Hello everyone, We just celebrated our one year anniversary! And what better way to celebrate than with a new look? I’m astounded as I think back on the changes we have experienced: not just from our first iteration as a print publication–albeit that is definitely a...

Music and Sound Vibration Healing: Discussion and New Product Review of HealthKeys, LLC's Sound Health Chair. Since graduating from Duke Medical School at the age of 23 about fifty years ago (but who’s counting?) my life quest has been to relieve the pain of my patients so that they may heal and enjoy their life in health. To that end, I became a board certified neurosurgeon and began my practice to help patients become free of their debilitating pain.

7 Keys to Surviving the Perfect Storm. We’re in trouble. A nationwide survey found that 49% of physicians plan to either decrease the numbers of patients that they see or quit altogether within 3 years. That was 2008. We are facing a national healthcare disaster with extreme consequences. Those of us that choose to stay and practice undoubtedly will face increasing demands at the very time when resources are becoming scarce.

Promoting the Health of Children and Adolescents Exposed to Trauma and Violence. Children and adolescents exposed to trauma and violence may exhibit moderate to severe psycho-social-emotional health problems. Similarly, children and adolescents exposed to trauma and violence may be at high-risk for exposure to sexually transmitted infections or sexually transmitted diseases including human immunodeficiency viruses/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and other adverse situations, conditions or environments.

Continuous Glucose Sensing - Are Your Patients Candidates? Let’s start with a basic quiz for all you readers who do NOT have diabetes. A mother with type 1 diabetes, on an insulin pump, is preparing to take drive to a soccer field 20 minutes away 2 hours after eating lunch. She has 3 small kids in her car. As a safety precaution, Mom decides to perform a glucose test. The meter reading is 90 mg/dL. Is Mom safe to drive?

The Emotional Patient. By its very nature our profession is emotionally laden--our patients will experience emotion related to concern over their future health and are affected by events leading up to the initiation of care or receiving a diagnosis. Emotions not only impact our ability to communicate with patients, but also our patients ability to understand and act on the information we provide.

Muscle-Toning Walking Shoes. You may notice that some of your patients are wearing funny-looking workout shoes and have developed a peculiar, shortened gait. Or, patients might ask about some brands of walking shoes that purportedly tighten up the calves and butt without working out at the gym. In either case, the shoes in question are known as “muscle-toning shoes” and are marketed with names such as EasyTone, Shape-ups, and Curves.

Legalize marijuana ballot measure: what's missing? SO what do I know about this issue? As the physician and City public health administrator tasked with the initial implementation of Proposition 215 (legalizing medical marijuana) - I learned a lot. On the data side, I compiled every bit of published research about marijuana (positive and negative) from the previous thirty years, researching every conceivable symptom and/or adverse event.

Decoding Much-Hyped Web Technologies, and How They Actually Help You: Twitter. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be touching on a number of technologies that have sprung to life—largely over the past 5 years—as part of the phenomenon known as Web 2.0. We’re starting today with the most popular micro-blogging social network around: Twitter.

Sorting the Data: Should You Be Recommending Ankle and Knee Braces to Prevent Sports Injuries? Let me start by saying it depends on whom you read and trust. And on what you want to believe. The data is annoyingly conflicting and contradictory. This review has no pretentions that it represents an exhaustive or definite research of the literature, but rather it will serve as a review of some of the reviews and articles to help you best inform your sporting patients.

Matter of Conscience. I am troubled about matters of conscience. When I was first qualified in 1967 the British government brought in a law permitting abortion in certain circumstances. As a medical student I had campaigned against it on the scientific grounds that life begins at the fusion of sperm and egg and deliberately eliminating a life is murder whether the life is one day old, 9 months old or 9 years old.

What’s in a word? The evolving concepts of compliance, persistence, adherence and concordance. We all know that our patients would do better if they just listened to the sage counsel we offered them. Do as we say and not as we do. Change your diet, eat your veggies, but avoid the dirty dozen, unless they are organic; eat as much as you want of the dark green plants, but if it tastes good, you probably can’t have it. And don’t forget your daily fiber, both soluble and insoluble. And eat some fish a few times a week, but only the right fish, not the ones with mercury or PCBs.

Is the Apple iPad™ Ready for Prime Time in the Doctor's Office? On April 3rd, I was one of those first “early adopter” geeks who anxiously waited for my Apple® iPad™ to arrive at my doorstep. My reason for purchasing this latest Apple gadget was to utilize it as a media consumption device.

Sumavel™ DosePro™: The Newest Addition to Acute Migraine Care. Sumavel™ DosePro™ was approved by the FDA in July of 2009 as a novel needle-free device for delivering 6 mg of sumatriptan into the subcutaneous tissue for treatment of migraine with or without aura and cluster headache.

Healthcare Reform: A Primary Care Perspective. Unless you have been enjoying a sabbatical retreat far away from all modern communication, you must know that the US House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 3590--the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act--by a vote of 219-212.