Summer 2014 Field Placements

The following organizations are actively seeking HPAM interns for Summer 2014 placements. Please send your resume and letter of interest to Nina Cleveland, ninac64@uga.edu, if interested. Athens Regional Medical Center, Local Hospital CDC- Division of Communications Services; Strategic and proactive Communications Branch, Federal Gov CDC-ATSDR and National Center for Environmental Health, Federal Gov CDC-Global Migration and Quarantine, Federal gov read more

Coast Guard assists sick Vineyard man

A 68-year-old man who became ill on Martha’s Vineyard was flown off the island to a Boston hospital early Thursday morning by a Coast Guard air crew. The Coast Guard 1st District Command Center was notified at midnight by Martha’s Vineyard Hospital that the man had internal bleeding and needed immediate transportation to a mainland medical facility, according to the Coast Guard.

Predators and “Care”

While the media and many non-profits address the issue of  rape and sexual harassment in the military, few expand their discussion  to include  how the “VA Crisis” is perhaps part and parcel of the same profoundly unfriendly friendly fire. Just as there is an inherent conflict of interest in adjudicating rape through the Chain of Command, so too the expectation that the VA is going to fix itself is bogus. The delays in getting benefits, the difficulty veterans have in getting copies of their own charts, and the documented mismanagement and crime in the system all contribute to the secondary traumatization of all veterans, no matter what kind of injury they suffered. The magnitude of the fallout of all this, the  cascade of inflammation our

Snapping defeat from the jaws of victory

What is it about opthalmologists and cataract surgery? If there were ever a success story in the world of medicine it is this: Better and more consistent quality than years ago delivered at a remarkably lower cost. But it seems like the profession insists on ways to make it more expensive.I have discussed one such “innovation,” the femtosecond laser, and the thousands of dollars in direct consumer cost that it entails and that has been authorized by CMS, the Medicare agency.Now Michelle Andrews at Kaiser Health News summarizes a recent NEJM article. Excerpts:Requiring patients to get blood work and other tests before undergoing cataract surgery hasn’t been recommended for more than a dozen years. There’s good reason for that: The eye surgery generally

The cost that is hiding in plain sight

Jack Sullivan at Commonwealth Magazine summarizes recent findings surrounding high deductible health insurance plans. I covered some of these points back in November, and it is helpful to have them restated with the latest analyses. The American Academy of Pediatrics has likewise made the case strongly. Jack’s lede:U.S. News & World Report is out with its annual index on health insurance and its impact on the economy. To the surprise of few, many of the costs are declining or at least not rising at the dizzying pace they had been.But much of those savings are going into the pockets of businesses and insurance companies, with consumers picking up an increasing share of out-of-pocket expenses because many companies are going to higher deductible