Just a friendly Grahamazon Public Service Announcement: Please don’t forget to include “bullet in head” in your differential diagnosis of a headache:

Michael Moylan was admitted to hospital in Florida on Wednesday complaining of severe head pain. His wife April fled when a bullet was discovered.

She was subsequently arrested for illegal possession of a firearm.

Thank God they didn’t do an MRI first.

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Google announces a new “Health Advisory Council” with a lot of big names , but no medical students or likely anyone in the health care industry (by their faces and descriptions at least) under 35 or 40. (Hint, Google: medical students and residents are your power users and early adopters of medical technology, and are most likely to be open to change in the health care system!) Add some youth to your perspective–we’re the ones who’ve grown up with technology! Hell, some of us are big enough losers that we build electronic medical record interfaces for fun !

No medical bloggers, either. Boo.

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In healthcare . Joe Paduda explains.

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(grandrounds and then the AT sign and then grahamazon.com)

is the best way to submit your Grand Rounds post for next week, I need them by 5pm Pacific Time on Monday the 3rd! I’ll do my best to include all submissions, but I’ll be starting a new rotation that day, so the earlier the better! Sicko-related and July 4th/patriotic/whatever posts are greatly encouraged!

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How to be an ER doctor from Shadowfax and Why to get EKGs by 10 outta 10.

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Some call it “phantom vibration syndrome.” Others prefer “vibranxiety” — the feeling when you answer your vibrating cellphone, only to find it never vibrated at all. (via Orac , who also has this!)

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I would think that a policy wonk for a conservative think tank would be above taking cheap shots at a tragedy, especially when said tragedy is anecdotal and proves nothing, but I guess not. David Hogberg somehow equates the latest controversy at Drew/Harbor hopsital with that scary world of socialized medicine , so I’m happy to fire back with anecdotes myself.

One hospital in California did unnecessary heart surgeries.

Another hospital was fined more than $700 MILLION for defrauding Medicare (and by relation, US taxpayers.

One private psychiatric hospital locked up patients and held them against their will until their insurance ran out. (No, I’m not making that one up.)

Where did this happen? Canada, the UK, Japan? No, it’s right here in the US. The first was a hospital owned by Tenet, the second HCA, the largest private hospital chain the country, and the third was National Medical Enterprises, now known as… Tenet.

And all three of these are privately owned hospital chains. That what you want from your health care system? One that puts profits over patient safety and proper treatment and diagnosis?

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Anonymous doctors talk about practicing medicine and The 50 Doctor Poll . Favorite bit:

Do doctors have God complexes?
Yes…. 28
No…. 22

Do you have a God complex?
Yes….2
No…. 48

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