Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Streptococcal pharyngitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oh, and of course now that kids are back in school, we are seeing strep!!

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Laryngomalacia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mommies of babies!! Here is a picture of laryngomalacia a little common airway issue that we see commonly with babies that causes them to make a little inspiratory " squeak" when they breathe in. Here is more on the wikipedia about it! It almost never requires any treatment!

To Your Best Health,

The Personal Medicine Team

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Open Letter to Primary Care Physician

Great today to hear from Renee in Southern California who has twins and is ready for housecalls!! Here is a letter that you can print up at home and bring to your physician to let them know you value their expertise and that you'd like them to implement housecalls in YOUR neighborhood! We are also working with employers, so let your HR representative know about us as well! Mom's read through it and give us some feedback.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Right Way To Lay People Off

I hope hospital CEO's will read this today...

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Monday, September 20, 2010

John Doerr To Charlie Rose: I Use My iPad In Church

Here is a cool interview with John Doerr regarding the next great wave of innovation he calls the " Third Wave" utilizing mobile, social and ecommerce. To learn more about techniques to implement disruptive innovation in your primary care practice, come meet with us at Pediatric Office of the Future at AAP's national conference!

To Your Best Health,

The Personal Medicine Team

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

HealthDay Articles

Research Sheds Light on Why Autism Is More Prevalent in Boys

Altered gene on males' X chromosome may be at least partly to blame, study finds

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- A new study is helping unravel an enduring mystery surrounding autism: Why boys are much more likely to be affected by the disorder than girls.

An international team led by Dr. John Vincent, of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, examined specific genes in almost 3,000 people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 246 others with intellectual disability. They then compared that data to genes from more than 10,000 control individuals.

Reporting in the Sept. 15 issue of Science Translational Medicine, the team found that mutations in the PTCHD1 ("patched") gene are linked to inherited forms of autism and intellectual disability in about 1 percent of affected people in the study. It was not found in any of the controls, however.

"Our data indicate that mutations at the PTCHD1 locus are ... strongly associated with ASD," the researchers concluded.

They also noted that this gene is typically located on the single X-chromosome in males.

The study "provides further clues as to why ASD affects four times more males than females," said Andy Shih, vice president for scientific affairs at Autism Speaks. "PTCHD1 is part of a neurobiological pathway that determines the development of human embryos. It is one of several genes recently implicated in both ASD and intellectual disabilities."

The finding adds a little more clarity to the murky origins of autism, Shih said.

While each new genetic discovery "may only account for a small fraction of the cases, collectively they are starting to account for a greater percentage of individuals in the autism community, as well as providing insights into possible common pathogenic mechanisms," he said. "Identification of a male-linked genetic mutation begins to address the previously unknown basis for often reported skewed male-to-female ratio in autism."

More information

Find out more about autism at the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

-- E.J. Mundell

SOURCES: Sept. 15, 2010, Science Translational Medicine; Andy Shih, vice president, scientific affairs, Autism Speaks

Last Updated: Sept. 15, 2010

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

More on the Genetic Nature of Autism... Interesting study here...

To Your Best Health,

The Personal Medicine Team

Posted via email from Personal Medicine

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Google Health gets makeover – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs

Here are some new features from the newly relaunched Google health. There are some nice new self help and monitoring features that could be useful... Give it a spin...

To Your Best health,
The Personal Medicine Team

Posted via email from Personal Medicine

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Conjunctivitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here is a nice Wikipedia article on conjunctivitis... They do a nice job going through the variety of causes from viral to bacterial to chemical and allergic... It is ragweed season cropping up now, so we are seeing more and more bilateral allergic "pinkeye". Tip... if your eye's are itchy while your outside and then resolves when you're inside, then allergic conjunctivitis moves higher up on our list...

To your Best Health,

The Personal Medicine Team

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Monday, September 06, 2010

College Tries Marketing Effort Using Facebook Places - Adages - Advertising Age

Go Cats... Ok This is about checking in during the day, while you're at class, not up late at the bar, at risk if others know your location...

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Levothyroxine 125mcg Tablets

Even I am impressed with this place... Look who just beat Walmart Folks... Now to get eprescriptions over to them and make all you patients very happy...

To Your Best Health,
The Personal Medicine Team

Posted via email from Personal Medicine

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Dr Bob Kramer to Lead Personal Medicine Advisory Board

We are thrilled to bring on Dr Robert Kramer of Dallas onto Personal Medicine's Advisory Board. A long time innovator and distinguished academician, practicing pediatrician, trusted advisor in industry from startups to the Fortune 500. Dr Bob will bring his years of experience to the table in helping Personal Medicine transform the health experience for patients and physicians.

Thank You Dr Bob!

Natalie Hodge MD FAAP

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185 - The Patients Per Doctor Map of the World | Strange Maps | Big Think

This is a nice roadmap to hopefully remind all of US in the developed world that we really have it pretty good. What if our physician members could volunteer to provide telehealth services to those underserved areas? Every little bit might help...

To Your Best Health,
The Personal Medicine Team

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Friday, September 03, 2010

Sergey Brin’s Search for a Parkinson’s Cure | Magazine

Here is an enormously impactful story about how our Personal Genomics will influence the diagnosis and treatment of the disease in the future. Wow, med school will sure be different then. If you haven't heard Mr. Brin 's bittersweet tale, read this.

To Your Best Health,

The Personal Medicine Team

Posted via email from Personal Medicine

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Google Health - Conjunctivitis

The conjunctiva is exposed to bacteria and other irritants. Tears help protect the conjunctiva by washing away bacteria. Tears also contain enzymes and antibodies that kill bacteria.

There are many causes of conjunctivitis. Viruses are the most common cause. Other causes include:

  • Allergies (allergic conjunctivitis)
  • Bacteria
  • Certain diseases
  • Chemical exposure
  • Chlamydia
  • Fungi
  • Parasites (rarely)
  • Use of contact lenses (especially extended-wear lenses)

"Pink eye" refers to a viral infection of the conjunctiva. These infections are especially contagious among children.

Newborns can be infected by bacteria in the birth canal. This condition is called ophthalmia neonatorum, and it must be treated immediately to preserve eyesight.

See also:

Here is a nice summary of "pinkeye" from Google. Remember Pinkeye is a layman's term to describe a " red eye" Your physician can help you determine cause with a good history and physical exam.

To Your Best Health,

The Personal Medicine Team

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Ten Principles for Fostering Development of an “iPhone-like” Platform for Healthcare Information Technology - a knol by Kenneth Mandl

Check out this website I found at knol.google.com

Here is a nice set of Principles from Children's Hospital Boston on development of Principles for Mobile Health Platform Development. Once important factor I would see to be helpful with integration of our Mobile EMR/PHR platform is integration of user generated health tools such as loseit.com into care. Physicians could then have a direct feedback loop with patients to help integrate self management tools into their care and wellness plan. We use a variety of self management tools in practice, but to integrate the data would be a great step. Now make all that Hippa compliant and secure, you've really got something. The problem with using ICD9 codes in traditional emr's in healthcare data mashups, as I learned from EPatient Dave this spring, is that icd9 that physicians use in practice is so far away from what the patient's real diagnosis is. Icd9 is more about what payors will pay for than it is about the patient's real diagnosis.

To Your Best Health,

The Personal Medicine Team

Posted via email from Personal Medicine