I'm a doctor in the US, and I'm stepping into the line of fire here as there is some serious doctor hate going on in this thread, but here goes... First of all (in the US at least) most of these arguments are moot because patients by law have the right to their medical record. So, regardless of what your doctor thinks, by federal law you have the right to request and get access to your medical record.
In regards to the attitudes about IF patients should have this access I would be willing to bet that older physicians would be more against it than younger physicians. Doctors above a certain age tend to be more paternalistic towards patients than younger doctors. My personal opinion is that any individual should be able to obtain access to their own medical notes.
However, most people are not familiar with the diagnostic process and jargon used in medical records. This could definitely lead to misinterpretation or confusion by a patient or the feeling that information was withheld when that is not the case at all. For instance I may write in a chart "left lung cavitary mass - malignancy vs TB vs fungal infection" indicating that I'm not yet sure what it is and more workup is needed. Do I tell the patient every possible differential diagnosis? No, because that tends to freak patients out, I say "I don't know what it is yet, we need to do some more tests."
If the patient read my note without understanding how to interpret it they may feel that information was withheld or the doctor has no clue what's going on. I think that is more what is behind the results of this survey than doctors "covering their ass", because if a patient wants to sue they will sue, and every single piece of information about that patient will be subpoenaed and scrutinized by lawyers. You cover your ass by putting complete and accurate information into the medical record, and not trying to cover up mistakes if they happen. Personally I would not care if any of my patients read their chart. I will even show it to them "See, last time I wrote that this was going on, is that still a problem?"
I refuse to pay more to wear some goofy glasses (over my prescription glasses) and then go home with a headache after 2 hours of eyestrain. I'll stick to old fashioned 2D. Thankfully most of the theaters in my area will carry the 2D versions of those released in 3D.
Man, people really get worked up over shitty cartoons from their childhood created to sell toys. Did I watch some ninja turtles as a kid? Yes Was it good? Not particularly Do I care the least bit that Michael Bay is going to turn it into a CGI shitfest? Not really
Bay sucks. His movies suck. But I don't really care what he does with ninja turtles
These should absolutely be in the public domain. It drives me crazy when companies claim rights to something that they had no part in creating or any real connection to. These should be archived at the Library of Congress and freely available to anyone to use and learn from.
This is right on. So many patients if you don't prescribe antibiotics will get pissed and say the doc "didn't do anything." Nevermind the 15 minutes you spent with them taking history, examining them and explaining that they most likely had a virus that antibiotics will not help and that giving them antibiotics may even cause them problems in the long run. Nope, if they don't get a scrip you are worthless in their minds. Regardless, I rarely prescribe antibiotics for sinutitis, bronchitis, etc. Because like the article says these are usually viral, and over prescribing antibiotics is a Bad Thing(TM). Sometimes it ends up being something that needs antibiotics and I'll treat it appropriately, but the vast majority resolve on their own.
I had a nice discussion with a lady last week that had completed her course of abx for pneumonia and she was feeling better, but she really wanted a antibiotic scrip bad "just in case." She was literally begging me to give her more antibiotics. I tried as best as I could to explain that she didn't need any more, and ultimately refused to give her a scrip. I don't think she was happy about it, but that is just the kind of stuff docs have to put up with regulary and unfortunately too many relent and just do what the patient wants.
I just spoke with a HP rep and said that I wanted a new laptop with XP. She told me that there is no way to get a new one with XP, but they could sell me a refurbished one. Oh well looks like they lost a customer.
OK I wasn't really going to buy a new laptop, but If I was it wouldn't be an HP.
Really? Since day one I've been delving into my mac. By tinkering around with plist files and other "behind the scenes" stuff I've figured out how to do stuff that's impossible to do with the gui tools, but has made OS X more useable (for me at least). Mind you it's not too many things but enough to make me glad that I dug a little deeper.
The only problem I have is that now I don't want to upgrade (using panther) because I'll have to redo everything after I reinstall the OS. Meh, Tiger wasn't worth the trouble and expense anyway.
My dad is a doctor and he never wears a tie or coat. Ironic that by being "lazy" and not wearing a tie he is actually creating a safer environment for his patients.
I'll remind him to tell my mom that next time she says he doesn't look professional without a tie.
Yet, as medical students we are required to wear ties...
Well, the experience I was referring to was in computer usage not techinical support. I have no experience in phone support so obviously I would not be very good at it.
Nicely put. I have a perfect example of this from just the other day:
My dad's friend was having some trouble doing something on his computer. It's something that, if I was in front of his machine, would have taken me all of two minutes to do. But I tried to explain it on the phone and it took close to a half hour before he finally got it worked out. I was trying to explain the simplest things like opening two explorer windows so you can drag files between folders, and he got confused by terms I used. It was frustrating for me because it was just "so easy".
The guy in question is an anesthesiologist, and is a VERY smart man. I had to remind myself that he could rattle off stuff that, to a doctor, is as easy as walking and talking, but to most people it is completely incomprehensible. While I have spent years with computers (to where using them feels like second nature) he has done the same with medicine.
It just comes down to where your experience lies. The good doctor wasn't dumb; it's just that his experience was in the realm of medicine. It's not as the grandparent poster said that he was not curious or didn't want to learn. Just that with his limited time he chose to learn other things.
On a related note: I'm in medical school so I'll get to be one of the doctors who knows about computers, too!
amen. Any sort of mandated fun or "morale boosters" always end up being a drag. As it's been said before, if companies want to boost morale they should start off by treating their employees with respect.
My 3G iPod has virtually no scratches on it after two years of heavy use. And I'm not all that careful with it. I'll put it in my pocket, throw it around the car, etc.
Haven't we been hearing this from Sun for about ten years now? Ever since they came out with Java they've been touting the end of the PC, "the network is the computer" and all that. I guess they are hoping that if they keep saying it, it will come true
if it was THAT obvious, somebody would have patented it already
I don't think so. The idea being that if something is obvious a person wouldn't bother to patent it. I can think of many things that I've "invented" but would never bother pursuing a patent on because it IS obvious.
What they are trying to patent is basically a document search with the search crtiteria predefined (i.e. highlight numbers).
It's gotten to the point where companies are no longer trying to patent unique or original ideas; they are trying to patent ALL ideas.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm a doctor in the US, and I'm stepping into the line of fire here as there is some serious doctor hate going on in this thread, but here goes...
First of all (in the US at least) most of these arguments are moot because patients by law have the right to their medical record. So, regardless of what your doctor thinks, by federal law you have the right to request and get access to your medical record.
In regards to the attitudes about IF patients should have this access I would be willing to bet that older physicians would be more against it than younger physicians. Doctors above a certain age tend to be more paternalistic towards patients than younger doctors.
My personal opinion is that any individual should be able to obtain access to their own medical notes.
However, most people are not familiar with the diagnostic process and jargon used in medical records. This could definitely lead to misinterpretation or confusion by a patient or the feeling that information was withheld when that is not the case at all. For instance I may write in a chart "left lung cavitary mass - malignancy vs TB vs fungal infection" indicating that I'm not yet sure what it is and more workup is needed. Do I tell the patient every possible differential diagnosis? No, because that tends to freak patients out, I say "I don't know what it is yet, we need to do some more tests."
If the patient read my note without understanding how to interpret it they may feel that information was withheld or the doctor has no clue what's going on.
I think that is more what is behind the results of this survey than doctors "covering their ass", because if a patient wants to sue they will sue, and every single piece of information about that patient will be subpoenaed and scrutinized by lawyers. You cover your ass by putting complete and accurate information into the medical record, and not trying to cover up mistakes if they happen.
Personally I would not care if any of my patients read their chart. I will even show it to them "See, last time I wrote that this was going on, is that still a problem?"
I refuse to pay more to wear some goofy glasses (over my prescription glasses) and then go home with a headache after 2 hours of eyestrain. I'll stick to old fashioned 2D. Thankfully most of the theaters in my area will carry the 2D versions of those released in 3D.
Windows 8 mail might make me pine for Pine also.
Man, people really get worked up over shitty cartoons from their childhood created to sell toys.
Did I watch some ninja turtles as a kid? Yes
Was it good? Not particularly
Do I care the least bit that Michael Bay is going to turn it into a CGI shitfest? Not really
Bay sucks. His movies suck. But I don't really care what he does with ninja turtles
Not sure how translating everything into shorthand would help much, I'm sure the Iranians have a few people around who can read it.
Steganography might be fun to try, though ;)
These should absolutely be in the public domain. It drives me crazy when companies claim rights to something that they had no part in creating or any real connection to. These should be archived at the Library of Congress and freely available to anyone to use and learn from.
Also, Feynman rules!
This is right on. So many patients if you don't prescribe antibiotics will get pissed and say the doc "didn't do anything." Nevermind the 15 minutes you spent with them taking history, examining them and explaining that they most likely had a virus that antibiotics will not help and that giving them antibiotics may even cause them problems in the long run. Nope, if they don't get a scrip you are worthless in their minds.
Regardless, I rarely prescribe antibiotics for sinutitis, bronchitis, etc. Because like the article says these are usually viral, and over prescribing antibiotics is a Bad Thing(TM). Sometimes it ends up being something that needs antibiotics and I'll treat it appropriately, but the vast majority resolve on their own.
I had a nice discussion with a lady last week that had completed her course of abx for pneumonia and she was feeling better, but she really wanted a antibiotic scrip bad "just in case." She was literally begging me to give her more antibiotics. I tried as best as I could to explain that she didn't need any more, and ultimately refused to give her a scrip. I don't think she was happy about it, but that is just the kind of stuff docs have to put up with regulary and unfortunately too many relent and just do what the patient wants.
This is the reason I use separate business and personal emails.
You can revive those dead NiCad batteries. Check this out:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Revive-Nicad-Batteries-by-Zapping-with-a-Welder/
I got my 3120 through Cingular. I love it.
It's just a phone, which is all I want. The battery life is great.
I just spoke with a HP rep and said that I wanted a new laptop with XP. She told me that there is no way to get a new one with XP, but they could sell me a refurbished one. Oh well looks like they lost a customer.
OK I wasn't really going to buy a new laptop, but If I was it wouldn't be an HP.
Really? Since day one I've been delving into my mac. By tinkering around with plist files and other "behind the scenes" stuff I've figured out how to do stuff that's impossible to do with the gui tools, but has made OS X more useable (for me at least). Mind you it's not too many things but enough to make me glad that I dug a little deeper.
The only problem I have is that now I don't want to upgrade (using panther) because I'll have to redo everything after I reinstall the OS. Meh, Tiger wasn't worth the trouble and expense anyway.
Check out the over-the-top patriotic imagery in the new "e-passports"
t ml
http://travel.state.gov/passport/eppt/eppt_2501.h
Is this some kind of reverse psychology?
That's exactly what I was thinking. Just got my new one in June. No chip. Expires 2016.
My dad is a doctor and he never wears a tie or coat.
Ironic that by being "lazy" and not wearing a tie he is actually creating a safer environment for his patients.
I'll remind him to tell my mom that next time she says he doesn't look professional without a tie.
Yet, as medical students we are required to wear ties...
I'm a cultivated pose!
Well, the experience I was referring to was in computer usage not techinical support.
I have no experience in phone support so obviously I would not be very good at it.
Nicely put. I have a perfect example of this from just the other day:
My dad's friend was having some trouble doing something on his computer. It's something that, if I was in front of his machine, would have taken me all of two minutes to do. But I tried to explain it on the phone and it took close to a half hour before he finally got it worked out.
I was trying to explain the simplest things like opening two explorer windows so you can drag files between folders, and he got confused by terms I used. It was frustrating for me because it was just "so easy".
The guy in question is an anesthesiologist, and is a VERY smart man. I had to remind myself that he could rattle off stuff that, to a doctor, is as easy as walking and talking, but to most people it is completely incomprehensible. While I have spent years with computers (to where using them feels like second nature) he has done the same with medicine.
It just comes down to where your experience lies. The good doctor wasn't dumb; it's just that his experience was in the realm of medicine. It's not as the grandparent poster said that he was not curious or didn't want to learn. Just that with his limited time he chose to learn other things.
On a related note: I'm in medical school so I'll get to be one of the doctors who knows about computers, too!
amen.
Any sort of mandated fun or "morale boosters" always end up being a drag. As it's been said before, if companies want to boost morale they should start off by treating their employees with respect.
I saw a show about this on PBS a few years ago. Really interesting, but not necessarily a recent discovery.
My 3G iPod has virtually no scratches on it after two years of heavy use. And I'm not all that careful with it. I'll put it in my pocket, throw it around the car, etc.
I wonder why they changed to a softer plastic.
Haven't we been hearing this from Sun for about ten years now?
Ever since they came out with Java they've been touting the end of the PC, "the network is the computer" and all that. I guess they are hoping that if they keep saying it, it will come true
Exactly. Document search highlighting has been around for ages. All this does is pre-define the search criteria.
if it was THAT obvious, somebody would have patented it already
I don't think so. The idea being that if something is obvious a person wouldn't bother to patent it.
I can think of many things that I've "invented" but would never bother pursuing a patent on because it IS obvious.
What they are trying to patent is basically a document search with the search crtiteria predefined (i.e. highlight numbers).
It's gotten to the point where companies are no longer trying to patent unique or original ideas; they are trying to patent ALL ideas.
Highlighting numbers in a document?
That sounds like an assignment for a freshman programming course.
If things like this are getting patented they really need some new people in the patent office. This is getting ridiculous.