RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

Here is our Top Blog Post for today, brought to you by NW Scrubs:

• Speaking Out: Imperiled, Independent Privately Practicing Physicians Are Good for the Economy

The independent practice of medicine is in trouble according to this narrative. Furthermore, by 2020, there is likely to be a shortage of 50,000 doctors in the U.S. alone as fewer doctors are entering practice and more are leaving. Some are seeking employment with limited hours. Health care reforms have not been beneficial at increasing recruitment, either. Health care is good for the economy – but it seems to be the best kept secret. While manufacturing jobs diminish, those in health care are rising- employing up to 20% of all workers.

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Here is our Top News Post for today, brought to you by MedReader:

• Aggressive Phototherapy No Bonus For The Tiniest Babies

According to a recent study, phototherapy did not decrease Neurodevelopmental impairments or deaths in infants weighing less than 1,000g. Although the aggressive treatment using phototherapy was effective in reducing Neurodevelopmental impairments in infants weighing only 501-751 g, death rates tended to be higher. Phototherapy is often used to decrease bilirubin levels. High levels of bilirubin can lead to hearing loss. Other treatment strategies, such as the use of tin mesoporphyrin, might be the safest and most effective strategy to address the postnatal rise in serum bilirubin levels in these tiny infants.

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Here is our Top Medical Video for today, brought to you by ScrubTV:

Pain Management in Osteoarthritis

This program features a series of pain case conferences where physicians present challenging cases to a multidisciplinary panel of pain experts knowledgeable in treating the type of pain each patient presents. The physicians provide the history, examination, labs and radiology, and diagnosis for each case. The panel discussions include the overall assessment, anatomy, etiology, prevalence, patient education procedures, treatment options, and patient monitoring parameters for each case.

Here is our Top Blog Post for today, brought to you by NW Scrubs:

• Psychiatric Diagnosis: Fact or Fiction?

A thought provoking blog on psychiatric diagnosis and the DSM-IV. The basic question posed is this: do people suffer from a finite number of discrete psychiatric disorders/diseases or do people experience varying degrees of human suffering in their own idiosyncratic ways? The problem with this idea is it is not all based in evidence. Herein lies an exploration into a unique discussion of the human condition when confronted by mental distress.

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Here is our Top News Post for today, brought to you by MedReader:

• Osteoporosis Drugs Increase Risk For Heart Problems

Atrial fibrillation can be serious or fatal in those people taking alendronate or zoledronic acid, two common medications to prevent or slow the occurrence of osteoporosis. The analysis showed that 2.5 to 3 percent of patients taking bisphosphonates experienced atrial fibrillation and 1 to 2 percent experienced serious AF, including hospitalization or death.

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Here is our Top Medical Video for today, brought to you by ScrubTV:

RX Drugs Under Study

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices reports that deaths linked to prescription medications, such as Chantix and Heparin, have hit an all time high. From January to March 2008 there were 20,745 serious drug reactions and over 4,000 deaths.

Here is our Top Blog Post for today, brought to you by NW Scrubs:

• Real vs. Not Real, by Nurse K

A hilarious account of patients who sometimes “fake” their diagnosis to get treatment (generally narcotics) and those patients who” fake” their symptoms sometimes come in with the real thing. Differentiating between the “cry wolf” syndrome and the real thing takes talent and experience.
Several patient examples and outcomes are explored in this funny satire of a day in the ER.

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Here is our Top News Post for today, brought to you by MedReader:

• AIDS Treatment Should Start Sooner, Study Finds

Patients who have AIDS should start treatment earlier, a new study suggests. The study found that delaying treatment until the immune system is already severely damaged increases the risk of dying in the next few years compared to patients who have had their treatment started earlier. About 56,300 people are newly infected with AIDS each year with 1.2 million people living with AIDS in the U.S. as of the most recent statistics available from UNAIDS.

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Here is our Top Medical Video for today, brought to you by ScrubTV:

• Sepsis Guidelines Cut Mortality Despite Lagging

Twenty-five years ago little was known about the causes of neurodegenerative diseases. Now, however, it is clear that they are the result of the abnormality in the processing of proteins. Of all the laboratory studies done on neurodegenerative diseases, the most unexpected findings had to do with the discovery of the prion protein and infectious prions. The concept of prions has provided an explanation of how a disease can be both infectious and genetic and has revealed previously unknown neurological diseases. Presentation is approximately 1 hour, 17 minutes.

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