Another important topic raised by ZDoggMD, the use of antibiotics for virus infection which is a waist of money, resources and has it's complications as you can see in this video. You see, there is a contagion in our midst, good people. A contagion that WE helped to create and then disseminate. Our overuse of antibiotics along with a lack of adherence to proper infection control practices has unleashed this unnatural plague upon the unsuspecting bowels of the world. ..read more »

From the “Best of Medical Blogs - weekly review and blog carnival” by Dr Ves, stumbled upon a very interesting post by Dr. Ronan Kavanagh, rheumatologist from Ireland. In short: for engaging with patients, physicians should try playfulness, humility, politeness, and humour. Will make doctors more human, likeable and accessible. Just like these rugby players in this video. It shows three icons of Irish rugby (Paul O’Connell, Brian O’Driscoll and Jonathan Sexton) asking house owners permission to play, and for volunteers to join them in a game of tip-rugby on the grassy area in front of their homes. The ad spot .....read more »

It’s unlikely to be a comfortable place to deliver a baby, but now a video documents the first birth in an MRI machine. Christian Bamberg and a team from Charité University Hospital in Berlin, Germany, announced the world first in December 2010, but the movie has only recently been released. Thanks Sciencebase ..read more »

Some people take aspirin or ibuprofen to treat everyday aches and pains, but how exactly do the different classes of pain relievers work? Learn about the basic physiology of how humans experience pain, and the mechanics of the medicines we've invented to block or circumvent that discomfort. ..read more »

What if you're in surgery and the power goes out? No lights, no oxygen -- and your anesthesia stops flowing. It happens constantly in hospitals throughout the world, turning routine procedures into tragedies. Erica Frenkel demos one solution: the universal anesthesia machine. The solution to 18 power outages a month. ..read more »

Every doctor makes mistakes. But, says physician Brian Goldman, medicine's culture of denial (and shame) keeps doctors from ever talking about those mistakes, or using them to learn and improve. Telling stories from his own long practice, he calls on doctors to start talking about being wrong. ..read more »

Today, Your Life on USA Today is guest-hosting Grand Rounds, the best of the medical blogosphere. We asked medical bloggers to send us the finest posts from the past few months, and were thrilled to receive more than 100 entries. I, Dr. Val Jones, have prepared a summary of my favorites. They will publish the Grand Rounds in 4 posts - one at 10am, one at 1pm, one at 5pm and one at 8pm tomorrow. There are 4 sections (to be released throughout the day). Please check back. ..read more »

The two approaches to patient safety are the person approach and the system approach. The personal approach is the most encountered and outdated kind of approach in medicine. In short, errors are seen as shortcomings of medical personnel such as forgetfulness, inattention, poor motivation negligence and recklessness. The response is mostly naming, blaming, and shaming. Errors are treated as moral issues assuming that bad things happen to bad people. Seeking as far as possible to uncouple a person's unsafe acts from any institutional responsibility is clearly in the interests of managers. It is also legally more convenient, at least in .....read more »

Another great rap song, by the famous blogger ZDoggMD bullying the big pharma companies who seek to influence doctors, patients and policy makers with their money. The drug companies with direct advertising to physicians, free samples, and research stipends encourage doctors to over-prescribe medications. ..read more »

Every day there are news reports of new health advice, but how can you know if they're right? Doctor and epidemiologist Ben Goldacre shows us, at high speed, the ways evidence can be distorted, from the blindingly obvious nutrition claims to the very subtle tricks of the pharmaceutical industry. ..read more »