News
7th Healthcare Quality Improvement Conference
On April 4-5 at the Doubletree Riverside Hotel, Qualis Health is sponsoring their 7th Quality Improvement Conference. The agenda provides for a day and a half of prominent experts on healthcare quality improvement and patient safety.Physicians who are interested in attending may contact John Ballenot at (208) 389-5024 or johnb@qualishealth.org
11th Annual Burkholder Lectureship in Oncology
On April 19, the Mountain States Tumor and Medical Research Institute will host the 11th Annual Burkholder Lectureship. This year's speaker is James A Doroshow, M.D., Director of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis of the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Doroshow will present on "Reactive Oxygen Metabolism and the Antibiotic Cell Death Program".The presentation will begin at 8:00 a.m. in the main conference room at the Anderson Center.
Idaho Academy of Physician Assistants
The annual meeting of the Idaho Academy of Physician Assistants will be held April 6-8 in the Sun Valley Inn and Conference Center. The conference offers 22 hours of CME on a variety of primary care subjects. Those interested should contact Sheri Sass at 344-7888 for further information.
Schwartz Rounds
A new CME offering for those interested in end of life issues and ethical dilemmas has begun. The "Schwartz Rounds", a concept that is nationally recognized for its multi-disciplinary forum to discuss social and emotional issues that arise from caring for the seriously ill patient. The rounds are offered monthly on the third Monday, 12:00-1:00 p.m. in the Anderson Center of St. Luke's RMC. Participation is encouraged.
What's Ahead
Pediatric Mental Health Symposium, May 6, 2006
Idaho Academy of Family Physicians, May 18-20, 2006
Idaho Epilepsy Conference, June 16-17, 2006
Idaho Medical Association Meeting, July 14-16, 2006
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Conference, July 18-19, 2006
Anderson Center - Wednesday, 8:00 a.m.
Mercy Medical Center - Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. - Winter Room
Centennial Room - Friday, 8:00 a.m.
CHEERS (Children's Hospital Education Enrichment Review)
MEMBERSHIP: The following members were approved:
Upcoming Events:
How to Get Rid of Telemarketers
May 2006
June 2006
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently recommended that once breast feeding is started parents should consider offering pacifiers to their newborns. This was based on a meta-analysis that indicated that pacifier use resulted in 50% reduction in SIDS. Researchers at a California HMO report the results of a population based case control study of SIDS in 185 infants whose deaths were attributed to SIDS. Pacifier use during sleep was associated with a significantly reduced risk for SIDS. Other risk factors were infant position, type of bedding and smoking in the household. One of my children was really reluctant to give up their pacifier. It will be interesting to see if more kids will enter kindergarten with their pacifiers in their backpack. (BMJ 2006 Jan 7; 332:18-21)
Diarrhea, the second most common disease in childhood, is often caused by rotavirus which accounts for one-third of hospitalizations for diarrhea world wide. A previous vaccine for this common disease was withdrawn because it was associated with the potentially life threatening adverse event Intusssusception. Two new vaccines have now been tested and they were 98% effect against severe gastroenteritis due to rotavirus. The rates of Intusssusception were similar in the vaccine and the placebo groups. These vaccines are likely to be licensed soon for wide spread use in the United States. (N Engl J Med 1006 Jan 5; 354: 23-33)
C. difficile has been a familiar pathogen for decades. About 3% of healthy adults and 20-40% of hospitalized patients are colonized with this bacteria, but in healthy persons it is metabolically inactive in the spore form. It has become the most commonly recognized microbial cause of nosocomial diarrhea. It typically causes cramps, watery diarrhea, and pseudomembranous colitis. Previously clindamycin and cephalosporins were implicated but a recent surge of cases suggests that fluroquinolones may now play a prominent role. Control hinges on prevention and early recognition and discontinuing the offending agent. Treatment consists of oral metronidazole (Flagyl) for severely ill patients and those who do not have a prompt response oral vancomyacin should be considered. Fastidious infection control barrier precautions, isolation, and cleaning the environment are important as is hand hygiene which should include washing with soap and water as alcohol based sanitizers do not eradicate C. difficile. Lastly, we should all continue using antibiotics only when definitely indicated. (N Engl J Med 2005 Dec 8; 353:2433-41) (MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep 2005 Dec 2; 54:1201-5) (N Engl J Med 2005 Dec 8; 353:2503-5)
John J. Mohr, M.D.
St. Luke's Regional Medical Center - Wednesday 8am, Anderson Center
Mercy Medical Center - Wednesday 12:30pm
VA Medical Center - Thursday 8am, AW Horsley Learning Ctr.
St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Friday 8am, Centennial Room
5 Robert Portney, M.D., Geriatric Neuropsychiatrist and Clinical Instructor, Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.
19 James Doroshow, M.D., Director, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.
26 Donald Tashkin, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine.
5 Robert Portney, M.D., Geriatric Neuropsychiatrist and Clinical Instructor, Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.
26 Donald Tashkin, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine.
28 Linda Yang, MD, Transport Director, Neonatal ICU, Family Birth and Newborn Center; Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, UC Irvine Medical Center.
Tumor Boards
Mercy Medical Center - Tuesday, 12:00 noon
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Thursday, 12:00 noon
Breast Care Panel-Saint Alphonsus RMC - Tuesday, 7:00 a.m.
St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center - Tuesday, 12:00 noon
Breast Tumor Board-St. Luke’s RMC - Thursday, 7:00 a.m.
MSTI Pediatric Tumor Board - 2nd & 4th Wednesday, 12:00 noon
Meridian Tumor Board - 1st & 3rd Thursday, 12:00 noon
1st, 2nd, 4th, Thursday, 8 a.m., Anderson Center - Ada -2
Provisional Membership: Kristin Lynch, M.D.; Marnie Ririe, M.D.
April 26th, ACMS Legislative Night, 6:30 p.m. Doubletree Riverside. This will be an overview of what took place in the 2006 Legislature.
May 5th, ACMS Family Night at the Discovery Center, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. This is an opportunity for ACMS members and their families to view the "Under Your Skin" exhibit and socialize with their peers.
August 3rd, High School Physicals, BSU Taco Bell Arena
The phone rang as I was sitting down to my evening meal, and as I answered it I was greeted with, "Is this Karl Brummer?" Not sounding anything like my name, I asked who is calling. The telemarketer said he was with the Rubber Band Powered Freezer Company or something like that. Then I asked him if he knew Karl personally and why was he calling this number. I then said off to the side, "Get some pictures of the body at various angles and the blood smears." Then I turned back to the phone and advised the caller that he had entered a murder scene and must stay on the line because we had already traced this call and he would be receiving a summons to testify in this murder case. I questioned the caller at great length as to his name, address, phone number at home, at work, who he worked for, how he knew the dead guy and could he prove where he had been about one hour before he made this call. The telemarketer was getting very concerned and his answers were given in a shaky voice. Then I told him we had located his position and the police were entering the building to take him into custody, at that point I heard the phone fall and the scurry of his running away. My son asked me as I returned to our table why I had tears streaming down my face and so help me I couldn't tell him for about fifteen minutes. My meal was cold, but it was the best meal in a long, long time.
3 Robert LeBow, M.D. Lectureship Uninsured in Idaho, Elizabeth Foster, MD
10 Metabolic Syndrome, Kenneth Wilhelm, MD
17 Flu Pandemic of 1918, David Lee, MD
24 Symptom Management at End of Life, Kevin Clifford, MD
31 Management of VTE in Medically Ill Patients, Robert Pendleton, MD
7 Colon Cancer Screening and Genetics, Paul Montgomery, MD
21 Treatment Algorithm for Type II Diabetes, Katherine Wyne, MD
28 Evidence Based Management of Hyperlipidemia, Robert Chilton, MD
5 Diagnosis & Management of Dementia, Robert Portney, MD
12 Rehab for the Brain Injured Patient, Nancy Greenwald, MD
19 Reactive Oxygen Metabolism and The Anthracycline Antibiotic Cell Death Program, James Doroshow, MD
26 Update on COPD, Donald Tashkin, MD
5 Diagnosis & Management of Dementia, Robert Portney, MD
12 Rehab for the Brain Injured Patient, Nancy Greenwald, MD
19 Guidelines for the Management Heart Failure, Scott Hiatt, MD
26 Mental Health Issues in the Hispanic Population, Rosalia Richardson, MD
6 Hyperlipidemia: Definition & Treatment, David Lee, MD
13 New Options in the Treatment of Chronic Pain , Robin DeLeon, MD
20 TBA (Nephrology), Donald Maloney, MD
27 Unstable Angina/NSTEMI, Greg Larsen, MD
7 What we Know About Avian Flu, Charles Reed, MD
14 Childhood Immunizations, Maggie Cross, MD
21 Trends in Complex Spinal Surgery, Chris Zimmerman, MD; Bruce Andersen, MD
28 Developmental Intervention for the Premature Baby, Linda Yang, MD
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