Weekend at Bernie’s

This is real life.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63545020100406

“The 91-year-old deceased man was pushed in a wheelchair through Liverpool’s John Lennon airport wearing sunglasses before check-in staff became suspicious and he was prevented from boarding the plane”

I wonder if Weekend at Bernie’s is on Netflix instant watch?

Computer the Mysterious Intruder

A little note from TheHealthCareBlog about using computers in the exam room.  I’ve thought a lot about how to balance technology and efficiency with connection and communication in the doctor-patient interaction.  Here is a tip that may or may not be helpful.

“Danny Sands, MD, had great insights on what happens when a computer is introduced into the examining room. He said, “Interacting with a patient alone is a two-way conversation.  However, when there is a computer in the room, it is part of the conversation.  It both processes and provides information, and, because of that, it must be positioned in such a way that it can be a part of the conversation without being an imposition, just like if there was another person in the room. Ideally, with a laptop or desktop computer, the computer would be at the apex of an equilateral triangle with the human participants at other vertices.  With a tablet computer, the computer should be held by the user as they sit side-by-side.  In either case, the screen should be easily visible to both (but it should be possible to temporarily shield it from the patient when necessary). Too often, as in the situation you describe, the computer is a mysterious intruder in the room, and the goal of the clinician is to interact with the patient only as a means to the end of entering the appropriate information into the computer program.  This can be blamed on poor room layout, bad user habits, and badly-created user interfaces. Some would also blame the bizarre reimbursement system that rewards quality documentation above quality care.”

I think this is just one of those things you have to practice and always be mindful off.

Parkinson’s Patients never forget how to ride a bicycle

This video shows that the worst ideas might be good ones.

I’m not sure if anyone can see this video from the New England Journal of Medicine, but it blew me away.

Growing up I never thought of the human body as fascinating. Even as I became more interested in medicine the biology and science didn’t draw me in as much as the personal connections involved, but as I’ve started reading the science has grabbed my attention.

I knew a woman with Parkinson’s. I vividly remember that occasionally she would have a terrible time walking. Her company could help her by giving her cues saying, “right foot first.”

Then she would be able to walk a few steps. I remember how distressed she was over this as her body deteriorated around her mind.

In the video we see a 58 year old man with Parkinson’s in the Netherlands attempt to walk and fail. Then he gets on a bicycle and goes for a ride.

My mouth dropped when I saw this. How could this be possible? What is it that prohibits walking in a hallway and allows riding a bicycle through a busy parking lot?

It reminds me a little of re-teaching stroke victims how to talk with music therapy. Some stroke victims are physically able to speak, but can’t through some mental barrier. They can however, sing. Speech therapists can then have them sing familiar songs to re-teach them how to talk.

The gentleman in the video still has his trouble with “freezing gait”, however the the authors do note that cycling is at the very least an alternative form of exercise.