Show 144 Wrap-up

Thanks to everyone who checked out Doctor Anonymous Show 144 either live or on the archives. I talked a little bit about this week's health/medicine news stories, including this one, and also covered some not-so-serious news stories. Thanks so much to our buddy Enrico who called into the show. It's was nice to talk with him again after a long absence - welcome back!

As always, you can listen to the show on the player above. Or, if you like, you can download the show and listen anytime by clicking here. Would like to listen and download other Dr. A Shows, we'll just click DoctorAnonymous.org and that takes you to my iTunes page where you have access to all my past shows. Thanks for your continued support of the website and of the show!

Is The US Swine Flu Epidemic Over?

I remember in this area, back in October 2009, when everyone just was not believing that H1N1 was around - or the "epidemic" was not real. Then, for about a 2-3 week span locally - BAM - it seemed like there were cases every where. When I walked throug the waiting room at the hospital, there were folding chairs out, and it was standing room only. Almost every day at the office, the phone was ringing off the hook. Then, as November came, everything calmed down...

A report yesterday from the Associated press asks the question, "Is The US Swine Flu Epidemic Over." In the article, you see the graphic above which showed a spike in cases nationally to be in October as well - then a rapid drop off. It seems that just recently, federal health officials have begun to downplay the virus. However, there are some in the academic/scientific community not quite ready to call it over yet.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released numbers Friday showing most states continued to have only occasional flu activity last week. However, only three states had absolutely no reports, and a CDC official cautioned that swine flu is still around and is likely to keep infecting people for weeks or months to come. "We don't seem to be seeing the disappearance of this virus," said the official, Dr. Anne Schuchat.

Whether there will be another wave of swine flu — as was seen in the spring last year and again in the early fall — is a much harder question, she added. Her comments reflect a raging debate among scientists. One expert told The Associated Press he thinks a spike in H1N1 cases is likely by May, though perhaps a smaller one than last fall. Another said he did not expect another spike. A third predicted another wave, but not until next fall at the earliest. A fourth refused to even guess.

Finally, what follows below are a couple of TV interviews I did as recently as a week ago giving local viewers an "H1N1 Update." (link to Interview1 and Interview 2) Even though the data is showing a drop off in cases, I still recommend people still receive an H1N1 immunization (like from this New Mexico news report). I just remember how complacent we all were locally around here just before October 2009 hit. So, even though I believe that this outbreak has pretty much completed, who knows what will happen in the future. And if a next outbreak occurs in the next few months, as some have said, we'll be even more prepared than we were before.

Show 143 Wrapup: Dean Brandon

Thanks so much to Dr. Dean Brandon for being my guest on Doctor Anonymous Show 143. We had a great conversation about his early influences which guided him toward his career as a pediatric dentist. I had no idea that his parents were NASA scientists. We also talked about the training process behind becoming a pediatric dentist. (Why the picture of Steve Martin above from Little Shop of Horrors? Check out the opening song of Show 143 and you'll know why)

His website is called "Pediatric Dentistry" and we talked about how his posts are a reflection of what he tells parents and patients all the time about certain dental conditions. One of his posts called "My Child Tooth Is Turning Dark" has garnered over 100 comments.

Finally, we discussed some of the experiences he has had in the social media sphere including meeting up with internet celebrities like Gary Vaynerchuk and Chad Vader - and also an interesting story about meeting up with actor Anthony Edwards at BlogWorld Expo last year.

As always, you can listen to the show on the player above. Or, if you like, you can download the show and listen anytime by clicking here. Thanks to everyone who listened live (especially Jabulani who listened to the show live at 2am in England) and those who have/will listen on the archives. My next show will be Saturday, February 6th at 9pm Eastern Time. Hope to see you for Doctor Anonymous Show 144 this weekend! (also check out my video post below)

Going to HIMSS 2010

I'm taking more of an active interest in the electonic medical/health record - especially with the transition that we're going through in our office and at the hospital. In doing some reading and research, a lot of people out there have pointed to a group called HIMSS - which stands for Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. They have a pretty good website over there that I have been reading a lot.

I took a bold step by actually taking the time to go to their annual meeting next month - which will be in Atlanta. Since I have registered for the conference, I've been getting e-mail messages about the many events that will be taking place out there. (For example, here is one about their Social Media Center) I will only be able to stay for a couple of days or so, but I'm pretty excited about it.

My goals will be to try to connect with other docs about the issues that our office and our community hospital are going through when it comes to electronic medical/health record. And, maybe, I'll be able to meet up with some med social media folks when I'm out there, if for anything else, to say hello! Have a great weekend everybody!

Dr. A Show Tonight: Dean Brandon

Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 9pm ET

I hope you can join us for Doctor Anonymous Show 142 when our guest will be Dr. Dean Brandon (pictured above with actor Anthony Edwards). Dean is the author of the blog Pediatric Dentistry. I encourage you to check out the preview post for this show to learn about some of the topics that Dean writes about. I met him at BlogWorld Expo 2009.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen anytime!

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 "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

Reaching Out

"Hello Mrs. Jones," I say as I walk into the exam room. "How many times do I have to tell you that it's ok to call me Dot," this very pleasant 64-year old female says to me. As I look at her chart, I'm always trying to figure out how Dot was shortened from the name of something like Dorothy, Dolores, or Desiree.

"I haven't seen you in a while," I continue. "Well, doc, I got laid off a few months ago and that's why I haven't been in the office for a while." "I need my refills today, but I have no insurance right now. I hope in the next 7 months that nothing really bad happens, because that's when my Medicare kicks in, and in this economy, I don't anticipate getting another job any time soon."

"How have you been doing," I asked. "Well," she said, "it's been rough, since I have a little medical training, I've been helping take care of my sick relatives, and that's been a stress on me. In addition to always thinking about my financial situation."

She was talking like her usual self -- Then -- She paused -- Silence -- And it felt like an hour of no words between us. I saw a small tear forming, and this is when the flood gates opened. She broke down right there in my office. "I'm sorry doc," another couple minutes passed by. "I have felt like I've had to stay strong for my family for so long. But, I gotta be honest with you, I'm really scared right now..."

We had a great conversation following this about her family, her life, and finally, about her health. When I left the room, I looked up at the clock and saw that I was now very behind in my schedule. But, sometimes, there is a key moment in someone's life that needs to be recognized. This is why I went into medicine. I actually felt like I made a difference that day. This is why I love being a family physician!

American Heart Month

If you haven't already heard, February is American Heart Month. I've been reading a lot about this in the past few days (you'll see below why). But, one of the statistics that I found interesting was that every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event (likely a heart attack). This stat is right from the CDC website.

You probably already knew that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. About 2 weeks ago, the American Heart Association started a new educational program called "Life's Simple 7." These are seven factors associated with ideal heart health. The areas they emphasize include Get Active, Eat Better, Lose Weight, Stop Smoking, Control Cholesterol, Manage Blood Pressure, and Reduce Blood Sugar.

You can get more details on these areas over on their website. In an effort to help spread the word on these concepts, I had a television interview on local TV news on February 1st, 2010 talking about American Heart Month and these seven factors. You can see the video below. (If you find the video useful, I encourage you to check out other tv interviews I've had on other health topics at MikeSevilla.TV).

Dr. A Show Preview: Dean Brandon

After a short hiatus, The Doctor Anonymous Thursday night show returns this week with guest Dr. Dean Brandon (pictured on the right above) who is author of the blog Pediatric Dentistry. We met last fall at BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas. We had a great conversation out there about how social media relates to health/medicine issues.

In addition to utilizing social media for fun, Dean also utilizes it for his business. You will see on his blog posts like "What is Pediatric Dentistry," "The Business of Pediatric Dentistry," "White Fillings Vs Silver Fillings," "Orthodontics (Braces)," and "Laughing Gas (Nitrous Oxide)." In the video below, you'll see the opening of the new office.

So, I hope you can join us on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 9pm Eastern Time for Doctor Anonymous Show 143. In case you didn't know, in addition to the live podcast, there is a chat room, a webcam of me, and your ability to call into the show to say hello. Hope you can join us this week for the show!

Crush It: Gary Vaynerchuk

Recently, I finished reading the book "Crush It" by Gary Vaynerchuk. You may know this guy from the popular video blog/show called Wine Library Tv. I've always been curious about how people who are considered internet celebrities - how the make it - how they become successful.

This book (which I do recommend) outlines steps that Gary did to grow his family's wine business to a multi-million dollar operation. He also emphasizes that all of us are an online brand onto ourselves. If you have a facebook, twitter, or any other social media account somewhere, you are a brand and you have to cultivate and manage that brand. I definitely agree with this. Every so often, I have considered giving up the "Doctor Anonymous" moniker and just branding myself with my "real" name.

But, as I found out going to BlogWorld Expo last fall, and meeting up with a lot of other people in the medical/health social sphere, they told me, "We would continue to call you Dr. A anyway." - That I'll just stick to this "brand" and continue to go with the flow.

So, as a business book, this is interesting. Now, definitely this is NOT a prescription or blueprint on how to become an internet celebrity. This is just one guy's story. There are some things I will try to use in this book for me, but many more things that I will not use - because, as Gary says, "it's not in my DNA."

One thing I do recommend is to listen to the audiobook, since there is information in there that is NOT in the original print edition. At many parts of the audio book, Gary says, "I know I'm going off script here, but this is important." Or, he would say, "Since the print edition has been published, the is new info out there..." I guess that's the challenge/fun of having an audiobook released after the print edition comes out....

Update: Greeting to those of you who clicked over from the wonderful Musings of a Dinosaur blog. If you like what you read on this post, I invite you to check out my other writings. Thanks for stopping by!

Video Blogging Med School

Here is another example of how/why social media is so cool. This morning someone on twitter, "re-tweeted" my link about today being American Heart Month (btw, thanks to everyone who retweets my stuff. i really appreciate it). When I clicked on his blog, I found out that Bryan Mccolgan is a third year medical student at Columbia and has been video blogging (vlogging) his entire third year of medical school. In the video below, he talks about the very first time he was in the OR. Ah, yes, I remember my first day going into the OR.

Anyway, there are more videos on his blog called Becoming A Doctor. I encourage you to check it out (don't forget to tell him Dr. A sent ya - HA!) - also follow him on twitter. I've only been able to check out a few videos this afternoon, but what I've seen is good stuff. I've also put out an invite for him to be on The Doctor Anonymous Show. Hopefully, he'll be interested and will find the time (in a busy third year med school schedule) to be on the show. Enjoy this innovative blog!