CDC’s New Director Dr. Thomas Frieden May 16, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Obama selected Dr. Thomas Frieden as CDCs new director. Dr. Frieden served as New York City Department of Health’s Health Commissioner for 7 years. He has spearheaded several (then controversial) initiatives such as no smoking in offices, restaurants/bars, condom distribution, posting food calorie counts on menus in restaurants chains and most recently decreasing the salt content in meals. He is often mocked and ridiculed in the halls and offices of various New York City advocates due to his style but love him or hate him you must respect him. He has made a tremendous impact on the health of all New Yorkers. In response to his appointment a recent New York magazine online post read, “Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden to Take Fun-Hating National.” America get ready to get healthier. Here comes a little guy with a giant health push.

Below are some recent articles and posts regarding Dr. Frieden and his Bio:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/commish/combio.shtml

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/15/thomas-frieden-cdc-direct_n_203828.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/nyregion/19lives.html 

Yours In Good Health

National Women’s Health Week May 13, 2009

 

 

 

This is the 10th Annual National Women’s Week, May 10-16, 2009. I can’t keep track of all the months dedicated to worthy causes; February is Black History Month, March is Women’s History Month and so on. May is Bike Month in New York City so I have been focused on the Harlem community discussion regarding bike lanes on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard so this snuck up on me.

The purpose of National Women’s Health Week is to encourage women to prioritize their health. Women are the first to care for others, scheduling health appointments for their children, husbands, parents and friends.  They often neglect their own health. Research studies have shown that when women prioritize their own health the health of their family also improves.

Here are some useful actions that women can take to improve their health:

-  Eating a nutritious diet

-  Participate in at least 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity

- Visit your health care provider (nurse practitioner or physician) and get a routine medical appointment with prevention screening. If you don’t have a provider then promise yourself that you will find one this week.

- Avoid risky behaviors; we often think of risky behaviors as using illicit drugs, but often overlook the things that we do everyday such as smoke, use of seatbelts, stress management, exercise, use of a helmet while riding a bike, etc.

If you are a woman take care of yourself; if you are a man take care of the woman in your life.

http://www.womenshealth.gov/whw/

Yours In Good Health

Swine Flu’s First Fatal Victim in US April 29, 2009

The first fatally from swine flu occurred in a 23 months old Texas toddler.   The details of the story are in the NYTimes article below.  My prayers go out to the family in their time of need.

Please remember to over your mouth when you cough not with your hands but with a napkin or in you elbow. Wash your hands frequently. If you have flu like symtoms (fever and upper respiratory symtoms, etc) please get evaluated by a health care provider and stay home. Keep your children home if they are not well and get them evaluated. Do not take Tamiflu unless under the supervision of a physician.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/health/30flu.html?_r=1&hp

Yours In Good Health

Swine Flu – State of Emergency April 26, 2009

 

Please take a look at the recent NY Times article on the US declaration of a state of emergency due to approximately 20 cases of swine flu in 5 states. Health officials fear the the number of cases will rise quickly over the next several days due to health care providers and the public becoming more aware of the disease.

The NYC DOH confirmed 8 cases of swine flu at St. Frances High School in  Queens, New York. Several of the students have reported gone to Mexico recently.  Mayor Bloomberg and the NYC Health Commissioner stated in a news conference that this is not an epidemic and that New Yorkers should not panic.

All NYC physicians should be on high alert for patients with fever and upper respiratory systoms. The NYC Department of Health has sent out eblast to all listed health care providers making them aware of the swine flu symtoms, diagnostics and treatment.

 If you are having flu like systoms please see your health care provider.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/world/27flu.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

Yours In Good Health

Downpayment on Healthcare February 20, 2009

The American College of Physicians recently published an article about the impact of the recent economic stimulus package on our current health care system. It’s short, take a read.

http://www.healthbanks.com/PatientPortal/MyPractice.aspx?UAID={A830907D-8345-4AA5-A0D5-F8776BBC08BB}&TabID={X}&ArticleID=624310

Yours In Good Health

African Americans and Increase Death Rate After Surgery February 18, 2009

The researchers at Center for Outcomes Research, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia conducted a study to review the reasons for improved survival after surgery in teaching hospitals had unexpected results. It is generally acknowledged that survival after surgery is higher at teaching hospitals (hospitals with medical students and physicians in training).  Teaching hospitals are generally felt to provide better care because they are larger, generally have advance technology, greater volume and better nursing staff.  Using medicare claims data the researchers were able to show that improved survival is because of lower mortality after complications (better failure to rescue) and generally not because of fewer complications. However, the high survival and failure to rescue results seen in white patients were not seen in black patients. It appears that black patients fare about equally well in teaching and nonteaching hospitals, whereas white patients have significantly better risk-adjusted mortality and failure to rescue at teaching hospitals than at nonteaching hospitals. The explaination for these findings are unclear.

In an earlier study by the same researchers found racial differences in the length of surgery for comparable procedures and income. Black medicare patients had surgery that took 29 minutes longer than whites. The authors suggested that Blacks tended to receive their surgeries from hospitals with longer procedure times.

http://archsurg.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/144/2/113

Yours In Good Health

IAS Update II August 6, 2008

 

Here are a couple of websites with varied coverage of the conference.

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2008/

http://www.aids2008.org/

http://www.blackaids.org/ShowArticle.aspx?pagename=ShowArticle&articletype=NEWS&articleid=594&pagenumber=1

Yours in Good Health

Health Care Providers and Violence July 8, 2008

Several months ago, I wrote about Dr. Kathryn Faughey, a Manhattan psychiatrist who was killed at work by a patient.  I was particularly sensitive when I saw this New York Times article about work place violence.  Read in Good Health. 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/health/08nurses.html?8dpc=&_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1215519391-U2japXoRBXJttw0aPGKyQw

 

Pitching April 2, 2008

Today I read a piece entitled Pitching in the New York Times by David Brooks, also of The News Hour with Jim Lehrer (yes, that is a plug for PBS).  It’s the beginning of the baseball season and a lot of people are talking baseball but this piece transcended baseball and spoke to me about our society as a whole and our health care system in particular.  Brooks discussed the book “The Mental ABC’s of Pitching,” by a sports psychologist named H.A. Dorfman.  It was fascinating.  It may seem alittle astray from my normal blog post but just indulge me.  Dorfmans’ book is about the art of pitching and how pitchers become successful.  His mantra is built on discipline and the belief that behavior shapes thought (At some point we will look at the science behind that.)

To me, Brooks analysis of Dorfman’s book came down to focus or as he describes it “putting the task at the center.”  By putting the task at the center it quiets the background noise.  Yesterday I wrote about the health care industry’s slow move towards Patient-Centered Health Reform which to me does just what Dorfman is referring to, puts the task of caring for patients at the center.  When the overall health care industry truly places the quality and care of the consumer at the center then it’s own individual and group needs and wants will not seem so important and the country will be the better for it.  Just my thoughts.  

Yours in Good Health 

Read the article (it’s short):

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/opinion/01brooks.html?em&ex=1207281600&en=4cc124c74ccf65e5&ei=5087%0A

Consumer Power April 1, 2008

I see a significant glimmer of hope in the calls for change in our health care system, first the release of the first ever hospital patient care survey on Friday and today the announcement of a national agreement with leading physician groups and the health insurers groups.  They agreed upon the principles that will guide how health plans measure physician performance and report information to consumers.  The organizations basically agreed to rank physicians on the basis of both the cost and quality of care they provide to patients.  Why did it take so long to reach something that is seemly basic and exhibits some common sense?   I think it has to do with a term that you will hear a lot in the next several years, Patient-Centered Health Reform.  The health care industry is finally steering itself toward placing the health care consumer at the center, not the profits of health insurance companies or physician income but consumer health.   

Yours in Good Health  

http://healthcaredisclosure.org/docs/files/PatientCharterDisclosureRelease040108.pdf