Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• 12 Tips for a Happier Holiday Season | Dr Shock MD PhD

  Dr. Shock offers 12 tips for a happier holiday season.

• The Acetaminophen Blues | Secundum Artem

  N.B. discusses the difference between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen.

• Medicine 2.0 Wiki: Benchside to Bedside 2.0

  Rahul Shetty of Constructive Medicine 2.0 has created a wiki on Medicine 2.0 to serve as a common healthcare and life science resource.

• Drugs Don’t Work | InsureBlog

  Drugs don’t work … unless you take them. Seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? Bob at Insureblog writes about a USA Today article discussing people with chronic health conditions who stop taking their medication.

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• New Pew Study Shows Patients Turn to Internet for Health Information; Now Can We Get Docs to Do The Same? | The Health Wisdom Blog

  The internet is changing the way patients not only get information but the way they interact with doctors and their families. Unity Stoakes discusses one of the major healthcare challenges today – lack of a credible online resource for physicians to recommend to their patients.

• Introducing . . . The Digital Health Revolution | HealthCareVox

  Fard Johnmar introduces a new bi-weekly program he’s hosting that will chronicle how the Internet, computers, mobile phones and other technologies are impacting health globally, with a major emphasis on social media (blogs, podcasts, social networks).

• The e-Patient Revolution | HealthDot @ ScribeMedia.Org

  One of the first episodes of The Digital Health Revolution featuring Susannah Fox of the Pew Internet & American Life Project discussing the e-patient revolution.
  To view all episodes, visit the Digital Health Revolution home page.

• Ability to email Your Doctor Improves Care | Comments on the e-Patient Revolution

  Charlie Smith MD writes about a recent study in Pediatrics showing that patients who were allowed to email their doctors improved their perceptions of care.

• Medical 2.0 – A new health 2.0 directory for all of you | Medical 2.0

  Uri Ginzburg introduces a new directory resource that aggregates medical and life science applications, platforms and websites that are based on web 2.0 tools.

• The first Journal dedicated to Personalized Genetics? | ScienceRoll

  Berci Mesko writes about BMC Medical Genomics, a new open access journal that will publish original peer-reviewed research articles on functional genomics, genome structure, genome-scale population genetics, epigenomics, proteomics, systems analysis and pharmacogenomics in relation to human health and disease.

• Why Do People Enjoy Being Frightened? | Dr. Val and the Voice of Reason

  Next week is Halloween. Dr. Val discusses the reasons why people enjoy being frightened. Boo!

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• What is alternative medicine, anyway? Rumble in the Jungle | WhiteCoat Underground

  In Part I, PalMD tried to define alternative medicine. Part II was an attempt to clarify Part I. With Part III, it’s personal. Simply a must read.

• Doctor Anonymous Live on BlogTalkRadio

  Dr. Anonymous streams live every Thursday night at 10 PM EST. Call in or chat live. Don’t miss it!

• Health 2.0: Explosion | Scott Shreeve, MD

  Scott Shreeve highlights a few video feeds from the Health 2.0 conference. The first video — the conference opening presentation — is awesome.

• Combining OA journal articles and social networking tools | Open Access News

  Peter Suber reports that BioMed Central, an open access publisher of biomedical literature, has added an option to post articles to social networking sites. BioMed Central is one of several public access resources I mentioned previously.

• The 10 Rules of Aging Well | Mark’s Daily Apple

  Live well and age gracefully. Mark gives us the 10 rules to live by.

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• The Business of Bottled Water | Think Bigg

  Because bottle water is considered a food, it’s regulated by the FDA. In contrast, tap water is regulated by the EPA. A Natural Resources Defense Council study found that bottled water sold in the U.S. isn’t necessarily cleaner or safer than most tap water. Tabetha at Think Bigg writes a thought-provoking article on the business of bottled water.

• DNA and Spit Law Enforcement Campaigns | Eye on DNA

  What is it with people spitting at other people? Hsien at Eye on DNA tells us about the spit law enforcement campaign in England. Maybe that’ll make them think twice about spitting!

• I Could Swear I’ve Read This Post Before | Healthbolt

  New clues regarding deja vu have Sara at Healthbolt saying “I could swear I’ve read this post before.”

• The Sherpa Silenced | Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You

  Steve Murphy, a.k.a. the Gene Sherpa, is making an appeal for more Gene Sherpas:

  I am now putting out a plea to all of those who wish to harness genetics for health and longevity, those who wish to have science behind their clinical decision making, those who have a keen business sense and the ethics to make you shudder when you see what is being sold, those who wish to learn more about the future of genetic and medicine.

• Chocolate Myths | Sciencebase

  David at Sciencebase writes about chocolate and the alkaloids caffeine and theobromine, and also provides a great example of unfounded claims and the importance of scientific evidence and source referencing.

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• Yahoo! Health in Stealth Mode or Just Plain Off-the-Radar? | The Healthcare Information Systems Blog

  I’m becomming more and more interested in health-focused social networking. Jeff O’Connor writes about Yahoo! Health and the lack of attention it’s getting from its parent portal. While I’m on the topic of health-focused social networking, earlier this week Mashable reported that PeopleJam Gets Funded for Health Social Network.

• Death by polypharmacy | Kevin M.D.

  Kevin commented this week that:

  … the average Medicare patient sees 3 specialists or more – each prescribing their own set of medications, often without regard to what the patient is already taking.

  It reminded me of a recent post by Dr. Rob on communication in American healthcare.

• Personalized Medicine, Part 1:Coumadin (warfarin) | Terra Sigillata

  Recently, the FDA concluded that patients taking warfarin (Coumadin) should be tested for two genetic markers to determine the minimal starting dose. Abel Pharmboy writes about this personalized medicine effort and, along the way, describes hemostasis, the blood clotting process.

• Medicare threatening hospitals | Doctor Anonymous

  Dr. Anonymous writes about a significant Medicare policy change directed at hospitals and his fear of the unintended consequences.

• Senior US official likens challenges facing America, Roman Republic | The Raw Story

  I’ve written about the U.S. comptroller general David Walker and his “Fiscal wake-up tour” previously. Recently in Chicago, he:

  … likened the present situation in the United States to the Roman Republic or an organization that fails to adapt and “may not survive.”

  Perhaps a reflection of the lack of concern in America, not one of the major U.S. media outlets reported on it. The first report of his speech appeared in London’s Financial Times.

• Why Bloggers Will Change the World, and How You Can Help | The Action Blog – Blog Action Day

  What would happen if every blog published posts on the same topic, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.