Air Medical Crash

From AOL:
WASHINGTON (May 31) – A medical helicopter crashed on its way to Washington Hospital Center, killing the patient and injuring three crew members.
The patient, Steven Gaston, was being transported from another hospital about 10 miles away and died in emergency surgery late Tuesday after the crash, Washington Hospital Center spokesman LeRoy Tillman said.
The pilot, [...]

Top 10 Drugs Prescribed by Emergency Physicians in 2005

From “Vital Signs” in ACEP NewsSource: Verispan
Zithromax Z-Pak: 961 millionLevaquin: 662 millionZithromax suspension: 354 millionZithromax: 310 millionLipitor: 308 millionNorvasc: 197 millionAmbien: 191 millionSkelaxin: 189 millionPrevacid: 186 millionToprol XL: 183 million

Physicians’ on-call system may have to go through changes or die

From Columbus (OH) Business First, via Symtym:
The Ohio Hospital Association says shrinking reimbursements from insurers, Medicare and Medicaid, increasing malpractice insurance premiums and other factors are combining to discourage physicians from taking on-call assignments.
Physicians serving on-call at hospitals generally don’t earn income unless they are actually called into service and the patient or their [...]

Iowa governor signs malpractice bill

From the Des Moines Register:
Legislation offering a solution to the problem of costly medical malpractice insurance was signed into law Wednesday by (Iowa) Gov. Tom Vilsack.
Under House File 2716, approved by the Legislature late last month, doctors and other licensed professionals will be allowed to apologize for botched procedures and not face those admissions as [...]

Standards, costs keep docs from digital age

From CNN.com
Dr. Brian Zell was an early adopter of electronic health records when he switched his suburban Philadelphia practice to a computerized system five years ago — but he still uses reams of paper.
Most experts agree that electronic records reduce medical mistakes and cut costs by avoiding duplication, but there is no standardized way to [...]

Doc gives patient blood during surgery

From CNN.com
A heart surgeon had to take a break from a mercy-mission operation in El Salvador so he could donate his own rare-type blood for his 8-year-old patient.
Dr. Samuel Weinstein said he had his blood drawn, ate a Pop-Tart, returned to the operating table and watched as his blood helped the boy survive the complex [...]

"Doctors’ Lingo That Leaves You Speechless"

From the Hartford Courant:
It’s impolite to speak in a foreign language in front of people who don’t know it. For many of us in the medical profession, though, the switch to medicalese just happens, the way French comes back when two Parisian expatriates meet. At lunch with friends, another of whom is a doctor:
Guest: [...]

New ACEP CME: Treatment of TASER Injuries

An article associated with Continuing Medical Education (CME)on the American College of Emergency Physician’s (ACEP) website:
Focus On: Management of TASER Injuries

Specialists Paid to Aid the Uninsured

From the Palm Beach (FL) Post:
In an effort to alleviate the shortage of medical specialists handling emergency cases, JFK Medical Center in Atlantis has started paying doctors for treating uninsured emergency patients.
JFK is setting aside at least $800,000 a year to pay physicians under the program that started last month, said Dr. Ross Stone, an [...]

QuickStats: Most Common Diagnoses in Patients Transported by Ambulance to Emergency Departments, by Primary Diagnosis Group

From the CDC, via GruntDoc
During 2003, approximately 16 million ambulance transports were made to emergency departments (30 per minute); 37% of patients transported were admitted to hospitals.
Chest painContusion with intact skin Nonischemic heart disease Sprains and strains of the neck and back Convulsions Syncope and collapse Abdominal pain PneumoniaDrug dependence and non-dependent abuse of drugs [...]