Trauma Informed Health
It’s a fairly well accepted notion that childhood traumatic experiences can affect a person’s psychology and mental health. The ACE test, or Adverse Childhood Experience test takes that notion a step further, and has found a strong correlation between high ACE scores (more childhood trauma) and physical health conditions during adult life (from COPD to Cancer). What is the ACE Test? A test the patient can fill out that scores...
‘Brave New World’ For CRISPR Technology
In Aldous Huxley’s famous “Brave New World,” he describes a world where human freedom is nonexistent, and government-run infant hatcheries produce society’s children. This was a story written in 1932 depicting our world in 2540… however similar technologies are emerging in healthcare as of recently. In another post, we covered the possibility of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, or CRISPR technology...
Protecting the People: Why DOJ Blocks Mergers
On July 21, U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced that the Department of Justice would take action to block the mergers of Aetna’s purchase of Humana, and Anthem’s purchase of Cigna. And most of us will say they made the right call. The four heath insurers involved in the acquisitions are 4 of the top 5 national health insurers. If they merge, the “Big 5” becomes the “Big 3”, which is likely to have costly consequences for...
Hillary or Trump?: Candidate’s Healthcare Ideas
What do the 2016 Candidates have in mind for Health Care? President Obama and his “Obamacare” achievements have shown just how big an effect the white house can have on patients and physicians. It is always difficult sorting out the effective platform from the pipe dream. This list is a fairly general look at 2016’s candidate’s platforms and tendencies that could have a significant effect on medical professionals. Using 10+ varied...
Curing the Bad News Blues
With the multiple tragedies that have rocked the world, it’s no wonder that many are left dealing with psychological and mental stress. This constant stress and despair can have a lasting impact on your mental and physical health. As a physician, many know first-hand just how tough it can be to deal with bad news on the daily. A recent CNN article detailed ways for citizens to cope with surrounding tragedies, but how can a physician...