Category: health care

  • Excessive Heat Watch Starts August 20, 2023

    Excessive Heat Watch Starts August 20, 2023

    The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch for many counties in Iowa starting August 20 through August 21. All next week will be marked by very hot temperatures, raising the risk for heat-related illness.

  • Remembrance of Dr. William R. Yates MD

    Remembrance of Dr. William R. Yates MD

    I was thinking about the Clinical Problems in Consultation Psychiatry (CPCP) learning sessions which was introduced to me by one of my first teachers in the University of Iowa Dept of Psychiatry, Dr. William R. (Bill) Yates. I had originally been thinking of posting one of my own CPCPs that I presented in 2015. It…

  • Moderna Files for FDA Authorization of Updated Covid-19 Vaccine

    Moderna Files for FDA Authorization of Updated Covid-19 Vaccine

    The Moderna corporation announced in June 2023 that it filed for FDA authorization of its monovalent XBB. 1.5 vaccine. Pfizer also announced the same message in August. It’s on page 4 of the Pfizer Earnings Call.

  • Shout Out to University  of Iowa Hospitals Doctor Joseph Zabner!

    Shout Out to University of Iowa Hospitals Doctor Joseph Zabner!

    Here’s a big shout out and congratulations to my former University Hospitals colleague Dr. Joseph Zabner who received the 2023 Distinguished Mentor Award.

  • The Dragon Breathes Fire Again

    The Dragon Breathes Fire Again

    Sena and I saw a news video about a technology called “DAX” which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) the other day which promises to reduce or even eliminate pajama time for physicians trying to get their clinical note dictations done during the day instead of taking them home for several more hours of work. The video…

  • New Dominant Covid-19 Variant EG.5

    New Dominant Covid-19 Variant EG.5

    There is a new dominant Covid-19 variant called EG.5. It’s also called Eris. It’s descended from the XBB strains. It’s in the Omicron family and there is no indication it causes more severe disease and would be susceptible to current vaccines.

  • UI Hospitals & Clinics Gets U.S. News & World Report Recognition

    UI Hospitals & Clinics Gets U.S. News & World Report Recognition

    This is just a shout-out to The University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics for once again being recognized as one of the top hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Department ranked 6th in the nation.

  • Doctors Still Oppose Board Mandated Maintenance of Certification Programs

    Doctors Still Oppose Board Mandated Maintenance of Certification Programs

    I got a pang of anti-nostalgia after reading the latest article calling for abolition of Maintenance of Certification (MOC), posted by Medscape on August 1, 2023. There is a petition by oncologists to end MOC. So, what else is new? So far it has almost 10,000 signatures. I remember my own petition in 2014 to…

  • FDA Rumor Control Website

    FDA Rumor Control Website

    I just found the FDA Rumor Control website. It contains a lot of helpful information about the misinformation we often find about health care products and diseases like Covid-19, vaccines and more. It’s an eye-opener.

  • Every Minute Counts in Physical Activity for Health Even If Your Step Counter Does Not Count It!

    Every Minute Counts in Physical Activity for Health Even If Your Step Counter Does Not Count It!

    If you want a quick read for how every minute counts in physical activity for your health, see the JAMA article “Physical Activity for Health—Every Minute Counts” (Katzmarzyk PT, Jakicic JM. Physical Activity for Health—Every Minute Counts. JAMA. 2023;330(3):213–214. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.11014). Just for fun, I tried to see if about 5 minutes of juggling would result in a change…