Home for the Holidays: Why ER Visits Spike Around Christmas
Experts discuss this phenomenon and share tips on how to safely make it through the holidays.
Medical Notes: November 20, 2022
Will the war in Ukraine escalate global food insecurity? Then, overcrowding in emergency departments is becoming a risk to patient safety. Then, a new lighting design for motorcycles may save lives. And finally… the idea for a new medical glue was found under the sea.
Dissecting the Emergency Room: Every Patient Has a Story
As an ER doctor, Jay Baruch wears many hats. He’s a healer, listener, traffic director, and so much more during each shift. But in such a chaotic space, how can doctors maximize their time with patients?
Medical Notes: June 5, 2022
Are tattoos the future of medicine? Teens who have a miscarriage are twice as likely to attempt suicide. Antibiotics may not be the cure to your urinary tract infection. And finally, as the temperature rises, so do emergency room visits.
No Surprises Act: New Law Protects Patients From Surprise Medical Bills
The No Surprises Act protects patients from having to pay for emergency services at out-of-network facilities and other similar situations. Katie Keith describes why this law is necessary to protect patients.
Medical Notes: January 2, 2022
A new finds that patients showing up at rural hospital ERs have extremely similar outcomes compared to patients in urban-area ERs. Then, new research sheds light on why more girls don't go into STEM. Plus, pandemic depression linked to sitting and lack of activity. And finally, Alexa and Siri aren't very helpful when it comes to health.
Addressing Post Intensive Care Syndrome – Humanizing the ICU
Medicine in intensive care units has become so technically focused that many doctors believe they’ve lost their connection with the humanity of patients, and a high degree of patients are experiencing post intensive care syndrome.
When Law Enforcement and Trauma Care Collide (2021)
Many patients arrive in the emergency room as a result of violence or car crashes—events in which police have an investigative interest. Sometimes, police needs clash with trauma care, and priorities are hashed out case by case. Experts discuss which priorities come first and when, and the procedures needed to smooth out sometimes contentious interaction.
Exhaustion on the Covid Front Lines
Healthcare workers in ER’s and ICU’s are in their 11th month of fighting Covid-19 and its exhaustion and depression. Two front line doctors describe how they’re managing to stay optimistic amid so much chaos, and how the vaccine has given them a goal keeping them afloat.
Christmas in the E.R.: It’s No Holiday
Winter in general, and the holidays in particular, are the busiest time of year in hospital emergency departments, even in places where it doesn’t snow. Experts discuss the increase in deaths of all kinds, including the “Merry Christmas Coronary” and possible reasons those deaths bounce up.
Medical Notes: Week of September 1, 2019
Death rates due to heart failure have been increasing since 2012 despite improvements in medicine and surgery. Then, Binge drinking is often seen as a problem among college students and 20-somethings… but a study in the journal of the American Geriatrics Society finds that a lot of senior citizens binge drink, too. Then, ACL tears have traditionally been …
Mental Health in the ER
Many people having a mental health crisis go to the emergency room. However, ER’s are not well equipped to handle them, and many patients are boarded there for hours or even days without treatment. Experts discuss the reasons for the failure, the outcomes it produces, and solutions that have been successful in limited trials.
