A physician experiences a medical error. Here is her story.

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Infographic: [Coordinating the patient journey]. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Today: Oct. 6, 2016 [A physician experiences a medical error. Here’s her story.] As a physician, I knew exactly what was happening when I walked into the emergency room. My eyes were nearly swollen shut. My throat was closing. I was in the midst of a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. I urgently needed epinephrine, a potent medicine that could halt my life-threatening symptoms. When I told the […] [We are not taking care of nurses. Who will heal the healers?] On the day that I penned this post, I rounded at our community hospital. My first patient was in the step-down unit, which houses patients who are too ill for the regular hospital floor. I spoke to the nurse in order to be briefed on my patient’s status. I learned that this nurse was assigned […] [Practicing medicine in a place where the children have no name] I recently spent a week with the Floating Doctors in Bocas del Toro providing medical care to the Ngabe people in western Panama. In the jungle, there is little concern about prior authorizations or deductibles. There is also a critical lack of access to services that we have available in the U.S. The Ngabe people […] [The time when social media identified a foreign body] This foreign body was removed from a non-healing abdominal wall incision in an elderly lady with many comorbidities and previous operations. It was a rigid plastic tube which was 7 cm long and 2 to 3 mm in diameter. There were four transverse grooves at either end. Physicians caring for her were unable to identify […] [What’s the best way to get rid of unused medications?] A patient wrote in, asking what she ought to do with unused medications, including some psychiatric drugs and controlled substances. It’s good to get those out of the house, safely — but how? Parents should make sure to keep their homes free of unused medications. The misuse of prescription medications (usually narcotic painkillers) has surpassed motor […] [5 cases where bedside ultrasound helped this doctor] After five years of doing bedside ultrasound, I’m still excited about it. Bedside, or point-of-care ultrasound is using an ultrasound machine during the physical examination of a patient in order to make a diagnosis. I use a pretty tiny machine that fits in my pocket. As an internist who works in the hospital and in […] [The interference in health care is mesmerizing] “Beep,” went the machine. I left a message and hung up. My patient, Mr. G, had just been denied a medicine by his health insurer. It’s the same medication for the same condition that he had been taking last year. I was leaving a message on his behalf. You can be assured that if you […] [Stop with the unnecessary questions] When I find a lump in my left breast, I am stunned. I probably shouldn’t be surprised, but I’m immobilized. It takes me several days before I tell my partner, who has to push me into action. I get the referral from my doctor and schedule a mammogram. The radiology practice fits me into their […] [The serenity of an emergency physician’s commute to work] These days, I work most of my shifts about 45 minutes from my “house on the hill.” At one of those jobs, the day shift starts at 6:30 a.m. Which means I’m rising from my bed at 4:30 a.m. in order to get on the road in time. I’ve started waking up at four, spontaneously, […] [We are all responsible for behavior change] Helping our patients make better health decisions can be a challenge. Whether we aim to get them out of bed in the hospital or off of the couch at home, factors contributing to follow-through may be complicated, and the best strategies to facilitate the right choices are seldom clear. As providers, we would hope that […] [Be frugal: The key to physician financial fitness] Becoming a physician requires a great amount of financial patience. Living on the meager remains of your student loans for four years and then transitioning into a position where the pay is not commensurate with your debt obligations can be challenging. Especially when your student loan debt is growing exponentially throughout your schooling and then […] [I am not your provider] Sometimes prospective new patients ask me over the phone, “Are you a medical provider?” or “Are you a provider for [name of their particular health insurer]?” And that gets me started. Provider. Such a generic and seemingly inoffensive noun, and yet it repels me. To me, it is the verbal equivalent of a hair ball […] --------------------------------------------------------------- [Follow on Facebook] | [Twitter] --------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the KevinMD e-newsletter. If a friend sent you this email and you want to subscribe, go to [KevinMD]. --------------------------------------------------------------- 173 Daniel Webster Highway Nashua, New Hampshire 03062 [Unsubscribe] | [Change Subscriber Options]