'Cheap' genome sequencing now possible

Want your own personal genome sequenced? Researchers said they had found a faster and cheaper way to do it that would cost only about $2.2 million. link

Doctor Cutting Doses To Boost Profits

Dr. George Kooshian, who has twice been sued over subdosing claims and settled both cases out of court, was indicted Wednesday on 25 counts of health-care fraud, three counts of making false statements and one count of conspiracy.

"It's pretty egregious because you are talking about people's health here," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeanie Joseph said of the accusations against Kooshian, 54, who has been ordered to appear in court on August 1.

Physician Honors: The New Political Diploma Mill?

Mueller soon found he was not the only winner. There were hundreds of Physicians of the Year present, many of whom found the criteria for being selected equally as opaque.

"Later that day, Bush spoke at the NRCC dinner, thanking the attendees for their "investment" in the party. "You're making a wise investment about the future of this country, an investment made upon principle, an investment made upon freedom, an investment that will help us stay a prosperous nation, and an investment that will allow each and every American to rise to his or her own God-given talents," he said."

Now all we need is your check for $1,200. Read the article.

How Doctors Use Google

Patients trust Google almost as much as their physician. (article) Not surprisingly, doctors too find the search giant results very useful.

Clinical Images
Google Image Search is very helpful when reading  "dry" subject from a book without illustrations. Check out the web page that Google shows below the image (when you click on it). Sometimes this can lead you to very interesting websites which are otherwise hidden on page 20-30 from the regular search results. We are all visual creatures and clinical images are definitely helpful.

Scholar Search
Google Scholar employs the same page rank algorithm used by Google to weigh the significance of a particular article. The problem with the Scholar is that it lags behind PubMed in updates. For example, if you search for a topic and the article was published several months ago, it will not appear in Scholar but it will show up in PubMed. Anyway, search for "scholar" and Google Scholar will be the first hit on both Yahoo and Google.

Use Medical Terms in the Search Query
Using "differential" or other medical terms to sort out the commercial websites is very useful. The other option is to go by the source, like "search term" + "NEJM", "AFP", "Merck manual", "eMedicine", etc., just like Kevin mentions it in his post. Google aslo offers personalized search that you can use to shift the slider to "Max" to leave the commercial websites out.

References:
More people consult Google over health - Times Online
How do I use Google? - Kevin MD
Some Great Google Tips - California Medicine Man
Clinical Cases & Images Blog

Why Is The Best Sunscreen Blocked By The FDA?

"But even though dermatologists say Mexoryl is the best, you cannot legally buy it in the United States. It's illegal, because the Food and Drug Administration won't approve it. They won't even say why. The FDA is charged with making sure no drug is sold unless the government is convinced it's safe and effective. Dermatologists think it's just stuck in the bureaucracy. It routinely takes 12 to 15 years for a drug to get approval . . .

. . . But is there no common sense here? All drugs have risks as well as benefits. Mexoryl has been in use in other countries for 13 years. It's passed many safety tests. Why won't our FDA even talk about it?

Everyone is always telling us, protect yourself from the sun, but then the government won't give us permission to have the best sunscreen?"

Link to the full story.

Independent Contractors vs. Employee

A number of medical spas are treading on the edge of legality by classifying staff as independent contractors instead of employees.

The rule of thumb is: if you dictate how someone does their job, they're an employee. Read the regulations here.

Malpractice, State By State

The Coalition for Affordable and Reliable Health Care, an advocacy group supporting medical liability reform, has a clickable map of the U.S. on which you can click your state, or any other one, and get a pop-up with real-life stories, statistics, etc. from that state illustrating the problems of the liability system. Also on its site: texts of current malpractice reform bills in Congress, information on California's MICRA law, and much more.