Thursday, December 30, 2010

Help Others to Help Yourself


So much for a vision of what a healthy society should be. As an individual, what you can do to improve your community's health is to participate actively and to volunteer your services in various fields: for example, as a guide in hospitals; to lobby against polluting industries; or to care for older citizens. Improving a community's health can be the entry point for improving the quality of life for the entire community! Remember, that by helping to improve the health of the community, you are helping yourself and your children!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Health Community


A healthy community looks after the health of all its members, including the underprivileged. It protects the rights of the disabled and treats them respectfully as individuals who are 'differently abled', and also develops active programs for preventing and treating drug abuse and alcohol abuse. Progressive communities also provide hotlines for suicide prevention as well as counseling, so that people have someone to reach out to and talk to.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Individual Initiative


All political action, however, starts with an individual's initiative. Doctors in India constantly complain about the shortage of safe blood banks. Isn't this state of affairs tragic in an overpopulated country like India (where one would imagine that there would be no shortage of people willing to donate blood). When was the last time you donated blood? If we do not develop a social conscience, we will not be able to improve our community's health, and we will all pay the price sooner than later.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Eradicating the root cause


We still continue to take a piecemeal approach to treating disease on a case-by-case basis, but this approach is doomed to fail in the long run. Let's take the example of bronchitis. At present, we treat only those individuals who are suffering from the disease. However, a social approach to treating bronchitis would focus on removing those factors in the environment which are known to cause or aggravate bronchitis, such as air pollution, poor working conditions, industrial pollution and cigarette smoking. While the modern medical system is designed to look after ill patients, we cannot improve the health of our community without taking concerted political action!

Friday, December 24, 2010

ILL Health Care System


The entire health care system is ill! It concentrates on treating the sick, but does little to prevent them from becoming so. In fact the term 'health care' system takes care only of the sick. It treats only individuals, but does not attack the basic causes of illnesses, such as poverty and illiteracy. Far from encouraging people to lead healthy lives, our society encourages them to harm themselves, and a prime example is cigarette smoking. Unfortunately, profits come before people --- and there are too many people making too much money from tobacco, so that the tobacco industry continues to spend billions a year encouraging people to smoke, and the government allows them to do so. The question is: what sort of society lets a small group of people persuade the masses to engage in behavior which might kill them --- and then provides medical care to try to save them?

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Political problems need political solutions


Political problems need political solutions, but governments in India have done precious little for providing health care for the common man. They make grandiose plans for a primary health centre in each village, but typically these PHCs have no medicines or supplies, because they have been siphoned off. They build expensive super specialty hospitals in cities, but most of these just end up as a palace of diseases, while the poor continue to die without food and shelter.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Origins of Illnesses in different sections of society



Keeping in mind all the foregoing factors, we simply cannot afford to continue to live in our own shells! In the final analysis, health is a political matter, and the types of illnesses found in society are reflection of the nature of that society. Illnesses do not hit all groups in society randomly and equally, and just as wealth is unequally distributed in Indian society, so is ill health. One of the best predictors of a person's life expectancy is his annual income and extensive research has proven that many illnesses have their origins in social conditions. The difference starts right from childhood, and poor nutrition means that the children of the poor are shorter, weaker, sicker and thinner than those of the rich --- even at birth.

Although an individual's life expectancy has increased, the gap in life expectancy between the poor and the rich has also continued to increase all over the world. According to a survey of global health by the World Health Organization, poverty was the greatest underlying cause of disease, leaving many with inadequate access to nutrition, drugs and basic health care. Those living in poverty must focus on survival priorities and often don't have the time or the energy to prevent or treat illnesses, until they are forced to. Leading a hand-to-mouth existence means falling ill is a luxury they really cannot afford! Unfortunately, many doctors and hospitals fail to treat the poor as well as they would treat the rich, so that many simply avoid doctors and hospitals completely because of inferior care.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Prevalence of illness



The prevalence of illness is increasing rapidly in metropolises such as Mumbai and Delhi. This increase can be attributed primarily to overpopulation, poor sanitation and excessive pollution. Water- and food-borne diseases are endemic, and these diarrheal diseases have been the major killers, especially of children. Also, respiratory diseases (such as asthma and bronchitis) are beginning to pose an equally serious threat to life because of increasing levels of air pollution.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Effects of toxins



Effects of other toxins may be more subtle and hormone disrupters (such as industrial estrogenic chemicals) have been shown to decrease sperm counts in men all over the world! Living safely in a polluted world is no easy task, and is likely to become increasingly difficult for our children, as these toxic accumulate agents can in the environment over decades.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Occupational exposure to toxic chemicals


Occupational exposure to toxic chemicals is also becoming increasingly common. However, the risk of exposure to these chemicals is no longer restricted to factory workers alone. The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy is an outstanding example of how thousands were adversely affected because of the failure to implement simple precautions, even though the factory from which the deadly fumes emanated was dealing with toxic chemicals. The Bhopal tragedy is replayed almost daily on a much smaller scale in cities all over India; for instance, when a tanker carrying toxic chemicals overturns and releases its poisonous load into the environment, or when manufacturing units operating from residential areas spew out toxic waste products.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Environmental health hazards



The number of environmental health hazards is increasing daily. All of us are paying the price for industrial pollution. The 'litany of woes' is a long one! For instance: pesticides in our food; pollutants in the water; toxic fumes in the atmosphere; and harmful hormones in the milk we give our children to drink. We are bombarded by noise pollution daily which can cause numerous health hazards, including headaches, insomnia and hearing loss. People living in cities spend over 80 per cent of their time indoors, and indoor air pollutants can pose many health risks, including an illness called the 'sick building syndrome'!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Aware Citizens of Developed Countries


Citizens in developed countries of the world, have realized the menace of the problems created by unhygienic conditions and have collected together to lobby for change, in order to ensure healthy living conditions for themselves and their families. For example, environmental pollution affects the health of everyone, and you cannot afford to neglect the fact that the air you breathe is going to contain more and more toxic matter as the days roll by. Similarly, while it is the municipal corporation's responsibility to provide us with clean drinking water and to dispose off garbage hygienically, we should also ensure that this job gets done!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Developments for a healthy environment


A promising recent development is the fact that builders are realizing the importance of providing a healthy environment and many of them are now developing self-contained mini-townships, which provide all basic amenities within their four walls. These townships can be healthy places to live and bring up a family in, since they provide several essential features such as:

1. lots of open space to play in
2. clubs and gymnasiums to remain fit and healthy
3. shopping arcades
4. food markets
5. chemists' shops
6. Clinics and hospitals

However, while the quality of life is excellent for the residents of these townships, who form a privileged minority, what about the rest of the citizens? After all, if your domestic help and his/her family are going to live amidst filth, it's likely they will be afflicted by infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and typhoid, which they could then transmit to you and your family. In the final analysis, this is a problem which affects all of us and we simply cannot afford to turn a blind eye to it! However, since it is a public health problem, we are usually content to let the government tackle it - which it fails to do in its usual characteristic fashion!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The connection between health and cleanliness


The connection between health and cleanliness had been recognized and respected even in ancient India.

In order to remain healthy, a community must ensure the following:

* A regular supply of clean drinking water.
* Enough water for cleaning, bathing and washing clothes as well as for flushing toilets.
* Safe garbage disposal.
* Safe sanitation facilities.
* Clean pure air to breathe.

Unfortunately, virtually all over India, especially in the cities, the foregoing basic requirements are becoming the exception rather than the norm. While political action is needed to ensure that the government supplies these basic amenities, there is little concerted action taken by most citizens, with the result that the situation is likely to deteriorate from bad to worse. Taking care of the environment is a key part of remaining healthy, and if the community is not healthy, it is difficult for an individual to remain healthy.

Monday, December 13, 2010

The Healthy Community: One for All, All for One


No man is an island and just keeping oneself healthy is not enough. We all live in society, but most of us still neglect the importance of ensuring healthy surroundings, so that it's common to find a house which is clean and sparkling inside, with all the garbage tossed outside the door or window! However, all of us pay the price for dirty and unhygienic surroundings, as pernicious diseases such as cholera, malaria, typhoid fever and asthma flourish under filthy conditions. Ultimately, every locality needs to take action to keep its environment clean, and people need to realize that garbage and filth in the neighborhood threatens them directly in their own homes, through a proliferation of flies, cockroaches and mice. The need for preventive action outside the home (using garbage bins, keeping public toilets clean and keeping drains clear) is as important as preventive action inside the home (washing hands and feet thoroughly, washing vegetables properly, storing food safely, sweeping and swabbing the floor). It may be very difficult to organize the community, but if you do not, you may have to pay the price in the long run, by falling prey to a variety of diseases.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

The combined knowledge of both old and new healing modalities


The combined knowledge of both old and new healing modalities is ultimately superior than a single-model approach to health and well-being. After all, no system of medicine can claim to have a monopoly on knowledge! What is needed today is a clinically responsible balance between the science of modern medicine and the comfort of alternative medicine. We need to combine the best of both worlds, much like fusion music does, and physicians from both sides can learn from each other! If Indian doctors are willing to blend an open mind with the scientific discipline which is needed for rigorous research, given our immense patient population and rich traditional medical knowledge base, they can become world leaders in providing the best medical care to their patients.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Diverse Alternative Therapies



Diverse modalities such as massage, Reiki, yoga, ayurveda, acupressure, hypnosis, homeopathy, naturopathy and many others can work in conjunction with each other as part of a unified team rather than in competition. We need to learn to combine the best of both worlds - high technology with high touch - and this is called integrative medicine, as pioneered by Dr Andrew Weil of the USA. Integrative medicine neither rejects conventional medicine nor embraces alternative medicine uncritically - just because most alternative medicine systems are 'natural' does not automatically make them better! For example, for emergency care in the case of acute medical problems such as a fracture, Western medicine is still the best bet. However, for chronic diseases such as arthritis, asthma, angina and hypertension, alternative medicine may offer a better choice for some patients. The most important requirement is that you need to find a good doctor, no matter what system of medicine you choose to follow. It is equally important that you understand the limits and the rationale of the system, so that you are not taken for a ride. Thus, if an ayurvedic doctor prescribes antibiotics, you should begin worrying!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Alternative medical systems


One of the reasons for this sorry state of affairs is that alternative medical systems receive little official support and minimal funding. The situation often deteriorates into a conventional versus alternative medicine confrontation, with each system belittling the other, and this is a real tragedy. By ignoring alternative systems, doctors may be depriving patients of better medical treatment options. We need to remember that all doctors are on the same side - all of us want our patients to get better, no matter what system of medicine we practice!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Alternative medicine practitioners



Alternative medicine practitioners need to be made accountable for their actions to ensure that they are up to date with their education. Also, some type of peer review mechanism needs to be put in place to ensure the safety of the public. Otherwise, the danger is that medicine can become a 'bastardised' system (for example, homeopathic practitioners in India who prescribe allopathic antibiotics for coughs and colds) which can harm patients considerably.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Practice of alternative medicine in India today leaves a lot to be desired



For one, such medicine does not have a universally accepted scientific basis; hence, it is difficult to rigorously analyze its claims. Since there is no need for formal publication or peer review in alternative systems of medicine, there is little scientific documentation available about their efficacy or side-effects, so that it becomes difficult to confirm claims or dispute them. Consequently, one has to blindly trust the doctor. Authoritative journals or texts are difficult to find; and most publications use little scientific rigour, being based mostly on anecdotal case reports, with little documentation or proof. Moreover, since there is no official monitoring of the practitioners of alternative medicine, anyone can make tall claims and get away with them! Also, since there are few formal training requirements, anyone can practice alternative medicine, with minimal skills or qualifications. Unfortunately, unscrupulous practitioners have mushroomed, who are out to make a quick buck, and malpractice's and quackery flourish.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Difference between alternative and complementary therapies



Since alternative treatments are used instead of conventional regimens, they can be medically dangerous and can delay standard medical care. Complementary therapies, on the other hand, are used in conjunction with mainstream treatment and are much more common. Complementary therapies become alternative only when promoted as 'stand-alone' remedies for serious illnesses. It is not the therapy itself, but its goal or the intention behind its use, that defines a regimen as alternative versus complementary.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Putting Patients First (PPF) Community@HELP

Introducing a Monthly Patient Community Meetings at HELP Library:

PUTTING PATIENTS FIRST (PPF) COMMUNITY @ HELP

Goal: To provide a platform for patients and health care providers to connect.

Get Involved

Whether you are a medical student, a physician, a health care provider, a patient or a
community member, there are many ways for you to become involved in the project.
Take a workshop, become a community educator, become a sponsor, volunteer your time
to help us plan an activity or become an advocate for the project!

Interested ? Please contact Ms.Anjoo Chandiramani - email: helplibrary@gmail.com
Tel Nos: 22031133/22061101

Monday, November 29, 2010

Modern medicine and Alternative medicine



Modern medicine treats illness using science and technology; it focuses narrowly how the doctor can solve the problem when the patient is ill. Alternative medicine, in a radically different approach, emphasis's the importance of staying healthy and requires individuals to take more responsibility for their own health. Traditional medical wisdom (for example, ayurveda in India) linked health to a state of harmony and disease to a state of imbalance, and focused on well-being and remaining well, and not on just 'fixing' the problem after one fell ill!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Alternative medicine offers a markedly different perspective



Rather than focusing on a person's medical problems in isolation, alternative medicine treats the patient as a whole; hence the popular term, holistic medicine. Doctors practicing alternative medicine sit down and talk to the patient; they touch and feel him and ask many questions. And such attention feels good, in refreshing contrast to the modern doctor who rarely has even 15 minutes to spend with the patient. (Often, tender loving care and personal attention are all that alternative medicine practitioners have to offer, but they offer it very well indeed!) There is no doubt of the efficacy of the placebo effect, and many ailments will get better when the patient has someone he can talk to. Also, the simple act of touching the patient can have a therapeutic effect. Alternative medicine doctors are very good at reassuring patients, as contrasted with the coldly scientific approach of western medicine.

Friday, November 26, 2010

HELP and YosCare Technologies: Free Online Personal Health Record



Help Library in association with Yos Technologies offers you free PHR and Applications

What are online health records? Online Health Records is a collection of:

Your personal health information including blood group, allergies, etc
All your medical records including prescriptions, lab reports and more.


This information once stored into your PHR account, can be accessed anytime, anywhere using your mobile. You can also share this information electronically with your healthcare providers - doctors, hospitals, etc.

Why does one need online health records?

Help your doctor help you !

For people who are always busy. Keeping track of all their records, and remembering each of their appointments on paper is difficult.

Having all your important medical records stored electronically is a central location, ensuring that the records are up-to-date, and having them readily available when needed makes the doctor’s job easier, more error free and safer for your overall care.

With YosCare, your health records are secure, permanent and available anytime, anywhere to be shared with your doctor.

Reasons for unhappiness with modern medicine



Patients increasingly feel that medicine has become too commercial and that doctors are too busy to spend time with them. They are unhappy with the impersonal nature of modern medicine, especially when the doctor spends more time looking at their reports and scans, rather than with them. While it is true that patients need technology, they also need tender, loving care; after all, doctors need to look after not only their medical problems, but also their emotional needs! Moreover, while modern medicine excels in certain areas (such as complex surgery for the repair of birth defects and the use of antibiotics for serious infections), it has failed miserably in the areas of disease prevention and the management of the myriad chronic illness (such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease) to which modern human beings are prone to, because of their lifestyle.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Alternative Medicine: Exploring Your Options



Modern medicine often inspires awe. The huge gleaming hospitals, expensive computerized equipment and sophisticated scanning machines appear very impressive and reassuring when you are afflicted by a disease. However, paradoxically, even though the effectiveness of medical technology has improved dramatically, more patients than ever before have become dissatisfied with their medical care today. This situation has resulted in a move towards 'alternative' medicine, which has become increasingly popular all over the world. Even in the United States of America (the bastion of high-tech scientific medicine) more than 50 per cent of the patients have consulted an alternative medicine practitioner, mainly because they were unhappy with modern medical care.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

How can you save yourself from being quacked? Here are some useful pointers by Dr. Stephen



1. Forget about 'secret cures'. True scientists share their knowledge as part of the process of scientific development. Quacks often keep their methods secret to prevent others from decisively demonstrating that they don't work. No one who actually discovered a cure would have reason to keep it secret. If a method works - specially for a serious disease - the discoverer would gain enormous fame, fortune and personal satisfaction by sharing the discovery with others.
2. Remember that quackery often garbs itself in a cloak of pseudo-scientific respectability and its promoters often use scientific terms and quote (or misquote) from scientific references. Be equally wary of pseudo-medical jargon. Instead of offering to treat your disease, some quacks will promise to 'detoxify' your body, 'balance' its chemistry, release its 'nerve energy' or 'bring it in harmony with nature'. The use of concepts that are impossible to measure or quantify enables success to be claimed even though nothing has actually been accomplished.
3. Ignore any practitioner who says that most diseases are caused by faulty nutrition or can be remedied by taking supplements. Although some diseases are related to diet, most are not. Moreover, in most cases where diet actually is a factor in a person's health problem, the solution is not to take vitamins but to alter the diet.
4. Be wary of catchy anecdotes and testimonials. If someone claims to have been helped by an unorthodox remedy there is often a rational explanation. Most single episodes of disease which affect patients lead to recovery with the passage of time, and most chronic ailments (such as arthritis and psoriasis) are marked by symptom-free periods. Many people who give testimonials about recovery from cancer have undergone effective treatment as well as unorthodox treatment, but give credit to the latter. Some testimonials, of course, are complete fabrications!
5. Be skeptical of any product which claims to be effective against a wide range of unrelated diseases, particularly serious diseases. There is no such thing as a panacea or 'cure-all'.
6. Ignore appeals to your vanity. One of quackery's most powerful appeals is the suggestion to 'think for yourself' instead of following the collective wisdom of the scientific community. A similar appeal is the idea that although a remedy has not been proven to work for other people, it still might work for you. Remember that all humans have the same anatomy and physiology, and scientific rules apply to all of us.
7. Don't let desperation cloud your judgment! If you feel that your doctor isn't doing enough to help you, or if you have been told that your condition is incurable and don't wish to accept this fate without a struggle, don't stray from scientific health care in a desperate attempt to find a solution. Instead, discuss your feelings with your doctor and consider a consultation with a recognized expert.

The best way you can protect yourself from being taken for a ride, is to make sure you are well informed about your own body. The 'take-home message' is simple: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Unproven methods are not necessarily quackery



Those consistent with scientific concepts may be considered to be experimental, but legitimate practitioners do not go around promoting unproven procedures in the marketplace. Instead, they engage in responsible, properly designed research studies to prove or disprove their claims. Methods not compatible with established scientific concepts should be classified as nonsensical or disproven rather than experimental: for example, 'fish cure' for asthma which draws huge crowds to Hyderabad.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Quackery can harm individuals in many ways.


First, is the loss of a tremendous amount of money which patients invest in pursuing this treatment, and many unscrupulous practitioners can bleed patients and their relatives dry - a little at a time. (There is an old saying: "The highwayman demands 'your money OR your life', but quacks demand "your money AND your life!") Also, many of the quack therapies can cause direct harm. It is a common misconception that 'natural medicines' have no harmful side- effects - but anything which can have an effect, by definition, also has the potential to cause harmful effects (after all, the desired effects of a medicine are what we call its therapeutic action and undesirable effects are labeled 'side-effects'!). The indirect harm they cause can also be enormous: for example, patients may pursue 'alternative medicine' for treating their cancers and may deprive themselves of the opportunity of getting effective state-of-the-art medical treatment.

Quackery flourishes even in the USA where people are much more sophisticated, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides effective policing. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that in India this menace is rampant, and there are far more quacks than regular medical practitioners. Faith healing, for example, is an integral part of Indian traditions, especially in villages where educated priests take advantage of people's ignorance and blind faith.

Many of us believe that we are far more sophisticated than the illiterate villager, and are above falling prey to quacks, but we need to realize that modern health quacks are supersalesmen, who play on fear and cater to hope. Who amongst us has not clipped at least one ad or bought at least one product which promises to either make you grow more hair, make you a better lover, remove your wrinkles, make you lose flab or improve your memory? While the cold scientific fact remains that there is not a single effective way of fulfilling the aforementioned claims, the fact that ads for these products are so prevalent obviously means they have a ready audience and are pulling in the bucks for their manufacturers!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Putting Patients First Conference - Mr.Nrip Nihalani on Using the Internet to educate patients

This video is a presentation by Mr.Nrip Nihalani at the Putting Patients First Conference held on 20th Oct,10. Topic "Using the Internet to educate patients." For more details log in to www.patientpower.in

Mr.Nrip Nihalani is the CEO of Plus 91 Technologies.



Friday, November 19, 2010

Putting Patients First Conference - Madhu Agarwal on Mapping the patient Information Journey

This video is a presentation by Ms.Madhu Agarwal at the Putting Patients First Conference held on 20th Oct,10. Topic "Mapping the patient Information Journey." For more details log in to www.patientpower.in

Ms.Madhu Agarwal is from Health and Cancer Information centre. She is the Macmillan Cancer Information Manager.



Thursday, November 18, 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Putting Patients First Conference - Ms.Vandana Gupta on What I wish every doctor knew – the Patient’s Perspective

This video is a presentation by Ms.Vandana Gupta at the Putting Patients First Conference held on 20th Oct,10. Topic " What I wish every doctor knew – the Patient’s Perspective ". For more details log in to www.patientpower.in



Monday, November 15, 2010

Putting Patients First Conference - Mr.Rajendra P. Gupta on Role of patients in the healthcare system

This video is a presentation by Mr.Rajendra P. Gupta at the Putting Patients First Conference held on 20th Oct,10. Topic " Role of patients in the healthcare system". For more details log in to www.patientpower.in



Saturday, November 13, 2010

Friday, November 12, 2010

Putting Patients First - Dr.Shalini Ratan on Helping Doctors to become more patient-centric

This video is a presentation by Dr.Shalini Ratan at the Putting Patients First Conference held on 20th Oct,10. Topic "Helping Doctors to become more patient-centric". For more details log in to www.patientpower.in



Thursday, November 11, 2010

Putting Patients First - Dr. Abeezar I. Sarela on Indian doctors and UK doctors. What can we learn from each other?

This video is a presentation by Dr. Abeezar I. Sarela at the Putting Patients First Conference held on 20th Oct,10. Topic " Indian doctors and UK doctors. What can we learn from each other?". For more details log in to www.patientpower.in



Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Putting Patients First Conference - Presentation by Dr Nikhil Datar on Promoting Patient Safety

This video is a presentation by Dr Nikhil Datar at the Putting Patients First Conference. Topic "Promoting Patient Safety". For more details log in to www.patientpower.in





Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

A Universal Conceptual Framework for Health and Social Care



To read more articles Join us on My Healthpedia

A universal conceptual framework for health & social care
Oct 18 2010, 2:00 PM EDT | Post edited: Oct 18 2010, 2:00 PM EDT
Hello everyone,
The health career – care domains - model is a free open access resource which may be of interest? A conceptual framework, its prime application is across ALL health and social care, although the model's potential scope extends far beyond care disciplines. This arises from the model's structure which is constructed from two axes:

individual - group
humanistic - mechanistic

These give rise to four care or knowledge domains:

1. Sciences
2. Interpersonal
3. Sociology
4. Political

There is a website and blog -

http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/

Blog - “Welcome to the QUAD”

http://hodges-model.blogspot.com/

The blog includes a bibliography and archive. Each of the care domains includes a knowledge resource, with the interpersonal covering mental health, therapies, psychology ….

http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/links.htm



A new website using Drupal is planned.

Kind regards,

Peter Jones
Community Mental Health Nurse NHS plus Independent Scholar & Informatics Specialist
Lancashire
UK
--
http://hodges-model.blogspot.com/
Hodges Health Career - Care Domains - Model
http://www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/
h2cm: help 2C more - help 2 listen - help 2 care

Monday, October 25, 2010

How can you save yourself from being quacked?



Some useful pointers by Dr. Stephen
  1. Forget about 'secret cures'. True scientists share their knowledge as part of the process of scientific development. Quacks often keep their methods secret to prevent others from decisively demonstrating that they don't work. No one who actually discovered a cure would have reason to keep it secret. If a method works - specially for a serious disease - the discoverer would gain enormous fame, fortune and personal satisfaction by sharing the discovery with others.
  2. Remember that quackery often garbs itself in a cloak of pseudo-scientific respectability and its promoters often use scientific terms and quote (or misquote) from scientific references. Be equally wary of pseudo-medical jargon. Instead of offering to treat your disease, some quacks will promise to 'detoxify' your body, 'balance' its chemistry, release its 'nerve energy' or 'bring it in harmony with nature'. The use of concepts that are impossible to measure or quantify enables success to be claimed even though nothing has actually been accomplished.
  3. Ignore any practitioner who says that most diseases are caused by faulty nutrition or can be remedied by taking supplements. Although some diseases are related to diet, most are not. Moreover, in most cases where diet actually is a factor in a person's health problem, the solution is not to take vitamins but to alter the diet.
  4. Be wary of catchy anecdotes and testimonials. If someone claims to have been helped by an unorthodox remedy there is often a rational explanation. Most single episodes of disease which affect patients lead to recovery with the passage of time, and most chronic ailments (such as arthritis and psoriasis) are marked by symptom-free periods. Many people who give testimonials about recovery from cancer have undergone effective treatment as well as unorthodox treatment, but give credit to the latter. Some testimonials, of course, are complete fabrications!
  5. Be skeptical of any product which claims to be effective against a wide range of unrelated diseases, particularly serious diseases. There is no such thing as a panacea or 'cure-all'.
  6. Ignore appeals to your vanity. One of quackery's most powerful appeals is the suggestion to 'think for yourself' instead of following the collective wisdom of the scientific community. A similar appeal is the idea that although a remedy has not been proven to work for other people, it still might work for you. Remember that all humans have the same anatomy and physiology, and scientific rules apply to all of us.
  7. Don't let desperation cloud your judgment! If you feel that your doctor isn't doing enough to help you, or if you have been told that your condition is incurable and don't wish to accept this fate without a struggle, don't stray from scientific health care in a desperate attempt to find a solution. Instead, discuss your feelings with your doctor and consider a consultation with a recognized expert.
The best way you can protect yourself from being taken for a ride, is to make sure you are well informed about your own body. The 'take-home message' is simple: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Making sure every patient is treated as a VIP!


Mr. Aniruddha Malpani

Dr. Aniruddha Malpani



Medical Director,
Founder HELP Library



HELP_logo
web: http://www.drmalpani.com email: info@drmalpani.com



Dr.Aniruddha Malpani, M.D., a leading IVF specialist runs a state-of-the art IVF clinic in Mumbai, India.

Dr.Malpani has been invited to appear on a number of leading national and international TV channels , including BBC, CNN, CBS and ABC as an IVF expert.

Dr Malpani writes for a number of newspapers and magazines, including the Times of India, as well as a number of websites. He is a Net enthusiast, who believes every doctor should have their own website! You can read his blog about improving the doctor-patient relationship at

Website: www.drmalpani.com
Blog: http://doctorandpatient.blogspot.com


Books Authored

  • How to Have a Baby - A Guide for the Infertile Couple.
    UBS Publishers, India.
  • How to Have a Baby - A Guide for the Infertile Couple.
    Marathi edition, Popular Prakashan, India.
  • How to Have a Baby - A Guide for the Infertile Couple.
    Gujarati edition. India.
  • How to Have a Baby - A Guide for the Infertile Couple.
    Hindi edition, Bharati Vidya Bhavan, India.
  • How to Get the Best Medical Care - A Guide for the Intelligent Patient.
    UBS Publishers, India.
  • How to Find the Best Doctor.
    UBS Publishers, India.

Other Speakers


Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Unproven methods are not necessarily quackery



Those consistent with scientific concepts may be considered to be experimental, but legitimate practitioners do not go around promoting unproven procedures in the marketplace. Instead, they engage in responsible, properly designed research studies to prove or disprove their claims. Methods not compatible with established scientific concepts should be classified as nonsensical or disproven rather than experimental: for example, 'fish cure' for asthma which draws huge crowds to Hyderabad.