Being a Family Physician who formerly had C-Section privileges, I welcomed the use of closure with staples. They seemed faster (true), sterile, non-wicking in wound closure, and, I thought, better. Well, at the University of Alabama, Continue reading
Author Archives: RMoore
Death on a Saturday morning in January
At 2:17 am last Saturday, my wife and I knew the end was near. My mother-in-law was resting in her hospice-provided hospital bed in our extra downstairs room. My wife lay on a couch feigning sleep on one side, while I tried to rest on a futon on the other side. My mother-in-law suddenly Continue reading
“I had a little bird, it’s name was enza, I opened the window and influenza.”
ABC World News (1/9/13, lead story, 2:40, Sawyer) reported, “The flu sweeping the country has hospitals reeling and searching for new ways to cope with the flood of patients.” The World News featured hospitals and cities around the country, Continue reading
Osteoporosis: tips on screening and treatment
I don’t know about you, but I find osteoporosis frustrating. So many questions. When and who should I screen? When and who should I re-screen? How concerned should I be about possible side effects of various bisphosphonates? Are calcium Continue reading
A look at medications for diabetic neuropathy
“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” – The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint Exupery.
In the treatment of peripheral neuropathy, Partnership HealthPlan of California’s formulary has step requirements. It begins with Continue reading
“If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?”
Okay, this quote from Milton Berle is only tangentially related to today’s blog post, but I couldn’t pass it up. My last contribution to our blog was on rising mortality due to Clostridia difficile (C.diff) and its fomite- and hand-related transmission. Continue reading
“I don’t want to hold your hand.” – C.S.Lewis. “I want to hold your hand.” – The Beatles
A recent survey of multiple large, national databases in the US has reported that Clostridium difficile (C.diff) colitis is now the 9th leading cause of gastrointestinal and liver related deaths. Way out of line with my own perception of GI-related mortality, Continue reading
Communicating bad news – an art and a science
(Thanks to Doug Wilson, MD, president of the Napa County Medical Society, for the idea for this post.)
One of our hardest jobs as physicians is delivering bad news. It is emotionally draining, time-consuming, and uncomfortable. Most of us received very little training in Continue reading
The holidays are a great time to discuss end-of-life issues
Encouraging our patients to start thinking about and planning for their end-of-life care is always a challenge. During any given office visit, numerous competing issues vie for time. And when clinicians do surface the topic of Advance Directives, our patients often wonder Continue reading
For whom the bell tolls – steroids or antivirals for Bell palsy?
Sir Charles Bell first described the anatomy and function of the facial nerve in the 1800s. No wonder the eponymous Bell palsy bears his name (apparently we are no longer to refer to it as Bell’s palsy). The term Bell palsy is not synonymous with Continue reading