Modernising the Medical World.

In the wake of the official Google Health launch (check it out - looks interesting). Got some comment from SA Doc on modernising the medical world...

I used to work in a practise that was - for lack of a better word - archaic. You've heard of paperless offices. Now try a paper-filled practice. Everything was done in the old fashioned method of pen to paper - the invoices, the patient notes, even the list indicating the link between family name and file number.

Email? Email who? The only computer visible (under the masses of paper) is an old 486 running Windows 3.1. I actually had to relearn how to use that OS.

No matter how I tried to convince the partners to modernise they could not see the advantage. The idea that you could access any information from complete, LEGIBLE patient notes with a CTRL F was beyond them. The idea that billing and ICD10 coding could be done with a couple of drop down choices didn't compute either (pardon the pun).

I love the idea of systemising patient records and details. It makes things simple. It correlates data very well (no more missing lipograms when a page from the file goes missing). Yikes.

More doctors should organise their patients details and medical information. It makes it easier when you practice, it makes it easier for locums, it makes it easier to recall patient illness details when you need to discuss them with another doctor, it makes it easier to correlate lab results and it makes it easier to bill.

From the other side of the fence now (my crossover into the dark side of managed health), I immediately can notice when a doctor is using a system. They can give me detailed information, email me motivations / lab results. They also tend to bill more appropriately and thus (big tip here!)... have their claims approved faster!

It's a pleasure to work with them! Catch a wake up Docs. It's the 21st Century.

Pictures of the PTC (Patient Transport Compartment)...

Here are some pics from the journey...


All the equipment is attached to the back wall above the patient - very nice and compact.



A tiny drawer stocked with more drugs than I've seen in a while!



All the equipment fits into drawers the size of a food trolley!



And everything packed into a small compartment, snug between all the passengers.

The taste of medicine…

Medicines have always inherited the somewhat unfair rep of being so vile tasting, that not even hungry dogs would go close. Why? Safety? Maybe

I am a doctor that likes to taste things before I prescribe them to kids (need to know if there’s a chance they’lll take it - or I’ve lost the battle before it has even begun – and Mom has gotta force feed).

I’m here to reassure you. They’re not all that bad.

Kerry, a previous commentor on the nose suction wonderment is right is right though, pharmaceutical companies really need to think about the taste of syrups before they make them for kids. If it’s going to taste KAK - make them in suppositories! And deal with the consequences.

But since we won’t be getting a horde of bum tablets from the pharmaceutical companies any time soon, here are examples of winners and losers in the taste category:

Winners:
Stopyne (berry flavour, yummy!)
Erythromycin (always my favourite)
Original Augmentin (bubblegum flavoured)
Prozef (strawberry flavoured – a clear winner from the kids)
Orelox (banana flavoured)
Lotem (better banana flavour)
Calpol (strawberry – the kids love this one, I personally hate the after taste!)

Losers:
Buscopan (the most vile tasting concoction! Why did they even bother to make it! I just tell mom’s to crush the tablet into their food.)
Prelone (yuk!)
Viral guard (what were they thinking?)

A nose aspirator?!

Again, I am obviously going through an ignorant phase. I saw this pop up on one of the comments and immediately ran off to the resident doc, citing possible child abuse, sex toy alert or crazy kid shoving tube up nose.

Once again, I was met with staid response: "Uh, Andy, that's a pretty common medical tool". Ja. Like Freddy Kruger's playkit.

So, for the people out there like me - presenting the nose aspirator.

Nosefrida is a doctor recommended nasal aspirator that removes mucous from your child’s nose. It was invented in Sweden by Ear, Nose and Throat Specialists, and has been used by Swedish Moms and Dads for years.

When your child has a cold with a runny stuffed nose, it can be frustrating when they can not blow their own nose. Congestion interferes with sleep, feeding and makes for an overall cranky child, and parent too.

Nosefrida is a plastic tube with a filter that the parent uses with their own mouths to get the mucous out of their children’s noses. WITH THE FILTER IN PLACE, THE PARENT DOES NOT COME IN CONTACT WITH THE MUCOUS FROM THE CHILD. There is no risk of bacterial contamination, in other words, you will not get the cold your child has.

Compared to the bulb aspirators on the market, Nosefrida is better and safer, since you never put anything inside the nose, and you control the amount of suction you apply. It does not irritate the sensitive lining of the nose.

Your child’s nose will be clear and she or he will be able to breathe, sleep and eat better.

Apparently, young children are obligatory nose breathers (THAT I didn't know). ie If you block their nose, they can't breathe. Useful tool in those cases.

Pretty hectic that they have an entire site dedicated to this wonderment! Get one here!