Excessive CT Scans and Imaging Cause Cancer

Or at least increase your risks of cancer.

A recent study showed that the average trauma patient receives a workup that delivers about the same amount of radiation as 1,005 chest x-rays.

FDA Wants More Power

Give the FDA more powers?

Nah...fuck it. I'm against big government.

By the way, I also like shit with my beef, maybe even served with a side of Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease. Prions...mmm.

Who Needs Evidence? There's Money to be Made!

Look at this irresponsible campaign recommending that people demand a CT scan.

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

It's enough that this racks up waste and cost in the system. In fact this does actually does harm!

Shame on the oncologists that support this...but then again, since when is oncology evidence-based? There's money to be made!

Flu Shots and Autism? Dumb Asses.

People are so frickin' stupid sometimes.

The CDC recommends flu shots for all kids now.

This story says that parents disagree.

The reasons are bullshit, by the way. Let me clear this up:

• Vaccination does not cause autism (and "Dr. Bryan Jepsen" can't be a real physician--nor an autism expert--base on his suggestion--quackery in mainstream media).
• The vaccination isn't just about protecting kids (the pediatrician interviewed doesn't seem to get this fact either)--it's about preventing it from spreading to the high-risk groups (the elderly, those with chronic diseases, the immunocompromised, etc.) for whom it really is deadly on a wide-scale basis. A great example of selfishness ("it's all about me") in our society.

10 Out of 10 Pain?

10 out of 10 pain apparently means different things to different people.

Suckered by the "Popes of Cardiology"--LDL is Bullshit?

Have we been suckered by the "Popes of Cardiology" (who have also made a bundle of cash in the process)?

Could it really be true that LDL cholesterol is bullshit? That LDL values should be ignored?

I just read two kick-ass posts from Maggie Mahar at Health Beat.

Check out The Cholesterol Con Part I and Part II.

Google Health and Cleveland Clinic--Hell Yeah!

Google and Cleveland Clinic are teaming up to create a personal health record (PHR) quicker than anyone else could hope.

PHR's from our perspective are very important.  The fact they are patient-centric is huge.  The fact that they are portable and can be viewed outside of the walls of just one clinic is extremely valuable, and ultimately saves lives by reducing the likelihood for medical error.

(If you live in Cleveland and, by chance, are somehow rendered unconscious and taken to an ER in Lincoln, Nebraska, the fact that the physician can access your information completely dramatically increases the likelihood that you'll survive.)

We've had the technology to do this for a long time, but so many people haven't had the balls to move forward.  These companies have been fearful of the potential problems associated with HIPAA, and have either chosen to rack up legal fees in the process of creating a watered-down version of their initial idea, or have abandoned the idea completely.

Google has balls.  And although I didn't realize it, Cleveland Clinic seems to have balls too.

I like it.  

HIPAA hasn't been tested in this fashion.  When a law is created, it's also important to test the legislation based on real-world scenarios.

Do something remarkable, and worry about the impact later.  This is an idea that kicks ass, that is revolutionary, and that is in the best interest of all of us.

Privacy is important, but not to the degree that people get hurt.

More commentary on The Health Care Blog...