KevinMD reveals how to leverage social media

Kevin Pho, MD, founder and editor of the popular physician blog bearing his name, Saturday shared practical insights about how to make a difference in health care through social media at the 2016 AMA Annual Meeting. Learn Dr. Pho’s tips for using social media and taking control of your online reputation before it’s defined for you.

Read more: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/ama-wire/post/physician-behind-kevinmd-reveals-leverage-social-media

The superbug that doctors have been dreading just reached the U.S.

For the first time, researchers have found a person in the United States carrying bacteria resistant to antibiotics of last resort, an alarming development that the top U.S. public health official says could mean “the end of the road” for antibiotics.

The antibiotic-resistant strain was found last month in the urine of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman. Defense Department researchers determined that she carried a strain of E. coli resistant to the antibiotic colistin, according to a study published Thursday in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology. The authors wrote that the discovery “heralds the emergence of a truly pan-drug resistant bacteria.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/26/the-superbug-that-doctors-have-been-dreading-just-reached-the-u-s/

Doctor who treated Orlando attack victims pens poetic tribute with blood-stained shoes

A doctor paid no mind to a pair of soiled shoes he wore while helping dozens of patients wounded in the Orlando massacre until his heartbreaking Facebook post.

The bloodied shoes — a brand new pair of Keens — Dr. Joshua Corsa ditched at the Orlando Regional Medical Center represent the emotional weight he carried after treating the victims in the horrific terrorist attack at the Pulse nightclub.

“I had forgotten about them until now,” Corsa wrote Tuesday. “On these shoes, soaked between its fibers, is the blood of 54 innocent human beings.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/doctor-treated-orlando-victims-pens-poetic-tribute-shoes-article-1.2674489

Third baby born in U.S. with defect tied to Zika virus

A baby born with Zika-linked microcephaly remained hospitalized in northern New Jersey on Wednesday with the first such birth defect case in the Northeast and the third in the nation, officials at Hackensack University Medical Center confirmed.

Read the rest at USA Today -->

Low Vitamin D Levels May Increase Respiratory Infection Risk In Children

A new study has shown that infants in the age group of 3 months who have vitamin D levels lower than 25 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) are two times more likely to have respiratory infections when compared to children who have levels above 75 nmol/L. In this study, published in the journalPediatrics, vitamin D levels were measured in the umbilical cord blood samples from 900 infants. The researchers examined whether these levels of vitamin D were associated with the risk of respiratory infections, wheezing or asthma.

Read the rest at: http://findatopdoc.com/blog/low-vitamin-d-levels-may-increase-respiratory-infection-risk-in-children

First Zika-Related Death in Puerto Rico Reported

(HealthDay News) -- The first known Zika virus-linked death in Puerto Rico was announced Friday by officials of the U.S. territory. A 70-year-old man with Zika died in February from severe thrombocytopenia. The death was...

https://www.physiciansbriefing

While Travelers Sleep, Brain Patrols for Danger

THURSDAY, April 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- When you sleep in a new place, a part of your brain remains alert for potential threats, a new study finds.

The findings might help explain why many people sleep poorly on their first night in a hotel, a sleep laboratory or other new location.

"In Japan they say, 'if you change your pillow, you can't sleep,' " study corresponding author Yuka Sasaki, research associate professor of cognitive linguistic and psychological sciences at Brown University in Rhode Island, said in a university news release. "You don't sleep very well in a new place. We all know about it."

Read the whole article here:

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20160421/while-travelers-sleep-brain-patrols-for-danger

How Can I Lower Cholesterol Levels?

Lowering the levels of cholesterol goes a long way in reducing the risk of heart disease and aids in a longer, healthier life. But is it easy to lower the levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) in blood? Before we start with it, let us remember that cholesterol is needed by the body in small amounts for making new cells and hormones, and also for protecting the neurons. Normally we get cholesterol from the diet including meat, eggs and milk. But levels of this compound increases with the intake of foods containing trans fats, saturated fats, and even simple sugars.

Read the rest at: http://findatopdoc.com/blog/how-can-i-lower-cholesterol-levels

Foundations of a Resilient Medical Practice

As with anything else in this world, the only constant thing in the medical field is change. The profession is constantly evolving. Healthcare practitioners are leaning more and more towards evidence-based medicine, using top-grade researches and performance-based indexes to drive treatment and outcomes. At the same time, patients are also becoming more proactive in terms of managing their health, especially in the advent of health websites such as WebMD and MedScape. This leaves doctors in private practices wondering about the worth of the years they’ve spent in medical school and the essence of surviving residency.

There is always a certain amount of pressure to change in order to keep up with the trends of the healthcare industry today. And yet, there is also a fine line between evolving and losing the mission and vision of the practice over these changes. In order to build a medical practice that can ride the waves of the ever-evolving healthcare industry, it must be rooted in these five important anchors:

Read the rest at: http://www.leadingphysiciansdaily.com/2016/01/foundations-of-a-resilient-medical-practice/