Category Archives: Men’s Health

Men's Health, Technology, TELEMEDICINE, Videos, Women's Health

PROVIDERS: DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK CENTER FOR TELEHEALTH (VIDEO TOUR)

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TeleHealth Services

Our Dartmouth-Hitchcock TeleHealth Service Lines include the following:

Outpatient Virtual Visits (formerly TeleSpecialty)

Outpatient Virtual Visits connect patients and health care providers to Dartmouth-Hitchcock specialists via scheduled outpatient TeleHealth visits. Outpatient Virtual Visits increase access to specialty care services for patients located in rural or underserved areas and improves the patient experience via more convenient access to specialty care with reduced travel. D-H Outpatient Virtual Visit services currently offered including specialty clinic appointments, direct-to-patient home visits and inpatient consultations.

TeleEmergency

TeleEmergencyprovides a board-certified emergency medicine physician and an experienced emergency nurse to join the bedside team, on-demand, 24/7. Using high-quality, two-way audio-video communication, the TeleEmergency team assists by whatever means requested, including nursing documentation, direct patient care, consultation, a second set of eyes, assistance with transfer coordination, acceptance, and/or transport.

TeleICN

TeleICN allows D-H Neonatologists to join your bedside team to serve the needs of you and your patients for a wide variety of diagnoses. Some babies require a higher level of care as they adjust to life outside of the mother’s body. The 24/7 support of ICN services helps keep patients and families closer to home by supporting clinical decision making and providing expert evaluations and recommendations. If a transfer is necessary, our specialized ICN team will assist in transporting that patient.

TeleICU

TeleICU provides experienced intensive care physicians and critical care nurses to augment, not replace, the bedside team. In addition, the service provides behind-the-scenes, high-level monitoring and sophisticated analytical algorithms to identifying concerning trends prior to patient deterioration. Not only does this result in decreased mortality and length of stay; it also allows more patients to get their ICU care close to home.

TeleNeurology

TeleNeurologyprovides board-certified neurologists on-demand 24/7 for Emergency Department and inpatient consultations. This includes not only stroke (including evaluation and recommendations, and assistance with tPA administration), but also assistance with other adult neurologic emergencies. This allows a lower cost coverage option for hospitals with limited or no neurologist access, improved tPA administration rates and decreased transfers.

TelePharmacy

TelePharmacyconnects hospitals to a team of dedicated pharmacists who can provide medication order review and processing as well as clinical consultation, allowing hospitals to optimize their internal staffing while remaining compliant with order review regulations. D-H TelePharmacy improves medication efficacy, patient safety and staff satisfaction while also supporting the integration of pharmacy delivery within hospital systems and/or regions, including protocols and order sets.

TelePsychiatry

TelePsychiatryenables prompt assessment and management of patients in the Emergency Department or inpatient setting for locations that do not have around-the-clock psychiatric coverage. Board-certified psychiatrists provide 24/7, on-demand assessments including expedited admit vs. discharge decisions, early management recommendations, and assistance with medication management, while improving the ultimate patient trajectory.

TeleUrgent Care

TeleUrgent Care provides back-up, support and consultation to Urgent Care providers by emergency medicine physicians via high-definition, two-way audio-video conferencing. TeleUrgent Care physician input can include general recommendations, real-time patient assessments, second opinions, advice regarding the need and timing of additional emergent or urgent evaluations, review of radiographic images, and assistance with volume surges.

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Dr. C "Comments", Men's Health, Prevention, Videos

MEN’S HEALTH: YOUR “FIRST PROSTATE CHECKUP” (UCLA)

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Dr. Jesse Mills, Director of The Men’s Clinic at UCLA talks about what to expect during a first prostate checkup.

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COMMENTARY

Prostate checking, especially by PSA, has been controversial in recent years.

The naysayers have cited statistics that show too many unnecessary operations on slow-growing, non-life threatening cancers lowering quality-of-life.

My old urologist was following a prostate nodule with yearly checks with PSA tests. He retired, and the enlightened, younger urologist, who replaced him, thought PSA superfluous.

A friend, also a Doctor, was similarly advised, dropped the PSA screening, developed high grade prostatic Cancer, and died of it.

I continued checking my PSA every 6 months, risking a positive test, leading to biopsy, leading to unnecessary treatment.

The UCLA prostate checkup video touts Prostate MRI as an intermediate step, and, in my mind validates my choice of continuing PSA screening.

—Dr. C

Men's Health, Prevention, Women's Health

CORONAVIRUS: RESPIRATORY-DROPLET CONTACT IS MAJOR WAY COVID-19 SPREADS

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From the Wall Street Journal (June 16, 2020):

Health agencies have so far identified respiratory-droplet contact as the major mode of Covid-19 transmission. These large fluid droplets can transfer virus from one person to another if they land on the eyes, nose or mouth. But they tend to fall to the ground or on other surfaces pretty quickly.

Some researchers say the new coronavirus can also be transmitted through aerosols, or minuscule droplets that float in the air longer than large droplets. These aerosols can be directly inhaled.

Illustration: Erik Brynildsen

Sufficient ventilation in the places people visit and work is very important, said Yuguo Li, one of the authors and an engineering professor at the University of Hong Kong. Proper ventilation—such as forcing air toward the ceiling and pumping it outside, or bringing fresh air into a room—dilutes the amount of virus in a space, lowering the risk of infection.

Another factor is prolonged exposure. That’s generally defined as 15 minutes or more of unprotected contact with someone less than 6 feet away, said John Brooks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s chief medical officer for the Covid-19 response. But that is only a rule of thumb, he cautioned. It could take much less time with a sneeze in the face or other intimate contact where a lot of respiratory droplets are emitted, he said.

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Dr. C "Comments", Men's Health, Prevention, Technology, TELEMEDICINE, Videos, Women's Health

PREVENTION: “FORWARD CLINICS” ARE ALL-INCLUSIVE, FLAT-FEE PRIMARY CARE

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Forward care is evidence-based, focused on prevention and improvement. Set goals and collaborate for better health.

  1. Connect Your Biometrics Sensors
    • Receive your Sensor Kit
    • Record measurements in the app
    • Review insights together with your doctor
  2. Complete Your Labs at Home
    • Schedule your at-home blood draw with a lab specialist
    • Receive comprehensive results
  3. Create a Personalized Plan During Your Baseline Visit
    • Discuss your health goals and concerns
    • Review your biometrics and lab results
    • Develop a personalized, preventive plan
  4. Answer Questions In-App for Insights on Your Mental Health
    • Answer a short series of questions in-app
    • Receive a measure for anxiety and depression
    • Partner with your doctor on your results
  5. Customize Your Plan Based on Your Genetics
    • Receive your Genetics Kit
    • Review the results with your doctor
    • Update your plan to address your risks
  6. See Your Doctor In Person for a Custom Follow Up Visit
    • Request an in-person visit in the app
    • Review your progress with your doctor
    • Complete a physical exam and diagnostics
  7. Assess Your Skin Cancer Risk
    • Complete a physical exam of your skin
    • Capture high-definition images of any moles or blemishes
    • Discuss your skin health and cancer risks with your doctor
  8. Receive a Message From Your Doctor to Update Your Plan
    • Your doctor will check-in regularly 
    • Update your doctor on progress and goals 
    • Ask questions, anytime from anywhere
  9. Develop Nutrition Goals Based on Recurring Labs
    • Review your latest labs with your doctor
    • Develop a nutrition plan for targeted results
    • Measure progress with future labs

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COMMENTARY

Forward Healthcare differs from a conventional primary care clinic in several, generally good ways.

Most importantly, they stress PREVENTATIVE care. Blood tests that monitor diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and anemia are done regularly, since they have a laboratory on premises. They have their own EMR (electronic medical record) platform, and their own telemedicine platform, which are downloaded on the initial visit.

They give out a “sensor kit” consisting of temperature monitor, Pulse-oximetry, and a BP monitor, which wirelessly sends information to medical records.

Telemedicine is available through their own Downloaded platform. Although I get the impression that Telehealth isn’t as central as I would have expected in a technology oriented operation, it is increasingly important.

The monthly membership fee of $149 pays for the above and unlimited Doctor Availability 24/7 without copay.

Concierge Medicine has the monthly/yearly fee and unlimited access, but has a copay. Both will utilize your insurance, and neither treats patients in the hospital or provides referral care.

Government Health care is coming, and with it longer waiting times, shorter Doctor interaction times, and probably less time for Preventative Health Care.

Systems like Forward Health and Concierge Medicine will be the upper tier of a 2-tier system.

Proactive attention to Health in my opinion is essential in the future if we are to have a healthy nation, and not “bankrupt the system”. Telehealth is growing in importance, and offers help in making medical expertise more convenient, widely available and for less cost.

I am happy to see progressive Systems like Forward Health offer a preventative option to the present, broken, reverse-incentivized, fee-for-service System.

—Dr. C.

Dr. C "Comments", Medicine, Men's Health, Women's Health

INFOGRAPHIC: A LOOK AT “CANCERS ASSOCIATED WITH OVERWEIGHT & OBESITY

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There is consistent evidence that higher amounts of body fat are associated with increased risks of a number of cancers (6), including:

  • Endometrial cancer: Obese and overweight women are two to about four times as likely as normal-weight women to develop endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus), and extremely obese women are about seven times as likely to develop the more common of the two main types of this cancer (7). The risk of endometrial cancer increases with increasing weight gain in adulthood, particularly among women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy (8).
  • Esophageal adenocarcinoma: People who are overweight or obese are about twice as likely as normal-weight people to develop a type of esophageal cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma, and people who are extremely obese are more than four times as likely (9).
  • Gastric cardia cancer: People who are obese are nearly twice as likely as normal-weight people to develop cancer in the upper part of the stomach, that is, the part that is closest to the esophagus (10).
  • Liver cancer: People who are overweight or obese are up to twice as likely as normal-weight people to develop liver cancer. The association between overweight/obesity and liver cancer is stronger in men than women (11, 12).
  • Kidney cancer: People who are overweight or obese are nearly twice as likely as normal-weight people to develop renal cell cancer, the most common form of kidney cancer (13). The association of renal cell cancer with obesity is independent of its association with high blood pressure, a known risk factor for kidney cancer (14).
  • Multiple myeloma: Compared with normal-weight individuals, overweight and obese individuals have a slight (10% to 20%) increase in the risk of developing multiple myeloma (15).
  • Meningioma: The risk of this slow-growing brain tumor that arises in the membranes surrounding the brain and the spinal cord is increased by about 50% in people who are obese and about 20% in people who are overweight (16).
  • Pancreatic cancer: People who are overweight or obese are about 1.5 times as likely to develop pancreatic cancer as normal-weight people (17).
  • Colorectal cancer: People who are obese are slightly (about 30%) more likely to develop colorectal cancer than normal-weight people (18).A higher BMI is associated with increased risks of colon and rectal cancers in both men and in women, but the increases are higher in men than in women (18).
  • Gallbladder cancer: Compared with normal-weight people, people who are overweight have a slight (about 20%) increase in risk of gallbladder cancer, and people who are obese have a 60% increase in risk of gallbladder cancer (19, 20). The risk increase is greater in women than men.
  • Breast cancer: Many studies have shown that, in postmenopausal women, a higher BMI is associated with a modest increase in risk of breast cancer. For example, a 5-unit increase in BMI is associated with a 12% increase in risk (21). Among postmenopausal women, those who are obese have a 20% to 40% increase in risk of developing breast cancer compared with normal-weight women (22). The higher risks are seen mainly in women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy and for tumors that express hormone receptors. Obesity is also a risk factor for breast cancer in men (23).In premenopausal women, by contrast, overweight and obesity have been found to be associated with a 20% decreased risk of breast tumors that express hormone receptors (22).
  • Ovarian cancer: Higher BMI is associated with a slight increase in the risk of ovarian cancer, particularly in women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy (24). For example, a 5-unit increase in BMI is associated with a 10% increase in risk among women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy (24).
  • Thyroid cancer: Higher BMI (specifically, a 5-unit increase in BMI) is associated with a slight (10%) increase in the risk of thyroid cancer (25).

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COMMENTARY

Obesity increases the incidence of cancer, and complicates its treatment.
A healthy life style.,’including good sleep, diet and exercise, should prevent obesity in all but extreme genetic aberrations.

It is better to prevent problems than to grapple with them.
Stay healthy!

—Dr. C.

Dr. C "Comments", Medicine, Men's Health, Women's Health

INFOGRAPHIC: A LOOK INTO “CANCER’S COMPLEXITY”

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Technology Networks Cancer Drug Discovery-page-0

COMMENTARY

This infographic is a high-level discussion of cancer, with plenty of information to keep a Physicians’ interest.

The Human Body is a complex Community of individual cells that normally work together with admirable Harmony. Each individual cell is supplied with all its’ wants, and vigorously does its’ part for the Body.

Occasionally a ROGUE CELL escapes constraints and GOES ITS’ OWN WAY.

This has been happening from the beginning of multicellular life, and these MISCREANTS have EVOLVED to preserve themselves and have an amazing bag of TRICKS.

They are Very resourceful just like VIRUSES, which can also cause CANCER.

These twin threats give modern medical technology about all it can handle, and more.

PREVENTATIVE care offers a remedy.

Prevention is not at all complex, but of course requires thought, energy and planning. Prevention is difficult to square up with the easy, effortless, intuitive  life we yearn for.

Do you have the resolve to give SLEEP, DIET and EXERCISE a chance?

–DR. C

Men's Health, Prevention, TELEMEDICINE, Women's Health

TELEHEALTH CARE: PATIENTS CAN EXPECT EXPANDED “CONTACTLESS EXPERIENCES”

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From Healthcare IT News (June 12, 2020):

Technology-enabled workflows now enable patients to complete most of the registration formalities prior to the visit, be it a virtual consult or a clinic visit. Registration kiosks in hospital lobbies may soon be enabled with facial recognition software to eliminate the need for touching any surface.

Routine examinations are also going virtual, with many diagnostic procedures now possible through remotely controlled devices. Caregivers are beginning to do their patient rounds through virtual visits. This trend will only grow in the coming years.

A vast and growing array of automated communication tools allows caregivers to use rule-based messaging to push everything from health coaching, post-discharge care instructions, and appointment reminders through IVR, text, SMS, and mobile alerts.

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Men's Health, Opinion, Women's Health

MENTAL HEALTH: SOME THOUGHTS ON DIAGNOSING AND TREATING “DEPRESSION”

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I recently posted a discussion on osteoporosis that was based on a MNEMONIC, using the word itself as the basis of exploring the Risk factors Evidence that you have Osteoporosis is hidden, and are discovered by Dexascan, or when you suddenly have a major fracture.

DEPRESSION is common, but sneaks up on you. It may be a job to discover that you have it, to DIAGNOSE it, so that you can be treated. The diagnosis has about 10 markers that can be formulated into a mnemonic, so that you can remember what they are. My favorite is by Paul Blenkiron, writing in the BMJ:

These 10 symptoms are described in the 10th edition of “the international classification of Diseases. The problem with some mnemonics is to remember the mnemonic itself.

Not here. Interestingly, The 4 PILLARS OF HEALTH are each represented in this list. 3 of them are valid TREATMENTS for DEPRESSION, as you will see in the following articles. When I looked up intellectual stimulation as a treatment for Depression, all i found was electrical or magnetic deep brain stimulation.

I can’t help but believe that INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION itself would at least help ward off much Anxiety and Depression. SLEEP has an interesting relationship to depression. Lack of sleep can be a CAUSE of Depression.

Recently, deprivation of sleep has been used to TREAT episodes of severe depression. Obviously there is a lot we don’t know. Another puzzlement is the several week delay in the effect of SSRI medications. I acknowledge that throughout history many great intellects have manic-depression, which may be key to their productivity.

Depression itself is credited with deep understanding. The “black Dog” of depression is best avoided, however. A HEALTHY LIFE STYLE SHOULD HELP WARD OFF DEPRESSION.

–Dr. C.

Reference #1

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Reference #3

Dr. C "Comments", Men's Health, TELEMEDICINE, Women's Health

TELEMEDICINE: THE RISE OF TELEDERMATOLOGY (AMA)

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From AMA.org (June 12, 2020):

Teledermatology

“There’s an aging population, and there’s a lot of skin out there,” said Dr. Isaacs. “One in five people in the country develop skin cancer, but there is a plethora of benign skin conditions that also require the expertise of the dermatologist. So, you have increasing demand and a limited supply of dermatologists.”

A basic example of how the TPMG teledermatology program works involves a patient who is concerned about a suspicious lesion or mole on their body. The patient can take a picture of the location in question and send it to their primary care physician for review. The physician can request the patient come in for a more thorough evaluation, or if the physician determines that a dermatologist should be involved, they can send the photo to an on-call dermatologist to review.

If the patient does an in-person evaluation, the physician can also take a higher-quality image and forward that to a dermatologist. The dermatologist can then decide whether there is a problem, if a prescription is needed, or if there should be an in-person evaluation and potential biopsy.

A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2019 found that when TPMG dermatologists had the chance to look at well-photographed skin lesions, they were able to identify nearly 10% more cancers with almost 40% fewer referrals to the dermatology department.

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COMMENTARY

A high quality I-phone picture of a skin lesion can provide the dermatologist with 90% of the information needed for a diagnosis.

Melanoma diagnosis depends even more on the visual. In fact, Artificial  Intelligence evaluation of Melanoma may be  overtaking dermatologist expertise.

Size can be indicated by including a dime in the photo.

It is true that the roughness, softness or hardness may be important in diagnosis, but perhaps these characteristics could be described by the Patient.

This week, I started worrying about an itchy, rapidly growing lesion on my back. I sent a picture of this to my dermatologist, hoping he would call it a wart and reassure me. It was very regular, soft, and had a rough surface like warts I have had in the past.

However, he saw some redness and had me come in for removal. We will see what the pathology shows.

Dermatologists are in short supply, and making more efficient use of their expertise attractive.

Calling the Doctor’s office, arranging for e-mail Photo transmission, and a talk with the Doctor on the phone could save a visit. The Primary Doctor could send you directly to the dermatologist, or might be comfortable with watching and waiting.

Dermatology is indeed a field ripe for Telemedicine.

—Dr. C.

Men's Health, TELEMEDICINE, Videos, Women's Health

TELEMEDICINE: “DOXY.ME” IS A FREE, LOW-TECHNOLOGY ENTRY FOR VIRTUAL VISITS

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  • Simple and convenient to use – See your doctor from anywhere, just click their personalized room link (like doxy.me/YourDrsName) to join them for a video call.
  • No downloads or accounts – No need to download software or create an account. Just use a browser on a computer or device with a camera and microphone.
  • Private and secure – All data is encrypted, your sessions are anonymous, and none of your information is stored. We adhere to HIPAA, PIPEDA, and GDPR data privacy requirements.

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