Volume 16 - Issue 6 - June 2003
Feature »
Eight Steps To Ensuring OSHA Compliance
Is your practice as safe as it needs to be? When Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1971, the intent was to decrease the number of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths. In 1999, there were over 5.7 million occupational injuries and illnesses in the United States. Approximately 6.3 employees out of every 100 experienced a job-related injury or illness.
All medical practices are expected to comply with the regulations regardless of the number of employees. Some of the critical areas emphasized over the years include injury and illness prevention, em
Point-Counterpoint »
Is Osteomyelitis Primarily A Surgical Disease?
Yes, Dr. Dujela points to key principles and case studies that convey the need for surgical treatment in facilitating curative results.
The notion that osteomyelitis is “primarily” a surgical disease does not discount the importance of adjunctive antibiotic therapy. However, in the presence of established osteomyelitis, surgical treatment should be the mainstay with antibiotics playing a supporting role.
The basic philosophy in the surgical treatment of osteomyelitis is foot salvage. Essentially, we are attempting to achieve a balance between resecting adequate bone for curative resul
Feature »
How To Detect Soft Tissue Tumors
Soft tissue tumors may often be overlooked or mistaken as “simple lesions.” For example, ganglion cysts occur so frequently in the foot and ankle that it has often led to the careless assumption that every asymptomatic, soft, movable mass represents a benign lesion. Unfortunately, this lackadaisical confidence can lead to misdiagnosis and disaster in certain situations.
Although rare, some “simple lesions” may actually represent a malignant process that goes undiagnosed until skeletal metastasis occurs or amputation is required. This tragedy could potentially lead to malpractice liti
Editor's Perspective »
Are Your Patients Taking Herbal Medications?
Perhaps you have seen delayed wound healing recently that seemed particularly stubborn and mystifying. Another patient may have unusual lower extremity swelling. In the midst of a seemingly simple surgical procedure for another patient, you notice excessive bleeding. All of these side effects may be possible if you’re treating patients who do not divulge they are taking an herbal medication.
Approximately 10 to 12 percent of adults in the United States use herbal medications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other recent estimates. In the article “Herbal M
Forum »
Why You Shouldn't Knock Surgical Checklists
I walked into the operating room 10 minutes early as usual. The case was a complex repair of multiple fractures from a SUV vs. Harley wreck. None of the fractures were difficult to repair but there were four to set and fixate. The nurses laughed quietly when I hung a numbered checklist next to the X-rays. Everybody in the room laughed except the anesthesiologist, who, like me, is a licensed pilot.
Checklists save your life when you’re flying an airplane. Forgetting a small detail like the fuel level or the proper functioning of controls can result in a crash so we use checklists.
Surgery
Diabetes Watch »
How To Facilitate Better Patient Compliance
In the course of a single day, we often see frustrating patients who do not follow the seemingly simple instructions that we give to them. Treating non-compliant diabetic patients, specifically those who are dealing with issues of wound care, infections and even amputations, can be particularly challenging.
When I use the term non-compliant, I am sure that everyone immediately visualizes his or her most memorable patient. You may refer to this patient as a problem patient, a troublemaker or any other choice word, but are these negative judgments of patients making the challenging cases even
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