In today’s Parade magazine (bundled with the 3 pounds of newspaper delivered each Sunday) the headline article is:

I read it, mostly out of a sense of curiosity, and their highlighted items make sense to me.

Essentially:

• have a medication list, up to date
• know your allergies
• know your doctor’s name
• have a copy of your EKG (if you’re a heart patient)

And all that makes sense to me.  The other thing they recommend, and which I cautiously endorse, is ‘get staff attention when something changes or it’s been a long time since re-eval’.  Once a year this really pays off for the patient, and it’s appreciated, which is why I cautiously endorse getting attention.  What I would caution, however, is that after you’ve made your concern known, and the complaint has been addressed, most likely nothing is going to change.

It’s a long wait because the resources are limited, no there’s not a bed upstairs yet, and screaming for more attention (as I had to deal with recently) doesn’t make a bed magically appear, it just keeps us from doing anything but listen to your self-important carping.  So, make sure you’re not forgotten but don’t expect that to change anything most of the time.

Iraq lacks facilities and expertise in emergency medicine

Bassim Irheim Mohammed Al Sheibani, lecturer physician¹…

Iraq has a population of over 26 million and more than 180 hospitals, but only a handful have emergency departments. As the violence escalates, and we attempt daily to deal with the devastating effect of multiple deaths and severe injury, the reality is that we cannot provide any treatment for many of the victims. Emergency medicine in Iraq has never developed to meet such unprecedented demand. Emergency departments are staffed by doctors who do not have the proper experience or skills to manage emergency cases.

Read the rest.  Grim.

That’s the title of a nice rant/op-ed piece at the Houston Chronicle’s online effort, chron.com.

By KIRA BACAL

Once upon a time, health care was a matter between you, your doctor and the chicken that you used as payment. Then it became a matter for you, your doctor, your employer, your health insurance company, the doctor’s malpractice insurance company. The list goes on …

I am a doctor. Although not old enough to have personally experienced the days of the chicken, I am old enough to be alarmed by this trend. It was out of a desire to learn, “How do we get back to the chicken?” that I left my emergency room in Houston for the U.S. Senate.

I wish I could say that I came away from the experience heartened by the dedication and attention that our leaders are lavishing on the “health care crisis,” confident that bold solutions are just around the corner. Unfortunately, my time on Capitol Hill left me less optimistic than before.

I thought it was from a field-trip, but apparently not:

Bacal is a physician with specialty training in emergency medicine, aerospace medicine, and public health. A graduate of Baylor College of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training Program, she has worked on health policy for the U.S. Senate as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellow.

I know nothing of the New Zealand solution mentioned; can anyone enlighten me?

More from ACEP in NOLA:

American citizens are unprepared for a terrorist attack or natural disaster, and there are no significant differences among military, retired military and civilian families regarding preparedness for disasters, according to a new survey released during the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in New Orleans.

Drs. Richard Dagrosa and John McManus, both emergency physicians in the military, surveyed people in San Antonio, Texas, including patients in two military hospital emergency departments. The survey results show no significant differences among military, retired military and civilian families in regard to having a disaster plan, designating a meeting place or having a disaster kit. Only half the families in the survey had prepared any kind of disaster plan, and only one-third possessed a disaster kit.

This surprises me, a little.  We have all of the above, and I wonder why anyone wouldn’t.