I'm Back..Life is Crazy

It's been a few months since I had a chance to post on this blog- Happy Spring !!

In our business, like any other business, it is important to train and plan for the future-

I went to The American College of Physician's Meeting in New Orleans a couple weeks ago. We need 50 hours of continuing medical education yearly.

Iron levels seem to be a hot topic- Ferritin is a blood marker for iron levels and can contribute to not feeling well, even with normal blood counts ( not being anemic)- It has been shown that high-level athletes' performance improves if their iron levels are raised from low/normal to normal levels.-even without anemia.

I just ordered a ferritin level on a lady in the office with medical issues and complaints of fatigue- Her ferritin a year ago or so was low. It will be interesting to see how it comes out. She may benefit from iron supplementation.  My dad just got diagnosed with colon cancer ( he will be fine) and his ferritin level was low; even with a transfusion he had trouble walking 20 feet; we gave him IV iron and after two doses, he started feeling better; I think Ferritin will be a hot-topic, just like Vitamin D.

I have taken numerous emergency room calls at Glenbrook Hospital to keep our patient flow-The hospital is having trouble getting doctors to accept new patients being admitted via the emergency room to the hospital. These on-call doctors, of which I am one, are either getting burned out or are being bought by the hospitals becoming employees; The pool of doctors willing to take call for the ER is dropping;  Medical Group doctors of The North Shore System are not encouraged to attend patients in the hospitals (including their own personal patients)- What happened to continuity of care and being there for your patient when they get ill and are hospitalized? 

Everyone tells me to pull back and regain life-enjoyment and satisfaction (heck, I tell my patients this everyday)- I have done that and have restarted my workouts, nutritional support, etc., but the problem is that the Government is changing the way we will be getting reimbursed and how hospitals will be doing their business. It is difficult to plan for the future and make a business plan if the future is not certain; How do you play the game if the rules keep changing? Needless to say, I have been wiped and exhausted maintaining my quality care medicine, office operations, personal life, etc.

Be nice to your doctor(s)- we are all working hard to take care of you and trying to survive in the meantime! We are not going to the golf course ( at least I am not);

New things in the office include adminsitering Prolia- this is a medicine for osteoporosis; It is a painless every 6 month injection that slows down bone loss and enhances, as a result, the laying down of normal healthy bone- it is pretty neat as it uses monclonal antibodies. Everyone needs weight bearing exercise; Vitamin D intake 400-1000 IU's daily, Calcium 1000-1500mg daily !

One last tidbit- I treat alcholism through my practice; Vivitrol is a medicine that blocks the effects of alcohol on the brain- similar to when we used to plug doorlocks with toilet paper as a prank on our friends ( at least I did). Alcohol blocks the door lock so alcohol (the key) can't get it- I have been using this medicine for years and have saved a handful of lives- not only does it block alcohol so the positive effects are not felt, it also stops the OCD/thirst/desire over time.

I saw a lady for her 2nd injection the other day- prior, she was very well known in the ER as a frequent flier alcoholic; always coming in for intoxication and withdrawal; Since the first injection last month, she had one relapse- she drank two bottles of wine and tossed the third down the drain; She got disgusted, stopped drinking and went on with her day- Why is this huge? Her prior drinking would have led to 6-7 days of contiuous drinking with intoxication and a visit to the hospital;  One day of drinking without the trip to the emergency room, no intoxication, and moving on with life !- I expect that over time she will stop dirnking altogether; This is a one year program; WOW ! Exciting for her-

I hope to contribute more and hope all of you enjoy reading it; My tallies show 260 people or so have ready my blog since I started...