing a strong community between visitors and medical professionals. Patients can rate and review their experience with providers who’ve treated them, and providers are empowered to respond to these comments, network with one another, and engage new potential patients through the site.
For Doctors and Medical Professionals
For doctors and other medical professionals, Doctor.com is the ideal venue to establish online credibility, increase awareness of your practice, generate new business, and strengthen relationships with patients.
Every month, millions of searches are conducted on Doctor.com. Users visit the site for many different reasons; here are some of the most common:
- To find a new primary care provider or specialist in their area who accepts their health insurance plan
- To look up a provider who’s been recommended to them (or to whom they have been referred)
- To rate and review providers with whom they currently have a relationship
- To look up a practice’s contact information, office hours, directions, etc
Our professional users are the most important part of our business. We pride ourselves on protecting their privacy, making it easy for profile data to be updated, and constantly innovating to improve their experience on Doctor.com.
