Dr. A on the road: Day 1

Just a quick update as I don't have a lot of time before my morning meeting. Yesterday started early when the alarm went off at around 5am. I definitely did not want to get up. I finished my packing, got on the road, and went to the airport. The check-in process was relatively painless, including going through the security area.

The plane was on time leaving the gate, but when we got to the end of the runway, the pilot said that Chicago was having a lot of rain and wind, so we had to sit there, on the plane, for about another 30 minutes. Good thing I had my iPhone with me so that I could listen to some tunes and some audiobooks while sitting there.

Stepping off the plane in Chicago (we were about an hour late arriving), we saw that our connecting flight to our final destination was already delayed - because of weather. So, that gave the group the chance to have some lunch. I have never traveled with this group before, so it was a chance to get to know them a little bit.

Following lunch, we looked at the departure board again and saw that our flight was delayed another two hours. And, there were some flights that were starting to be cancelled. Looking outside at the time, you could see the winds and the rain affecting takeoff and landings of planes.

The gates at the airport were really starting to become crowded with the delayed flights. People (including our group) were becoming restless. Next, another change - they added another 30 minutes to the previous delay. And, then, minutes later, they added another 10 minutes. I was really starting to get frustrated at that point - you could see it in my Twitter feed.

When we got to the airport of our final destination, a couple of people in our group did not get their luggage - Sheesh! So, we were delayed leaving the airport until that was sorted out. Luckily, they were able to find their bags. The hotel was another 45 minute drive from the airport. We finally got to the hotel at about 9pm - What a long travel day!

I'm not feeling very good today. I think I ate something that does not agree with my stomach. So, I'm tired, fatigued, weak, and whiney. That's a great combination for going and talking about electronic medical records today - YAY! So, we'll see what happens this morning.

I did want to give a plug and a shout out to Scan Man who just posted his first podcast. He did a great job and I recommend that you check it out. Also, crzegrl posted her second video blog. This is a great video about the aircraft that she uses at work. See, I'm inspired that more people are using things like podcasts and video. Are you next? Let's hope so!

Super Bowl XLII Sucks

As I leave early in the morning for points unknown (actually, I'll let you know later, but you gotta love the suspense, don't ya?). I just want to share these thoughts (video post above) about this year's Super Bowl game. Are you going to watch the Super Bowl this year? Why or why not?

Hopefully, the airports that I'll be at today will have free wi-fi, so I can blog on the way to my destination. I'll even try to Twitter via my iPhone or computer today. Isn't this exciting? Talk to you soon....

Dr. A on the road: Day 0

So, it's the day before I leave on my four day trip out of town. It's a business meeting on behalf of the hospital, and it's not to exotic locations - like the beach or tourist destinations. Where am I going? We'll I'll hold off on that for now> (This "teaser" may actually keep you reading this week).

The use of electronic medical records both in the office and hospital setting remains an area of continued discussion in medical circles. There is no doubt that this is something that the press, the public, and the government is demanding.

The way this thing was marketed was that there are a lot of deaths due to medical errors. Electronic records will help alleviate that problem. Well, the discussion continues and there are some docs out there who are not buying into this concept.

So, there is going to be a team of about a dozen of us from the hospital from the various departments (med staff - meaning docs, nursing staff, pharmacy, information systems, etc) going to visit a couple of hospitals this week to see how they have implemented some of this stuff.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm on board with electronic records. I'm not going on this trip to convince myself that EMR is good. However, I also have my pessimist cap on. Let's face it, no one likes change - particularly doctors - HA! And, in general, docs are not early adopters when it comes to technology (except me).

So, as I learn more about this stuff, my job when I get back will be a little bit of marketer as well. How to convince a bunch of docs of something that they don't want to do? Sheesh! For the trip, I have my audiobooks planned out to listen on my iPhone: Meatball Sundae, The Dip, and The 4-hour Workweek.

Want to know what I'm doing this week? Well then, bookmark or subscribe to My Twitter feed. Depending on my schedule this week, I may even turn on my iSight camera on my MacBook and be live on My Ustream channel.

Also, my plan is to video record while on the road and post on My Viddler site. Finally, I plan to record some audio, edit it, and play it in my usual time slot for The Doctor Anonymous Show this week. So, this is definitely Doctor Web 2.0 on the road. How exciting!

Dr. A Show 22: Wrap-up

Thanks so much to Dr. Wes for coming on the show. I just love doing these interviews with medbloggers, because I learn so much about the medblogger, and a little about the specialty. I learned so much about electrophysiology - great stuff. (Video Post Above)

We talked about his specialty. I love when people talk about why they love what they do. And, Dr. Wes so eloquently does this. He also explained the difference between a pacemaker and a defibrillator. It's fascinating that these devices are so small - and essentially these are small computers. Did you know that there was a recall of some of these devices? Yes, there was, and Dr. Wes describes why this happened and how this impacted his patients.

We also talked about medtees.com which is a site where he has "T-shirts that empower patients with illness." Definitely check this site out. A portion of the proceeds do go to charity. Dr. Wes said that last year, about $1100 went to charitable organizations. What a great way to give back, and to help patients cope. Finally, we talked about the future of his specialty.

I also wanted to congratulate all of the finalists the winners of the 2007 Medgadget Medblog Awards. There was a little controversy because there was no winner announced in the "Best Medical Technologies & Informatics Blog" category. We'll have to see what happens with that.

Next week, January 31st, I'm probably going to be pre-taping a show. Right in that time slot next week, I'll be on plane returning from out of town. Where am I going? That will be part of the show. A kind of a "Dr A on the road," or, "Where in the world is Dr. A?"

On February 7th (2 weeks from now), Sid Schwab from Surgeonsblog will be visiting the show. He is one of the most recognized and most widely read surgeon medical bloggers around.

On Valentines Day, February 14th (3 weeks from now), this will be "Dr A and The Ladies." New award winners Dr. Val (Best New MedBlog) and Jenni from Chronic Babe.com (Best patient blog) will be on the show. In addition, Crzegrl and EmergencyEmm will be joining me. What will we be talking about? Who knows? You will definitely have to tune in for that.

Have a great weekend, everybody. I'll talk to you next from the road. You can keep track of what I'm going by watching my Twitter account. Also, I may even live stream using my Ustream account. If I do live stream, I'll Twitter about it first, so that you know when I'll be turning on the webcam. See ya!

Dr. A Show TONIGHT

Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern Time

Join us tonight for Dr. Wes. At the bottom on this post, you'll see an embed from ustream.tv. The last couple of shows, the internet connection has cut in and out which sometimes interrupts the video stream. We'll see what happens this week.

Take part in the chat room, which is the "show within the show." A great opportunity to interact with medbloggers you've only read about. We had quite an all star cast on the last show. You can even call into the show to talk and/or ask a question. See you tonight!

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:
*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Click to Listen" button. Then, of course, press the "Click to Listen" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the "Chat Available" button in the upper right hand corner of the page. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. I'll be taking calls beginning at around the bottom of the hour. Hope these tips are helpful!

The Dr. Wes Interview

This week The Doctor Anonymous Show welcomes Westby G. Fisher, MD, FACC. He is author of the blog Dr. Wes: Musings In the Life of and Internist, Cardiologist, and Cardiac Electrophysiologist.

Now, before you think this blog is about really technical clinical information that you cannot understand, I suggest you check out the following posts: Why I Blog, Remembering, and Caregivers. Dr. Wes balances technical writing with well-written stories. This is a great blog.

Join us on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern Time where we will be talking about his blog, his t-shirt site called MedTees.com, and a whole lot more. You can also join us in the live chat room or even call into the show to ask Dr. Wes a question. My internet connection was really buggin last time. We'll see what happens this time. Tune in tomorrow for details!

Dr. A Show 21: Wrap-up

I've been so busy this week that I haven't had a chance to do a follow-up post on Sunday night's show. I have to tell you, this was one of the best shows I've ever had - Really. Why? First of all, we had the two creators of Medgadget on the show - I'll call them "The Brothers Ostrovsky." They actually called in right at the beginning of the show. Really threw me off. I did not appropriately introduce them. I just started interviewing them and the chat room was confused for the first few minutes of the show.

Then, Nick and Enrico called in. And, did we get going after that! We dove right into come questions/controversies about the awards - like when the actual deadline for voting was. When it says voting closes at midnight, what does that really mean? Next, why aren't there more award categories? Finally, if someone is writing for the Medgadget blog, should that disqualify them from being eligible for the award? You may be surprised by these answers.

Probably the most (pleasantly) surprising thing that happened on the show was the callers. Not only did we get callers. But, these are the A-list of the medical blogosphere: Paul Levy, Sid Schwab, and Jenni from ChronicBabe. All great people with great blogs. I'm hoping to get each of them back on the show so that we can talk more.

There is so much other stuff that I'm forgetting. If you haven't already, take a listen to Show #21 of The Doctor Anonymous Show. You'll get to hear me trying to juggle 5-6 guests at once. I was also on call that night and Nick graciously took over for a while when I had to answer a page. And, we talked about the Giants/Packers game. Enrico is a Packers fan and we kept talking about that during the show. Thanks to all who made this show so much fun!

Featured Show TONIGHT

Brrrr - It's cold this morning! The air temperature is 4F/-15C, but with the wind chill, it feels like -13F/-25C. There's a wind chill advisory for the next three hours here. And, I have to go to the hospital this morning (I'm on call this weekend). I hope the cold doesn't freeze up my internet connection. Anyway, enough whining from me...

Don't forget to join us tonight, Sunday, January 20th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern Time for the latest edition of The Doctor Anonymous Show. I was shocked (in a good way) to see that BlogTalkRadio has featured the show at the very top of their "featured" section on the website. Yeesh! No pressure, huh.

Returning to the show are Dr. Nick Genes and Enrico from Medgadget.com. (As a joke, I called them the "medgadget guys" and now that name is at the top of BlogTalkRadio - Sheesh!). We will be talking about The 2007 Medgadget Medblog Awards sponsored by ScrubGalleries.com.

Also check out Medgadget's promotional post talking about the show! The deadline for voting is midnight Pacific Time (I figure you can do the math on when the deadline is for your time zone).

For tonight's show, we'll be discussing this and a lot more. I'm hoping that people call in to talk about their fave blogs. And, if your favorite blog needs some help getting to the top spot in a category, maybe even call into the show to convince "the undecided voter."

Who knows what else will happen? When the guys were on for Show #19, we talked for 2 stinkin hours! I couldn't believe it! Of course, I'll be streaming live on my ustream.tv channel again (presuming my internet connection doesn't drop out). So get ready, because you cannot miss this show tonight - Dr. A, Nick, Enrico, special guests, and YOU! Be there!

Kevin MD Show: Epilogue

Right after tonight's show, I recorded the video post above.

Thanks again to Kevin MD for being a guest on the show. I've said it before, but I really consider Kevin as kind of a medblog mentor. His was one of the first blogs I read on a regular basis. And, when I first considered doing a internet radio show, I thought of people who I would like to interview - his name was on the top of the list - so thanks again.

We had a great conversation about primary care medicine to his beginnings in blogging to current events. I mentioned some of what we talked about above in my video post. It was kind of funny because he was expecting people to call in and really come after him tonight. I may have made reference to it on my last show. Oh well.

Thanks so much to the people in the chat room. Again, thanks to Bongi from South Africa (where I believe it was 4 am during the show) and ScanMan from India - Thanks for listening live and hanging out in the chat room. It continues to blow my mind how international this show is.

Don't forget, Sunday, January 20th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern Time - A Special Edition of The Doctor Anonymous Show. Remember that out of control show last week with The Medgadget Guys? Well, they're back on Sunday night to drum up more votes before the Medgadget polls close later that evening. So, tune in - Maybe even do a little lobbying for your favorite medblogs.

Plus, next week, Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern Time - Tune in for a conversation with Dr. Wes. I think he almost as many posts per week as Kevin MD. And, all of it is high quality stuff. He talks a lot about cardiology issues. I encourage you to check out his blog in preparing for next week's show (hehe). See you Sunday night! Have a great weekend!

Listen (and watch) LIVE tonight!

Yes, that's right I'm trying something else innovative tonight for the show (at least for me). Above, you'll see an embed of a ustream.tv screen (embed removed in post-production - hehe). Sometime during the show tonight, I'll turn the camera on and we'll see what happens (maybe I'll break the camera - HA!).

The thing you need to know is that there will be no audio stream from the BlogTalkRadio site above. So, you can see the video above, but to hear the entire show, you'll need to click on my BTR site - confusing, I know. Anyway...

Thursday, January 17th, 2008 at 9pm Eastern Time

Join us tonight for Kevin, MD. I'm really looking forward to this interview tonight. However, I'm not sure that he is (hehe). Here is his post today promoting his appearance...

There will be an opportunity to call in. So, for all those who want (to take their shots at me) say hello, this is your chance.

Yeesh! Tune in tonight for one of the most recognized names in the medical blogosphere. Take part in the chat room, which is the "show within the show." As mentioned above, you can even call into the show to talk and/or ask a question. Who knows when you'll have an opportunity like this again? See you tonight!

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:
*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Click to Listen" button. Then, of course, press the "Click to Listen" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the "Chat Available" button in the upper right hand corner of the page. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. I'll be taking calls beginning at around the bottom of the hour. Hope these tips are helpful!