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Placebo Gazette #153
(Keeping Our Finger On The Prostate Of Medicine)
 
5/26/10

  1. Placebo Journal Update
  2. Papa Doc
  3. Who's On First?
  4. Veggie Coma
  5. Placebo Journal Blog = Blog of Note
  6. Sitting On A Pile Of Cash
  7. Floaters
  8. Wrap It Up
  9. Pork Problem
  10. Hospital-Physician Relationships by Ted Bacharach MD (retired)
 

 

1. Placebo Journal Update



You have only 4 days to make the next issue of the placebo journal. That's right, May 30th is the deadline! Here is what is in store:
  • GU Joe
  • Onguysa
  • Podiatry Conference in Bigfoot, Tx
  • Hospital Robot Wars
  • Say Yes to the Pess!
Don't miss out on your chance to find your smile again. If you are interested in subscribing to the only print medical journal that will make you laugh (on purpose) then just click below:


SUBSCRIBE




2. Papa Doc


Dr. Walter Watson is 100 years old, has delivered over 18,000 babies and is still working! This guy is a legend and a role model who still loves medicine. "Papa Doc" has been practicing for over sixty years starting in the 1940s. Talking about coming full circle, Dr. Watson is getting about the same reimbursement today as he did then. Congrats!

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3. Who's On First


US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is at it again. He is asking Congress for billions of dollars (yes, billions) to end "the twin scourges of child obesity and hunger". Sounds like a horror movie - twin scourges. I have blogged about this concept many times because it blows my mind. It just doesn't make intuitive sense. In fact, if you read this article about it you will be even more confused. It keeps switching topics every few sentences from how terrible it to have hungry kids in this country (which it is) to how dangerous it is to have obese kids in this country (which it is). Back and forth it goes but doesn't really explain how this phenomenon could exist. Does it? The whole article sounds like an Abbott and Costello routine. Other countries would think we were crazy if they read this. Trust me, if our government plowed billions into giving the hungry kids more food they would find a way to make them obese. And the obese kids are just going to become obese adults unless we find a way to get them to eat less, eat more nutritious, and actually move their bodies. And no, we can't just transplant the hungry kids to the obese kids households and vice versa. That would be wrong. Or would it?


 

4. Veggie Coma


An 88 year-old woman overdosed on Bok Choy (a veggie) trying to prevent diabetes. This was actually reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Doctors discovered she had a severe case of hypothyroidism, which left her in a thyroid-induced coma from the food. Rumor has it they were trying to give her a hamburger and hot dog slurry to counteract the effects. Okay, sorry, that was in bad taste. The woman did recover and now there is debate on what to rename the vegetable. I recommend Shock Choy. Any other ideas?

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 5. Placebo Journal = Blog of Note



Somehow our blog has been listed as a "blog of note". Thanks!! If you are a new visitor then I want to introduce you to what we are all about. Our medical blog takes a sarcastic yet realistic view of today's healthcare news. It is both political and humorous. Other than myself, we also host some special guests who will put in a occasional commentary. If you enjoy the blog you may also enjoy:

  • Placebo Television (free) - described as the "Daily Show of Medicine", our vlog employs video and characters to gets some humorous points across.
  • Placebo Journal (subscription) - our print journal that started it all (almost ten years ago). It is a bimonthly humorous magazine that will make you laugh...on purpose. You can get a free sample here if you live inside the U.S.
  • Placebo Gazette (free) - our weekly e-newsletter which is a complitation of blog sent right to your inbox.
  • Placebo Journal Website - the holding spot for it all. Coming soon: Funny Medical Story of the Day!!
  • Medicalspeaker.com - if you are in need of a humorous keynote speaker for your next medical conference.

6. Sitting On A Pile Of Cash




Many hospitals in Massachusetts are sitting on piles of cash worth billions and since they aren't using it the Patrick administration wants to have it. They are asking for a one-time contribution totaling $100 million for a fund that will help small businesses pay their health insurance costs. On one hand I can see how there is close scrutiny on how much these hospitals are charging and what they are doing with their cash, which may or may not come from gouging patients and insurers. On the other hand, it sure seems ludicrous for the state government to demand a donation. It is like penalizing people who save for their kid's college tuition by not giving them financial aid and then handing it over to those who decided not to save. Wait a minute. That is happening already.

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7. Floaters


A government report showed that one in eight public swimming pools was shut down two years ago for such things as dirty water and poor chlorination. The kiddie pools, however, also had fecal matter and urine. The article even makes the statement that one in five adults admit to peeing in the pool. As you can expect, there are a lot of diseases that go along with this. I can hear the Jaws theme now.....Da Dum....Da Dum....Da......and, wait, is that a Baby Ruth bar? God, I love Caddyshack.
 
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8. Wrap It Up


The Washington Post is reporting that high school students and college-age adults had complained to the D.C. officials that the free condoms the city offers are not of good enough quality and are too small, and that getting them from school nurses "was just like asking grandma or auntie." Now the city has decided to stock up on Trojan brand condoms and the super-size Trojan "Magnum" product. What, no "French ticklers" or berry-scented brands? I always wondered how anyone could complain for anything they get free but here is a great example. And they want Magnums? Who are these people? And whatever is in the water in Washington D.C. I want some.

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9. Pork Problem


A recent study in the journal Circulation concluded that eating just one serving of bacon, sausage, hot dogs and other processed meats a day can raise the risk of heart disease by 42 percent and diabetes by 19 percent. The authors did a meta-analysis of nearly 1,600 studies from around the world and they are linking the risk increase not to the meat itself but to the increase sodium and nitrate preservatives. Interesting. I am sure that the pork people are now going to blast this study through the media but it isn't like we didn't know that processed meats was bad for us. As a good friend of mine used to say, "You b-b-b-buttered your bread. N-n-now sleep in it. "

Th-th-th-that's all, folks!


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10. Hospital-Physician Relationships by Ted Bacharach MD



It was only a few years ago when hospitals tried to please physicians to gain their support and determine how they can best serve the community and the physicians in the area. The first sign of change occurred several years ago when a hospital in southern California had a board that decided they did not like the individual the medical staff had selected to be “Chief of Staff”. Medical staffs at other hospitals in California felt this was something that should be fought. The physicians ,outraged at this occurrence, did not accomplish much and the road physicians have followed since that time has continued to erode the physician’s ability to control or have any significant role in hospital operation. Many factors have played a role in this.

It was about the time that this occurred or shortly afterward that hospitals began to hire hospitalists. Attending physicians were encouraged to let the hospitalists take care of their patients. Since the hospitalists were hospital employees and were on call for many things there was no need for primary care physicians to be members of the hospital employee. The practices adopted soon became the best interest of the hospital and not as had been the case, the patient.

Gradually the capacity and responsibility for the care of the patient was taken away from the physician and taken over by the “Hospital”. In further pursuit of this goal hospitals have gradually taken over the practice of medicine and converted the physician to employee. Hospitals have better ability to negotiate the cost of medical care and determine where and how it will be administered. Reduction of the cost of medical care seems highly unlikely.

Is all of this in the best interest of our patients!!!

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Until next time, keep smiling, keep laughing and keep out of the sample closet.

Doug Farrago MD


King of Medicine

 

 

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