Council Members in this Study Group: 77
This study group may include physicians, care providers, and researchers specializing in internal medicine, cardiology, oncology, dermatology, emergency medicine, family medicine, neurology, obstetrics-gynecology, psychiatry, radiology, nursing, optometry, genetics, and mental health. It may also include experts knowledgeable on diagnostic labs, disease management, medical devices, long term care, surgery centers, health management, pharma, and biotechnology, among others.
Leading institutions connect with members of this Study Group through GLG
Director of Interventional Cardiology
NORTH OHIO HEART CENTER, INC![]()
Charles O'Shaughnessy, MD, is the Director of Interventional Cardiology at North Ohio Heart Center, Ohio. Dr. O'Shaughnessy's clinical interests are in interventional cardiology including balloon angioplasty, laser directional atherectomy, stent placement,...
Rohit AroraProfessor of Medicine
Finch University of Health Science-Chicago Medical School![]()
Rohit Arora, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASCI, FACP, is Professor of Medicine and Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at Chicago Medical School. He is also the Chairman of Cardiology and Associate Chairman of Medicine in the Department of Medicine. Previously,...
Director of Cardiac Catheterization Lab
Wadsworth VA Medical Center![]()
Ramin Ebrahimi, MD, is Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California in Los Angeles. He is also Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Assistant Director of Nuclear Cardiology at the Wadsworth VA Medical Center. Dr. Ebrahimi’s...
Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgeon
Rubenstein Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery![]()
Forrest Rubenstein, MD, FACS, is a Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgeon in private practice. Dr. Rubenstein is board certified in General, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. He has experience in cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgery, aortic surgery,...
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Preventing Bariatric Surgery Deaths
January 25, 2008
Pinning Down Mortality Rates After Bariatric Surgery | www.medscape.com
Bariatric surgery is a major operative procedure that caries significant morbidity and mortality risks due to the comorbid diseases seen in this patient population. This procedure is increasing in frequency as more patients are willing to have it and more surgeons are becoming proficient. The mortality rate is ~ 1 % at 1 year and 6% at 5 years which is greater than the population at large.
November 23, 2007
Study Shows Weight-Loss Drug Rimonabant is Associated with Severe Adverse Psychiatric Events | pharmalive.com
The pooled analysis of Rimonabant trials point to a significant increase in psychiatric disorders. These studies also point to significant improvements in markers of cardiovascular risk. Risks versus benefits must be considered before the final decision is made on this class of medications.
Good device but not much improvement.
August 31, 2007
St. Jude Medical Announces Japanese Approval Of The Angio-Seal STS Plus Vascular Closure Device | www.medicalnewstoday.com
The repositioning of the hole, also present with the VIP version is a mild improvement to decrease sheath manipulation. Otherwise the device has not changed much in the past few years. While a very good device in general, its primary limitaions listed below still remain. 1. not allowing re-access at the previous access site within 90 days of the index procedure 2. inability to promote means for primary healing of the arteriotomy site (primary healing results in much less scar formation and secondary healing that angioseal provides) and 3. relying on an intravascular component for deployment that stays within the vessel for weeks prior to its resolution Newer devices such as the STARCLOSE that also are easy to deploy, rely on no intravascular components and potentially provide much better healing process may be the way of future.
CMS regulations penalize hospitals for taking care of sickest patients
August 28, 2007
New Medicare Regulations Adopted To Reduce Certain Hospital Infections And Medical Errors | www.medicalnewstoday.com
This article presents the new CMS guidelines that deny higher payments for the additional costs associated with treating patients for certain hospital - acquired infections and medical errors. While these are laudable goals, to assume that all infections are the result of poor medical practice is an oversimplification. The development of nosocomial infections also has to do with the patients disease processes such as diabetes, morbid obesity, immunosuppression, tobacco abuse, etc. While few physicians would argue against enforcing these rules for documented mistakes (medication errors, transfusion mistakes, and objects left in patients bodies), most recognize there is a certain baseline of these other infections which cannot be avoided. Hospitals should only be penalized when their risk adjusted incidence exceeds a standardized baseline.
Retail drugstore clinics - filling a niche ?
August 28, 2007
Drugstore Clinics Spread, and Scrutiny Grows | www.nytimes.com
Several large drugstores are establishing retail medical clinics within their stores much as eyeglass stores have had optomitrists on site. There is no problem with these clinics per se as long as they practice within the scope of the practitioners license and skill. There are concerns that those clinics staffed by non physicians will be practicing inferior medicine beyond the scope of the practitioner. As these clinics become more widespread, they will certainly come under greater scrutiny.