Dr. A with My Three Shrinks

My Three Shrinks from the Shrink Rap blog (say that fast three times) just posted their latest podcast. And, I'm happy to say that I was honored for them to ask me to be on their podcast. We have been working for weeks to try to match up our schedules and it finally happened.

From the "computer geeky" aspect, it was really cool. We used skype to conduct the interview, which I've never done before. And, just FYI, they are about 300 miles away and the connection was so clear that it sounded like they were just in the room next door.

From a professional point of view, it was quite exciting to actually talk and interact with the people that I've only had one-way electronic communication with in the past. At one point in the podcast, Roy encourages me to interject myself into the conversation because I may not get a word in during a spirited part of the conversation.

I know that I had a lot of fun being on their show, and I hope that another opportunity comes up in the future to do that again. I hope you enjoy the podcast. Here is My Three Shrinks #32.

Happy holiday weekend

For those of us in the United States, it is Labor Day weekend. The day we celebrate work - with a day off. However, call me a traditionalist, because I will be working this weekend. Yes, I'm on call until dawn on Tuesday morning...

So, as you're out and about at your picnics (image credit) and sporting events, just think of me, keeping America healthy and treating illness the best that I can. Yeesh! How cheezy is that? I'm probably jinxing myself, but usually these long weekends are really not that bad from a working standpoint. We'll see...

By the way, thanks again for everyone's support on the live podcast yesterday. I've been told that the sound level could have been a little bit better, and I'll be working on that. Otherwise, I think this is an innovative idea that I'll be exploring further. Have a great weekend!

Listen Live Today!

Doctor Anonymous Live! August 30th (today!) from 4:00-4:30pm eastern time

I've been working through the technical glitches this week. Who knew there would be so many steps where something could go wrong in connecting my computer to the main site? But, I think that I have everything worked out....

You can also participate in the show! That's one of the fun things about this. I'm going to be logged into google talk before the show. So, if you'd like to say hi and see me freaking out before the show, you can find me there. You can also send me an e-mail or leave a comment here. Finally, the fun part is that you can call into the show. Just click here for the number.

Can't listen live? Well, that's ok. One of the cool things about BlogTalkRadio is that they record their shows so that you can listen to them later. Starting at about 5pm eastern time, you can click here and listen to the recorded show.

I have to give a little shout out to A Mom Who Thinks Too Much who called me the social butterfly of the blogosphere. That's too funny. Thanks so much for the plug and for the link.

It's just a few hours away now. I hope that you'll be able to join me - either live or listening on the archives. What am I going to talk about? Who knows? You'll have to tune in to find out. I'm just a blogaholic, you know....

Update: Thanks so much to Chrysalis Angel and Cathy for the promo posts on their blogs!

Update 2: Thanks to Awesome Mom for the IM conversation and to Mother Jones RN for calling in and talking with me live on the air. That was fun!

Dr. A Live this Thursday!

Ahem... I have an announcement to make. I have decided to take a huge step out of my comfort zone of blogging and going to try the world of being a talk show host. How crazy is that?

I have to tell you, ever since I've gotten my iPhone, I've been fascinated even more with podcasts. As some of you know, I've tried doing my own podcasts but really have not had the same satisfaction that I've had with blogging. And, I think the reason is a kind of disconnect between the podcast and the listener/reader.

Then, I started listening to what I would call, "live podcasts," in which the listener can IM chat or even call in to participate with the host. That really fascinated me. So, this Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 4PM eastern time, the first episode of Doctor Anonymous Live will occur on Blog Talk Radio.

I have no idea what will happen. I hope that I'll be able to navigate through all the technology logistics of the thing. So, it may go off without a hitch, or be my biggest disaster ever. Either way, you'll have to tune in....

Lunar Eclipse

In just a few hours, the second lunar this year will occur, and will be best seen in the western portions of North and South America. (AP)

People in Europe, Africa or the Middle East, who had the best view of the last total lunar eclipse in March, won't see this one because the moon will have set when the partial eclipse begins at 4:51 a.m. EDT. The full eclipse will begin an hour later at 5:52 a.m. EDT.

NASA has a great webpage about tonight's total lunar eclipse. (image credit) I guess those in the Eastern part of the US (like me) will only have about 30 minutes to see it. I know I'll definitely be up by then, because, hey, I'm on call tonight. And, you know what they say about being on call with the lunar eclipse....

Update: When I first posted this (six hours ago), the moon was full and high in the southeastern sky. Over the past few hours, while I was getting some winks and answering my pager, I saw the moon slowly move to the southeastern sky and closer to the horizon.

Something unusual for northeastern Ohio is a sky without any clouds at all. It happens around here maybe 2-3 times a year at night, and tonight was one of those nights. As 5:52 am got closer and closer, I saw less and less of that full moon that was there at the beginning of the night. Then, it happened - Total lunar eclipse.

Wow! I've never seen anything like it. Better than any picture than I've ever seen. Better than any astronomy class than I've ever been to. I tried to take a picture of it, but even that could not do it justice. What a great start to the day!

Less trans fat dunkin donuts

For some reason, those words should not be used close together. However, according to the Associated Press, this company will announce today that they will be eliminating most trans fat from their menu.

Now, I totally understand why this is happening. There is a lot of business and social pressure out there to do this. A lot of their competitors out there have already done this, or will be doing this. But.....

Is there nothing else sacred than a trans fat dunkin donut? Sure, the taste will be pretty much the same. Sure, there is an obesity problem in this country and in some places around the world. But, c'mon! And, forget going to krispy creme....

Dunkin' is ahead of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., which has yet to roll out a zero gram trans fat doughnut but hopes to do so. Brian Little, a spokesman for the North Carolina-based chain, said, "We continue to work aggressively with outside supply partners, and our goal is to get to zero trans fatty acids while maintaining great Krispy Kreme taste."

Oh well. What am I going to do now? Maybe I'll try to unlock my iPhone - that sounds like fun. Sorry I was away so long away from my blog. I'll try harder to be here this week.

Busy week

Sorry I haven't been around this week. It was just a busy week at work. I'll try to catch up on blogging this weekend. Thanks to everyone who sent me an e-mail checking up on me. Other than being very tired, I'm doing ok. More soon....

Medicare threatening hospitals

Thanks to MSSP Nexus Blog for pointing out this story. In today's New York Times, there is a story describing a significant policy change directed at hospitals. Of course, this will save Medicare millions of dollars, but what are the unintended consequences of this policy?

Under the new rules, to be published next week, Medicare will not pay hospitals for the costs of treating certain “conditions that could reasonably have been prevented.” Among the conditions that will be affected are bedsores, or pressure ulcers; injuries caused by falls; and infections resulting from the prolonged use of catheters in blood vessels or the bladder.

In addition, Medicare says it will not pay for the treatment of “serious preventable events” like leaving a sponge or other object in a patient during surgery and providing a patient with incompatible blood or blood products. The new policy — one of several federal initiatives to improve care purchased by Medicare, at a cost of more than $400 billion a year — is sending ripples through the health industry.

Now, don't get me wrong. I definitely agree with the intent of this idea. There are definitely some hospital infections that could be prevented, and it's been well documented the impact of medical errors during a hospital stay. I understand why patient advocate groups are happy with this policy decision.

With regard to preventing falls, does that mean that hospitals will have to utilize bed restraints more - because in the middle of the night, sometimes patients are confused and don't know that they're trying to get out of bed. Restraints are already a no-no according to some regulatory agencies.

When it comes to preventing infection, I see more unnecessary testing being done to prove that an infection was obtained before hospitalization. What will be the cost of this? In addition, I see even more increased use of antibiotics, which will further increase the resistance of organisms - and complicating the treatment of infections in the future.

So, while the government's intent is noble, I'm afraid of what the unintended consequences will be. If the government wants people to be accountable, they should start cleaning up their own house first. Of course, we know that will never happen...

Government program for medical marijuana

Are you a supporter of medical marijuana? Do you support the legalization of marijuana? Well, this story is for you. The governor of the great state of New Mexico is proposing a government program to pay for those who need marijuana for medicinal purposes. (Associated Press)

On Friday, [New Mexico Governor Bill] Richardson directed the [New Mexico Department of Health] to plan for full implementation of the program, such as preparing the regulations that will permanently govern how it operates.

Under the law, the department is to issue the rules by October, including for licensing marijuana producers and developing a system to distribute the drug to qualified patients.

The new state law allows the use of marijuana for pain or other symptoms of debilitating illnesses such as cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV-AIDS and certain spinal cord injuries.

New Mexico is the 12th state to legalize marijuana for certain medical uses, but it's the only one calling for state-licensed production and distribution of the drug.

Supporters of this policy should be cheering, right? Well, there is a little itty-bitty hangup in federal law stating that the distribution and use of marijuana is illegal -- DUH! So, this may become a state government vs federal government media circus.

New Mexico, and any other state considering taxpayer sponsored medical marijuana, has to be very careful if they actually decide to implement this. (My personal feeling is that this is political posturing, and will never happen since the NM governor is running for US president.)

Canada made this same move. And, instead of people being happy, they eventually became upset because of the perceived low quality marijuana that was being given out. Check out the news report below or click here.

Too much depression?

Not very long ago, mental illness, particularly depression had this negative stigma. Many were embarrassed to even talk about it. It was thought of as "going crazy" or "going insane." I believe there have been many positive strides in both the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of depression.

Now, there is a leading British psychiatrist who is saying that depression is being overdiagnosed? He just completed a 15 year study looking at 242 teachers and found that more than 75 percent of them fit the current criteria for depression. (BBC News)

Professor Gordon Parker claims the threshold for clinical depression is too low and risks treating normal emotional states as illness.

He writes in the BMJ [British Medical Journal] that almost everyone [in the study] had symptoms such as "feeling sad, blue or down in the dumps" at some point in their lives - but this was not the same as clinical depression which required treatment.

He said: "Over the last 30 years the formal definitions for defining clinical depression have expanded into the territory of normal depression, and the real risk is that the milder, more common experiences risk being pathologised."

Now, this may surprise you, but I do agree with the professor to a certain extent. Currently, the cultural norms are such that the term depression does not carry as much negative connotation as in the past. In fact, one could argue, that the current en vogue mental illness diagnosis is bipolar disorder as this is more prominent in the media these days.

I would even go as far as saying that there is a certain element of Western culture, especially American culture, which loves to avoid personal responsibility and accountability. I wasn't really speeding, I was responding to my bad day at work, and it's their fault that I was going so fast. Alcoholism is an illness, so I cannot control any of my actions, so I'm not responsible for any consequences.

Don't get me wrong, I believe it is appropriate to treat substance abuse and depression as illness. But, I also believe that some people in the culture use this as an excuse of convenience. And, that is very sad...