The Shortage of Medical Providers Is a Pandemic

There is a robust link between patients’ expectations and clinical outcomes, as evidenced by the placebo effect. These expectations are shaped by the context surrounding treatment, including the patient-provider interaction. Prior work indicates that the provider’s behavior and characteristics, including warmth and competence, can shape patient outcomes. Yet humans rapidly form trait impressions of others prior to any in-person interaction. Here, we tested whether trait-impressions of hypothetical medical providers, based purely on facial images, influence participants’ choice of medical providers and expectations about their health following hypothetical medical procedures performed by those providers in a series of vignettes. Across five studies, participants selected providers who appeared more competent, based on facial visual information alone. Further, providers’ apparent competence predicted participants’ expectations about post-procedural pain and medication use. Participants’ perception of their similarity to providers also shaped expectations about pain and treatment outcomes. Our results suggest that humans develop expectations about their health outcomes prior to even setting foot in the clinic, based exclusively on first impressions. These findings have strong implications for health care, as individuals increasingly rely on digital services to choose healthcare providers, schedule appointments, and even receive treatment and care, a trend which is exacerbated as the world embraces telemedicine.

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Social Media and Medical Professionalism in the United Arab Emirates

New Emirates Medical Journal ◽

10.2174/0250688201999200330180020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 01 ◽

Author(s):

Aaron Han

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Arab World ◽

Medical Community ◽

Medical Professionalism ◽

Positive Contribution ◽

Medical Providers

: Social media is increasingly used as a platform by medical providers. The positive contribution is also balanced by risks and governed by codes of professionalism by the medical community. The values of medical professionalism include universal tenets and also those unique to the Arab world and the United Arab Emirates. We propose that institutional guidelines and self governance in the medical community is important, as well as further dialogue on this important subject.

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Medical Autonomy and Modern Healthcare

10.1093/oso/9780190684549.003.0007 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Flanigan

Keyword(s):

Product Liability ◽

Medical Decision ◽

Medical Providers ◽

Public Officials ◽

Public Provision ◽

Self Medication ◽

Medical Decisions ◽

The Public ◽

Patient’S Rights ◽

Access Information

Though rights of self-medication needn’t change medical decision-making for most patients, rights of self-medication have the potential to transform other aspects of healthcare as it is currently practiced. For example, if public officials respected patient’s authority to make medical decisions without authorization from a regulator or a physician, then they should also respect patient’s authority to choose to use unauthorized medical devices and medical providers. And many of the same reasons in favor of rights of self-medication and against prohibitive regulations are also reasons to support patient’s rights to access information about pharmaceuticals, including pharmaceutical advertisements. Rights of self-medication may also call for revisions to existing standards of product liability and prompt officials to rethink justifications for the public provision of healthcare.

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Loperamide Induced Recurrent Torsades de Pointes: A Case Report

Journal of Pharmacy Practice ◽

10.1177/08971900211004832 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 089719002110048

Author(s):

Gregory G. Jackson ◽

Christine R. Lopez ◽

Elizabeth S. Bermudez ◽

Nina E. Hill ◽

Dan M. Roden ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiac Arrest ◽

Torsades De Pointes ◽

Altered Mental Status ◽

Spontaneous Circulation ◽

Prior History ◽

Common Phenomenon ◽

Medical Providers ◽

Return Of Spontaneous Circulation ◽

History Of ◽

Overdrive Pacing

Purpose: A case of loperamide-induced recurrent torsades de pointes is reported to raise awareness of an increasingly common phenomenon that could be encountered by medical providers during the current opioid epidemic. Summary: A 40 year-old-man with a prior history of opioid abuse who presented to the emergency department after taking up to 100 tablets of loperamide 2 mg daily for 5 years to blunt opioid withdrawal symptoms and was subsequently admitted to the intensive care unit for altered mental status and hyperthermia. The patient had prolonged QTc and 2 episodes of torsades de pointes (TdP) that resulted in cardiac arrest with return of spontaneous circulation. He was managed with isoproterenol, overdrive pacing, and methylnatrexone with no other events of TdP or cardiac arrest. Conclusion: A 40-year-old male who developed torsades de pointes from loperamide overdose effectively treated with overdrive pacing, isoproterenol, and methylnatrexone.

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Delayed treatment of bacteremia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Diagnosis ◽

10.1515/dx-2020-0114 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Taiju Miyagami ◽

Yuki Uehara ◽

Taku Harada ◽

Takashi Watari ◽

Taro Shimizu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Culture ◽

Delayed Diagnosis ◽

Chest Ct ◽

Blood Cultures ◽

Emergency Unit ◽

Medical Providers ◽

Delayed Treatment ◽

Clinical Measures ◽

Primary Measure ◽

Antimicrobial Administration

Abstract Objectives Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) blindness, that is, the excessive consideration of the disease in diagnosis, has reportedly led to delayed diagnosis of some diseases. We compared several clinical measures between patients admitted for bacteremia during the two months of the COVID-19 pandemic and those admitted during the same period in 2019. We hypothesized that the pandemic has led to delayed treatment of bacteremia. Methods This retrospective observational study compared several measures undertaken for patients who visited the emergency unit in two hospitals between March 1 and May 31, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic and whose blood cultures tested positive for bacteremia with those for corresponding patients treated during the same period in 2019. The primary measure was time from consultation to blood culture/antimicrobials. Results We included 29 eligible patients from 2020 and 26 from 2019. In 2020, the time from consultation to antimicrobial administration was significantly longer than in 2019 (mean [range], 222 [145–309] min vs. 139 [102–179] min, p=0.002). The frequency of chest computed tomography (CT) was significantly higher in 2020 (96.6 vs. 73.1%, p=0.021). Significant differences were not observed in the time to blood culture or chest CT preceding the blood culture between the two periods. Conclusions Our findings suggested that due to the COVID-19 epidemic/pandemic, focusing on the exclusion of its infection using CT scans leads to an overall delay in the diagnosis and treatment of bacteremia. Medical providers must be aware of COVID-19 blindness and evaluate patients objectively based on rational criteria and take appropriate action.

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What I have learnt from helping thousands of people taper off antidepressants and other psychotropic medications

Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1177/2045125321991274 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 204512532199127

Author(s):

Adele Framer

Keyword(s):

Withdrawal Syndrome ◽

Online Community ◽

Medical Information ◽

Scientific Literature ◽

Drug Withdrawal ◽

Psychotropic Medications ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Medical Providers ◽

Drug Reactions ◽

Withdrawal Syndromes

Although psychiatric drug withdrawal syndromes have been recognized since the 1950s – recent studies confirm antidepressant withdrawal syndrome incidence upwards of 40% – medical information about how to safely go off the drugs has been lacking. To fill this gap, over the last 25 years, patients have developed a robust Internet-based subculture of peer support for tapering off psychiatric drugs and recovering from withdrawal syndrome. This account from the founder of such an online community covers lessons learned from thousands of patients regarding common experiences with medical providers, identification of adverse drug reactions, risk factors for withdrawal, tapering techniques, withdrawal symptoms, protracted withdrawal syndrome, and strategies to cope with symptoms, in the context of the existing scientific literature.

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