August 2008

Ravish Patwardhan, MD, is the founder and director of the Comprehensive Neurosurgery Network (www.brainandspinecare.com), which "specializes in minimally invasive techniques for treating brain and spine problems." Patwardhan has more than 12 years of experience in the neurosurgery industry and has published several peer-reviewed studies on brain trauma, tumors, epilepsy, and spinal procedures. He is also a frequent speaker on the latest treatments and advances in brain and spinal surgeries.

A patient recently sent me an e-mail explaining that, after consulting with her spouse and parents, she had changed her mind about taking the medication we discussed during her appointment.

The specific structure of an asset protection plan must involve a consideration of the details particular to your situation. A plan that works well for one person may be completely wrong for another. For example, the income tax and estate tax benefits of a plan must be efficiently tuned based on your age, income, accumulated wealth, and your family dynamics. The types of assets that you own can also make a big difference in the planning.

There certainly was quite a bit of hype surrounding Apple's February unveiling of the iPad tablet computer. Now that all of the excitement has died down, let's take a look at what the device has to offer for physicians and what that might mean for the tablet market.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology issued a policy on December 30, 2009 setting forth the proposed rules describing how hospitals and physicians could qualify for government money to support the adoption of an EHR.

One of the largest and most costly problems facing the healthcare industry is that patients don't consistently take the medicine they've been prescribed. More accurately, between one-third and one-half of patients in the US do not take their medications as instructed, according to an August 2009 report released by the New England Healthcare Institute (http://bit.ly/xlZaW).

Next-generation decision support technology is designed to match the way a physician thinks about signs, symptoms, and diagnoses, facilitating rapid diff erential diagnosis generation.

Does the word "free" grab your attention? It sure gets mine.

Simon Cherry, professor and chair of biomedical engineering at UC Davis, discusses the combination of PET and MRI in a single scanner, which his lab built for laboratory mice studies, particularly in cancer research.

The advantages of using wireless body sensors in healthcare are obvious: more autonomy for the patient, an improved quality of life, and better signal quality due to lack of bulky cables.

Better patient education may help alleviate the rising cost of healthcare and lead to better health outcomes, because it helps patients make more informed decisions about their healthcare.

Cell phone applications and other high-tech tools are changing the way physicians approach patient education.