Kentucky governor signs emergency regulations to stem drug abuse

From the Courier-Journal:

Effective immediately, Kentucky doctors must comply with tougher prescription standards under controversial emergency regulations that Gov. Steve Beshear has signed to combat drug abuse.

The rules — submitted Friday by the state boards that oversee Kentucky’s medical industry and presented to lawmakers during a committee meeting Monday — will serve until the state’s medical community can finalize more permanent regulations.

The rules increase regulations on pain clinics and require doctors to use the state’s prescription drug tracking system known as Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting, or KASPER.

The doctor’s just jumped out of his helicoptor. He’ll see you now

From the Jewish Chronicle:

Bleetman’s day job is as a clinical director in urgent care in Kettering and a consultant in emergency medicine at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. But, as a self-confessed adrenaline junkie, he would much rather be in the field somewhere, surrounded by “blood, mud and snot”.

He has written a book, called You Can’t Park Here, about his exploits in the air ambulance — an incident-strewn career which includes landing in a prison yard, destroying a coop-full of chickens when the chopper touched down next to an allotment, rescuing a TV aerial engineer stuck on a roof with a drill bit through his foot, and another man trapped between two vats of molten metal.

Anger Management Goes to the Doctor

From BusinessWeek:

Medical professionals present Anderson with unique challenges. Their hours are brutal, the stakes are high, and the threat of malpractice suits is ever-present. The life-or-death nature of the work wears at steely nerves even on the best days, Anderson says. Many doctors work long hours at the expense of family and exercise, which can dissolve tension. One doctor laughed in his face when he suggested she take a vacation. There’s another factor to consider: Since 2010, doctors’ pay has stagnated, with some specialties weathering a 10 percent cut.