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Jiffy Joint and Rheumatology Retail Clinics

The American College of Physicians issued a position statement about medical clinics popping up inside of retail establishments and pharmacies. For years now I’ve schemed of starting a national chain of “Jiffy Joints”. Is it time?

Hydrocodone: Then and Now

Today marks the one year anniversary of hydrocodone becoming a schedule II drug with more restrictive access. Has life been better under these new rules?

Wine and the rheumatologist: reflections from EULAR (part 1)

I had a wonderful time in Rome, due in small part to the wonderful wines I drank with family and friends. When I got home, enjoying those same wines again made me wonder about the placebo effect. 

Top 5 and Bottom 5 Clinic Tools

Rheums do not live by wits and cytokine blockers alone. We need tools, equipment and material goods to be the diagnostician, communicator, and technical wizards that triple-threat rheumatologists propound to be. Not long ago I ranked my top and bottom 5 joints. Now we tackle the most and least important tools of the trade in rheumatology.

Marketing 101

Why let your practice mix grow according to word-of-mouth, preferred provider listings and beauty parlor gossip?  Be all you can be with a marketing plan for your practice and career.

Wine and the rheumatologist: required reading

A rheumatologist some of you may know gave me a book that changed my life. My wine-drinking life, that is. 

Time to Listen

Every physician struggles with time and listening. Modern medicine infringes on both of these - and they may be the most humanistic things a physician can give.

Rheumatology - the Favored Few

A routine visit, followed by a few post-visit comments from the familly, is all it takes to remind me how great it is to be a rheumatologist.

Compounded Pain Cream Scams

I was methodically signing off on stack of refill requests, until I find one I don’t recognize.  The patient is mine but the prescription (under my name) is not. It’s for a specialty compounded cream...

Women: stand up for yourselves!

I was recently offered a project that paid a lot less than what I feel my time is worth. My research on compensation suggests a male colleague would have been offered at least 2-3 times as much for the same project. At first I was insulted, but then I took a deep breath and said to myself, I need to negotiate for a higher price. Why not?

 

Wine and the rheumatologist: on aging

Here’s what I hope can be accomplished by this blog: to bring true stories of wine from our community forward for all to share. After my first blog, I received a note from one of my favorite people: Professor Frank Wollheim from Lund University and giant in the profession.

How do you handle questions about sex?

I had just finished going over the prognosis and treatment plan with my newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis patient. I asked if she had any questions for me. She did. 

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