A friend was recently diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of a type of white blood cell called plasma cells. There is often significant pain associated with this condition, and my friend has been treated with high doses of different opioid combinations, in addition to chemotherapy. My friend lives in Colorado, where he has easy access to medical marijuana, and he asked his oncologist if he could add this to his regimen in hopes of decreasing his dependence on opioids.
President Donald Trump has appointed his former doctor to be his assistant and chief medical adviser. Saturday’s announcement by the White House follows Trump’s decision to re-nominate Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson for a second star due to inaction by the previous Congress.
Over the past few years, burnout among physicians has garnered more attention from researchers; and recently, a University study confirmed that stress related to electronic health records is common among doctors. According to the study’s lead author, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School Rebekah Gardner, “the prevalence of stress related to technology was 70 percent among those who responded to the survey.”
With the number of black men in medical school dwindling, one Dallas doctor is hoping to help reverse the disconcerting trend. The doctor who founded an organization called ‘Black Men in White Coats’ is holding a free summit at UT Southwestern next month in hopes of inspiring underrepresented kids as young as 8 years old to consider a career in medicine.
A daughter has filed a complaint against College Medical Center in Long Beach after she said the center had her mother, who has dementia, dumped at her care facility late at night when it was locked. Around 2 a.m. on Jan. 13, security video showed 84-year-old Savina Zerbi trying continuously to get into the locked care facility where she lives. Savina was dressed only in a bathrobe and sandals.
Nearly four times as many veterans could be eligible for private health care paid for by the Department of Veterans Affairs under sweeping rules the agency proposed Wednesday. The rules, which will be open to public comment, would permit veterans to get private care if they had to wait more than 20 days or drive more than 30 minutes for a VA appointment.