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Dr. A Show 150 Tonight!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 8pm ET (note special time)

I have successfully returned home from Atlanta and HIMSS 2010 last night. It was such a good time doing interviews for the last 2 days - I mean really. I'm gonna be honest, it really exhausted me, but like I said in a tweet before I got on the plane home yesterday - it was the most fun that I have had in a long time.

Better Health is not done yet! They have one more day of broadcasting from HIMMS with Dr. Val and with Dr. Nick Genes holding down the fort there. And, you can watch today's video and join the chat room by clicking here. Want to know what happens in between interviews? Check out the video below as Dr. Val and I chat (the chat room called us Regis and Kelly - not really sure what to make of that - HA!).

I invite you to tune in tonight for the landmark show number 150 of The Doctor Anonymous Show. My guest will be the one and only Dr. Val Jones, Founder and CEO of Better Health - She's probably sick of hanging out with me for the past two days - hehe. What will be talking about? Gee? Guess? This will be basically be the HIMSS 2010 wrap-up show.

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.

Grand Rounds Volume 6 number 23

Greetings from Atlanta, Georgia which is about 800 miles from Doctor Anonymous World Headquarters in Northeastern Ohio. What am I doing here? Well, I'm attending my first HIMMS conference (which stands for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems) annual meeting.

These are the 37 best posts that the medical blogosphere has to offer this week. In my editors picks, I wanted to highlight what I think are well-written stories. There is also a short excerpt from each of my picks this week.

Also, I invite you to check out coverage of this week's HIMSS conference which include Better Health's live streaming interviews today and tomorrow (see the video feed and chat room at the bottom of this post). I will also be hosting a HIMSS wrap-up show with Dr. Val Jones on Wednesday, March 3rd at 8pm Eastern Time for The Doctor Anonymous Show 150 which is my live, interactive internet radio show. Now, on to Grand Rounds!

Dr. A's Picks Of The Week

Captain Atopic, a medical student in Australia, sees so much emotion in people's eyes.

Sitting in the corner of the meeting room, an off-call consultant's eyelids fall. The night registrar talks animatedly and the day team joke. The consultant's patients have been discussed and his coffee hasn't kicked in. The bounce of his chin rouses him.

The round passes through a medical ward; eyes look up, eyes dart around. The octogenerian's glassed, cloudy eyes search for focus, and find wanting. The narc'd lady next door sleeps soundly, eyes rolling in an opiate fog.

Bruce Campbell, a physician from the United States, learns that physicians and nurses have a lot to share even when we believe we do not.

The patient arrived at the rural clinic near Guazapa, El Salvador, in his mother’s arms with a mouth gag tied in place and his hands wrapped in bandages. As his mother put him gently onto the examination table, his muscles twitched hard, tearing the paper bed cover and forcing the gag out of his mouth. “Be calm,” his mother whispered to him in Spanish. He remained contorted but visibly quieted as our pediatrician, Dr. Mike, held him.

Kerri Sparling, diabetes blogger extraordinaire, shares another side of future mommyhood.

I love BSparl. I love her little feet and her pouty lips and that feeling I get when she rolls around inside of me. I love knowing that my daughter is just a few weeks away from becoming a part of our Sparling family, and I know that every moment of this pregnancy is completely worth every iota of effort and worry. That being said.... I'm starting to lose my mind a bit. That being said ... I'm starting to lose my mind a little bit.

Bongi, a physician from South Africa, learned early in medical school that consultants only stick to their field.

we walked into the tea room where the consultants were hard at work drinking tea and introduced ourselves. the designated tutorial giver groaned audibly. he then glanced over at his colleagues and rolled his eyes. they chuckled. funnily enough i think they thought they were being subtle. after all we were mere medical students and therefore couldn't easily pick up on the finer points of non-verbal communication like specialist psychiatrists could. i was immediately annoyed, but i chose to hide it.

The rest of the medical blogosphere's best posts this week

The Clinical Cases and Images blog writes about Google Buzz from a medblogger's perspective.

The Allergy Notes blog answers a question about cetirizine.

The How To Cope With Pain blog outlines steps to take for living with headaches.

The Life In The Fast Lane blog proudly announces the appointment of "Professor Staghorn" to the university.

Code Blog describes how the Caring Bridge site is useful to families when a loved one becomes sick.

The ICSI Health Care blog outlines reasons why it's nearly impossible to control US health care costs.

Jolie Bookspan states that exercises are more than "sets and reps."

The PalliMed blog gives networking and education tips when attending a national meeting.

The Health Business Blog describes how a med mal case was successfully defended at trial.

InsureBlog shares a study involving aspirin and breast cancer.

The Life Under The Lights blog shares a story of the awkwardness of what he calls "CPR Theater"

The Suture For A Living blog writes about lipedema, lymphedema, and lipolymphedema

ACP Hospitalist describes a recent conference session that neurologists/neurohospitalists need to know about.

ACP Internist posts their weekly Medical News Of The Obvious.

The Health Agenda blog talks about the complicated arena of E&M coding and billing for services.

The EMT Spot blog talks about Mastering the Head-To-Toe Assessment.

Will Meek takes a look at how to create positive change in a relationship with cognitive therapy approaches.

Mother Jones RN talks about Life In The Nurses Dormitory.

Lockup Doc describes steps we can take to avoid blaming the patient for lack of progress.

Diabetes Mine announces their annual design challenge.

The Highlight Health blog discusses findings of a recent study stating that a personalized plan to lower cholesterol is more effective than following generalized guidelines.

The On The Wards blog discusses the challenges of the medication reconciliation process and why it's important for patient safety

The Medicine For The Outdoors blog talks about copperhead snake bites.

The Colorado Health Insurance Insider blog shares thoughts on putting health care costs into perspective.

The Everyday EMS Tips blog lists the top three items for a backcountry first aid kit.

The Science Roll blog lists a collection of web 2.0 tools in genetics.

Dean Brandon asks the question whether your child's dentist is a pediatric specialist.

The Dr. J's House Calls blog gives a counter point of view to Healthcare Reform.

The In Sickness And In Health blog describes a PTSD of chronic illness and pain syndromes.

The Teen Health 411 blog shares a recent meeting called the Sex::tech conference.

The Child Psych blog gives clinical resources and parenting tips on children with ADHD who have sleep difficulties.

David Harlow interviews MITA Executive Director Dave Fischer

Aggravated DocSurg states that sometimes we get the great honor of caring for those who deserve our ultimate respect.

That's it! Sheesh! Thanks to Nick Genes for the opportunity to host Grand Rounds for the third time. Don't forget to become a Facebook Fan of GR. This is so much fun to put together. See also GR 3.09 and GR 4.08. I hope you have fun reading all these great posts. Next week, Grand Rounds go to Health Business Blog.

Grand Rounds 6.23 Deadline Today

Just a quick reminder that the submission deadline for Grand Rounds 6.23 is tonight at 11:59pm ET. Thanks to all of you who have already sent me a post - There are already a bunch of links that I have to go through to put together this week's Grand Rounds. Great stuff out there!

Also, I invite you to check out a special Sunday Night edition of The Doctor Anonymous Show which will be Show 149 tonight, February 28, 2010 at 8:30pm Eastern Time. If my internet connection holds up in the hotel room here, I will be broadcasting live here in Atlanta on the eve of the HIMSS 2010 annual conference (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society). I will also be making one last push for submissions for this week's Grand Rounds. And, I will be sharing some thoughts on the weekly Healthcare Communication & Social Media (HCSM) twitter conversation.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. 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!

*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.

Grand Rounds in 4 days

Just a quick reminder to the medbloggers out there that Grand Rounds Vol 6 No 23 - will be coming here on March 2, 2010. Thanks to those of you who already e-mailed me a post. I really appreciate it. For the rest of you, just a gentle reminder - in case you forgot before the weekend. For more details on submission guidelines for next week, click here. I'm really looking forward to Grand Rounds next week!

Show 148 Wrap-up: StoryTellERdoc

Thanks so much to Dr. Jim from StoryTellERdoc for being a guest on Doctor Anonymous Show 148 last night. The StoryTellERdoc blog won the Best Literary MedBlog Award last week from the 2009 Medgadget Medblog Awards. We had a great conversation about how he chose emergency medicine as a career. We also talked about how he is part of a small "writing group" and how they encouraged him to start his blog.

In addition, we talked about what it was like to be nominated - and to subsequently win - a Medblog Award. Thanks to Bongi (calling in live from South Africa) and to SeaSpray for calling into the show. We truly had a live international audience in that Jabulani was listening in the middle of the night where she was at in England and our friend Captain Atopic from Australia asked a question via the show chat room to our guest.

As always, you can listen to the show in the player above. Or, if you like, you can download the show and listen anytime by clicking here. Don't forget to check out the video post below. There are additional videos from last night's show on the Facebook Fan page.

If you're a medblogger, I invite you to send me a post for next week's Grand Rounds which will be hosted here. Don't forget - the deadline is coming up on Sunday. In addition, Doctor Anonymous Show 149 will be Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 8:30 pm Eastern Time. I will be discussing going to my first HIMSS conference, encouraging your last minute submissions to Grand Rounds 6.23, and also talking about the weekly Sunday night twitter chat many know is HCSM. Hope to see you for the show!

Dr. A Show 148 Tonight: StoryTellERdoc

Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 9pm ET

I invite you to join me tonight for Doctor Anonymous Show 148 where our guest will be StoryTellERdoc. This is the winner of the 2009 Medgadget Medblog Award in the Best Literary Blog Category. Check out the full preview post here.

*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.

Show 148 Preview: StoryTellERdoc

This week, Doctor Anonymous Show 148 has an exclusive interview (really). In his first interview following the announcement of the Medgadget awards last week, we have the winner of the 2009 Medgadget Medical Weblog Award Sponsored by Epocrates - In the Best Literary Category - StoryTellERdoc will be joining us. I always enjoy reading people's first blog, and here is a portion of the very first post called "I Am".......

Hmmm, what am I? I don't think I ever had trouble describing myself before, but as I sit here in front of this blank screen, I realize that I don't quite know how to start an honest description of myself. I will try my best, though, so you have an understanding of my perspective in the stories I will share.
First and foremost, I am not perfect. Who is, really? My attempts to have the perfect life have all been in vain and, instead of fighting that fight, I have come to realize with age that my imperfections may be much more interesting.
Secondly, I am observant. I seem to grasp the smaller life moments that may be missed or may seem mundane to someone without a searching eye. It's these simple, boring moments that hold so much more excitement. These moments of rawness and realness make me thankful to be walking the path that I am on.

One of my other faves is the post called "Why Medicine" in which he answers the question of why he chose this career.

So, I hope you'll be able to join us live on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 9pm Eastern Time for Doctor Anonymous Show 148. For those who may be new to the show, there is a chat room during the show. You can also call in to say hello. There is even a webcam so that you can see me do the show live before your very eyes. Don't forget to become a Facebook Fan of the show. Hope to see you for this week's show!

Dr. A Going To HIMSS 2010

I am so excited to be going to my first HIMSS conference next week in Atlanta. From what I understand, this IS the largest health related IT conference around and one of the world's premier conferences on medical information and technology management. Since I have a passion both for medicine and for technology, I figured that this conference would be perfect for me. I really have no expectations as far as what I'm really looking for - other than to learn a bunch of new stuff and meet a lot of great people.

I have been asked by Dr. Val to help out in the Better Health coverage of the event. I'm happy to help out. Here's the announcement on Better Health, if you haven't seen it yet.

Your social media guide to HIMSS:
1. Watch live interviews of exhibitors, conducted by physicians on UStream. Tune in to Dr. Val’s UStream coverage (beginning at 9:30am each morning at HIMSS, March 1, 2, and 3rd). Click here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-from-himss-what-s-hot-in-health-it

2. Participate in real time via Twitter. Follow @drval and tweet your questions to her during the interviews. She may ask the interviewees YOUR questions LIVE. To follow Dr. Val, go to: http://www.twitter.com/drval or follow the Twitter hashtag #HIMSS10 during the event to see tweets from UStream attendees and others.

3. Meet the bloggers at HIMSS. There will be a special panel discussion with Dr. Val and other popular health IT bloggers scheduled in the HIMSS Social Media Center. Check here for times: http://www.himssconference.org/education/socialmedia.aspx

4. Watch Dr. Val Reporting from HIMSS on ABC News (DC only): Tune in to News Channel 8 at 10:50am, Wednesday March 3rd to get Dr. Val’s take on the hottest technology presented at HIMSS. Dr. Val will join ABC News’ Dave Lucas via Skype.

5. Follow the Better Health blog team. Better Health contributors - nurses, doctors, and health writers - will offer feedback via their blogs on HIMSS events, speakers, and exhibitors. You’ll see their blog posts on their individual blogs and also at Better Health. Flip cam clips of HIMSS events (captured by one of the Better Health MDs at HIMSS) will be featured as well.

6. Blog Talk Radio: HIMSS Wrap Up With Dr. Val and Dr. Anonymous. Tune in to the Dr. Anonymous show at 8pm ET, Wednesday, March 3rd to hear final impressions about the show. Call in to discuss the event with hosts, or join the chat room. Find the show here: www.blogtalkradio.com/doctoranonymous

If I get a chance, I'd like to try to do some interviews of my own during HIMSS. So, if you see me coming at you with a camera, please don't be afraid (hehe). I'm just hoping to share a little bit of my HIMSS experience with my friends. In the video below from last fall's BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas, you'll see how much fun I have talking with people.

Grand Rounds 6.23 Here Next Week

I'd like to thank Nick Genes (the "grand poobah" and founder of Grand Rounds) for another opportunity for hosting Grand Rounds. My first opportunity was for GR 3.09 all the way back on November 21, 2006 (was it that long ago).

My second opportunity was for GR 4.08 on November 13, 2007. And that was a cool experience I "premiered" grand rounds live on my internet radio show when I was on the road in Arizona. You can check it out the show in the player below.

Grand Rounds 6.23 will occur here on March 2, 2010. I'll be on the road again as I post this Grand Rounds. I'll be in Atlanta at the HIMSS 2010 conference and I will be helping out Dr. Val and Better Health in coverage of that event.

As far as GR 6.23, I encourage you to review the submission guidelines here. Just FYI, there is no theme. However, I do enjoy reading good medical stories. And, as I said when I first hosted GR, not all submissions will get in, and if your post is left out, I apologize in advance. Also, in order for me to keep things organized, I'd appreciate if you could make your submissions using the following format...

Post Name:
Post URL:
One Line Description:

The deadline will be 11:59pm eastern standard time on Sunday, February 28th, 2010. I will be selecting what I think are the best five of the week and will place them at the top of the post.

For the rest of the GR 6.23 post, I will be posting them in the chronological order of when they appear in my e-mail box (presuming I think they are appropriate for GR). I hope this encourages you to send me your link early. Send GR posts to doctoranonymousblog at gmail dot com. Please place "GR 6.23" in the subject line.

If I have a decent internet connection in Atlanta, I encourage you to join me for my live internet radio show (conveniently called "The Doctor Anonymous Show" hehe) on Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 8:30pm Eastern Time as I will be trying to drum up last postings for my Grand Rounds and share some thoughts before my first HIMSS conference. Hope to see you for the show and and get writing!

Show 147 Wrap-up: Firefighter Netcast

Thanks again to Rhett Fleitz and John Mitchell for being guests on Doctor Anonymous Show 147. We had a great conversation about how they chose their career as a firefighter/EMS responder, their respective websites, and firefighter/EMS social media community in general. It's so interesting that they have never met in person, yet, they collaborate on the podcast called FireFighter Netcast.

Close to the end of the show, our good friend Dom called into the show to join the conversation. He is a volunteer firefighter in Tennessee and told our guests that he has forwarded some of the information from their show onto the people that he works with. How connections are made in the social media space continue to amaze and inspire me.

As always, you can listen to the show in the player above. Or if you like, you can download the show and listen anytime by clicking here. I also encourage you to become a Facebook Fan of the show. Like what you here, just click here and that will take you to my iTunes page where you have access to previous shows. Finally, check out the first few moments of the show in the video below. Have a great week everybody!