Happy Independence Day

I know July 4th is tomorrow, but ever since 1996 when the movie Independence Day was released, I always think of this cheezy speech near the end of the movie. What can I say, I'm pretty silly, or, maybe I just need some sleep. Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while. Work has just been crazy/busy. Hopefully, more updated coming up soon.....

"We will not go quietly into the night!
We will not vanish without a fight!
We're going to live on!
We're going to survive!"
Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!

Blogaholic Podcast

So, I'm trying this podcast thing again for the sixth time. Here are the show notes...

Opening Music by Kathy Reynolds (The song InSideOuT from the album Songs of Life)

In The News: Researchers to Docs: Shut Up!

Around The Blogosphere:
My Three Shrinks - Hopefully I'll be able to be a guest on your show soon...
Internet Radio: Here's an article about The Day of Silence
BlogTalkRadio: Want to host a radio show? Check out this site...
Dr. Blogstein - Hilarious stuff!
The Mo Show - Great first show. Can't wait for the next one...

Patient Story: A recent visit to our local extended care facility (nursing home)

Closing Music by Lori Malvey (The song When I Talk 2U from the album Love)

Just FYI, the file is 30MB (Yeesh!) and it's in the MP3 format. Enjoy Podcast #6.

Update: You can now either download in mpeg-4 format (11mb) or mp3 format (31.5mb)

Researchers to Docs: Shut Up!

In the past, physicians have been criticized for not spending enough time with their patients. In fact, many alternative and complementary medicine websites have used this research to promote themselves.

VI. ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE APPLICATIONS

Alternative medicine has quietly jumped into the mainstream. By 1993, one in three people have used at least one alternative therapy and $14 billion was spent on those therapies according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Half of all U.S. medical schools teach about mind-body connections; alternative medicine is now offered at Georgetown and Columbia University.

Why the surge in interest? Many Americans find alternative approaches to be less expensive, with fewer side effects. Some feel that modern medicine is blind to the connection between mind and body. For others, the human touch is the real appeal. According to one source, the average doctor interrupts his patient 12 to 14 seconds after the patient starts talking. It is hard to feel cared about in that kind of environment. The alternative practitioners tend to spend time with their clients and actually listen to them.

Well, now there is research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine stating that physicians are "wasting" time of patients by talking about themselves during office visits (WebMD).

Researchers sent a group of actors posing as new patients to primary care doctors and found a third of doctors made unprompted comments about their own health, personal life, or political views. The vast majority of those comments (85 percent) weren't viewed as useful or relevant to the patient.

While a good bedside manner is important, researchers say that in an era of ever-shortening office visits doctors should keep the conversation focused on the patient.

"We found that physician self-disclosures were often non sequiturs, unattached to any discussion in the visit, and focused more on the physician's than the patients' needs," write researcher Susan H. McDaniel, PhD, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and colleagues in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Longer disclosures, both not useful and disruptive, interrupted the flow of information exchange and expended valuable patient time in the typically time-pressured primary care visit," they write.

This study is actually kind of funny to me. I like to establish a rapport with my patients, and that sometimes means talking about me. The "time-pressured primary care visit" phrase particularly strikes me as funny.

I believe at the core of Family Medicine is relationships - relationships with my patient and relationships with my patient's family. I admit that sometimes the banter I have with patients may not directly relate to their medical visit, but I still think it's good medicine - despite what these researchers say.

Prisoners get porn

With what little credibility this blog has left, I'll definitely lose it with this next story. You'd think that a convicted rapist, prison, and porn wouldn't go together. But, in Sweden, they do. (Associated Press)

The Supreme Administrative Court in Stockholm last week ruled that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service had no right to deny a rape convict access to his porn magazines.

Do you think I could make something like this up? Possibly, but, unfortunately, this is true. The article continues...

[But] The court, whose ruling cannot be appealed, said the prison service failed to prove that the magazines could "jeopardize the security of the institution."

Wow! Can you believe this? The article closes by saying that media like adult movies, television, and websites are not permitted. Child and violent porn are also banned. Well, at least they have some decency here. *cough*

In a related story, Paris Hilton was released from jail today.... HA! (image)

Jessie Davis case: Analysis of accused

You knew it was a matter of time before the press started covering things from Bobby Cutts' point of view. (image credit) There is an article this morning from the Associated Press and in the title is a "complex personal life." These include statements from his family:

Cutts' stepmother, Barbara Cutts, on Monday called her stepson a generous man who was good with kids and coached youth soccer, basketball and football. She said she and Cutts' father last saw him Saturday at his house in Plain Township outside North Canton, where he appeared drained and exhausted.

"It's very hard to accept," said Barbara Cutts, 46, a nurse's aide. "A lot of people are looking at him like a bad person, but he's not, he really isn't."

The next part of the article outlines the other relationships and custody cases that this guy is going through. But, the story eventually revolves back to Blake, the 2 year old child of Jessie and Cutts.

It was Blake who provided investigators searching for Davis their first clues earlier this month, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug." Porter found the boy home alone on June 15, with Davis missing, furniture toppled in the bedroom and a pool of bleach on the floor.

Family members have told Blake that his mother is in heaven, [Patricia] Porter [Jessie's mother] said. "He has an old cell phone and he calls her and talks to her," she said. Porter said Monday she's not sure who Cutts is anymore.

Probably the best line of the whole thing comes near the end of the article:

Cutts played football, wearing No. 9, at GlenOak High School, a suburban school whose most famous graduate is goth rocker Marilyn Manson.

You know, I'm from around here, and I've been to GlenOak HS, but I never knew Marilyn Manson went there. How about these other people? What kind of connection do you think the press is trying to make here? You be the judge....

Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds 3.40 is now up and running over at the Wandering Visitor blog. There was a theme this week, and it is called, "Things That Inspire Us." It's also a creative layout in the form of a research article with sections like, "Methods," "Results," "Discussion," etc. Thanks to WV for including my post in GR this week...

Laurie from A Chronic Dose writes about her ultimate inspiration – Dad. Some of his words of wisdom: “You can’t always get the answers you need to pursue the dreams you have. Sometimes you just have to make a decision that might not make complete sense now and grow into it. It’s a risk, yes, but there are very few certainties in this world.” Dr. Anonymous also shares some memories of his father.

If you don't know what Grand Rounds is, it is a weekly compilation of the best posts from the medical blogosphere that moves to different sites each week. And, who doesn't like reading about medicine and science? Next week, GR moves to Over My Med Body. Enjoy!

Jessie Davis case: 2nd arrest made

Myisha Ferrell was arrested Sunday and will be arraigned today, in addition to Bobby Cutts, in connection with the Jessie Davis case. (Associated Press, Akron Beacon Journal) I kept watching the local and national news yesterday learning more and more details.

Something that gets me really frustrated are those who are blaming the victim. "Why would you stay with someone with a past history like his?" "Didn't she learn after the first child, or didn't she learn after she found out that this guy fathered other children with other women?"

Why don't I just step out of the way so those people can just stomp on this woman's coffin and grave? Like I said yesterday, we don't know what happened between those two people - despite what anyone (even family) are saying.

You can blame this guy and his accomplice all you want (and I know everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty), but pointing the finger at Jessie before we can learn more about this case - that's just wrong. Everyone around here will be watching the news very closely today as these two go to court.

Jessie Davis found

This is definitely not how people wanted this to end up. Jessie Marie Davis, the 9 month pregnant mother from Ohio who has been missing for two weeks, was found in a Cleveland area park along with her unborn daughter. An arrest was also made of Bobby Cutts, her son's father. (Akron Beacon Journal)

Davis, 26, is believed to have been killed sometime between speaking to her mother by phone at 9:20 p.m June 13 and 5 a.m. the next day.

Cutts and Davis had a five-year relationship that included his fathering Blake and Davis' unborn daughter. Davis, her mother said, believed Cutts to be single for several years when, in fact, Cutts was married for about a year when he met Davis in 2002 and had two other children.

What a tragic situation. I have been watching this story closely, because this story is unfolding close to there I live and work. Unfortunately, as in the Laci Peterson case, I don't think we'll ever know the entire and complete truth. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family in a tragedy like this.

Caller ID spoofing

I ran across a story from the great state of Delaware this morning where there is a guy who is saying that he is from the federal district court and harrassing people. Why did people think it was legitimate? Well, because the caller ID made it look like it came from a government telephone. I really didn't know people could do that.

As I was doing more research on this, I had no idea that what is being termed, "Caller ID Spoofing," is becoming a real problem around the country. I found an article from USAToday.com in which a congressman was being accused of harrassing his own constituents over the phone because they saw the number from his office.

In the last few years, Caller ID spoofing has become much easier. Millions of people have Internet telephone equipment that can be set to make any number appear on a Caller ID system. And several websites have sprung up to provide Caller ID spoofing services, eliminating the need for any special hardware.

For instance, Spoofcard.com sells a virtual "calling card" for $10 that provides 60 minutes of talk time. The user dials a toll-free number, then keys in the destination number and the Caller ID number to display. The service also provides optional voice scrambling, to make the caller sound like someone of the opposite sex.

Yeesh! That's scary. So, now I can't even trust what the caller ID says? Wasn't that the entire point of this service? I guess when new technology comes along, there is always those out there who will try to exploit it. For a pretty good news report from Chicago describing the problem, see the video above, or click here.

Buyer beware of sunscreen

Got sunscreen? Good, then give some to this guy because he needs it. HA! (image credit)

If you're going to the beach this weekend, or if you're just going to be out and about in the sun, you'd better take a second look at your sunscreen. According to a recent report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), only 16 percent of products are "safe and effective." For a list of the best and the worst, check out this article at FoxNews.Com.

Dr. Linda Franks, director of Gramercy Park Dermatology and clinical assistant professor at New York University School of Medicine, recommends everyone wear a moisturizer with SPF for daily protection, but people should not depend on that protection for extended periods of time in the sun. "Either you need to reapply it or use something stronger in the morning," she said.

Neutrogena and Coppertone, both of which had products that landed in the 'avoid' category, stood by the lab results of all their products. Neutrogena would not comment specifically on the report but stated, "all Neutrogena products undergo extensive testing to ensure safety and efficacy."

The report faulted many sunscreens for having active ingredients that actually breakdown in sunlight and do not actually protect against ultraviolet-A. Coppertone issued this statement defending their broad spectrum products: "Coppertone has formulated 100 percent of their products to be photostable to resist breaking down under exposure to the sun."

Now, an article like this could not be complete without the EWG taking a shot at the Food and Drug Administration. The article states that the FDA has been debating sunscreen safety standards for 29 years, but has yet to finalize mandatory standards. What I don't get is this: Sunscreen is neither a food nor a drug, so why is the FDA the regulatory agency managing this?

Finally, the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2007 there will be about 60,000 new cases of skin cancer and about 8000 deaths. So, be careful out there this summer and wear the right sunscreen.