That's Fit

Put down the eggs, men! Well, not all of them. For some of you, anyway.

Middle-aged men who ate seven or more eggs per week had a higher risk of earlier death, say U.S. researchers reporting on the 20-year-long Physicians' Health Study. And men with diabetes who ate any eggs at all raised their risk of death.

Eggs have long been controversial -- and this research adds to a growing body of evidence about the safety of the possibly-forbidden food. Here are some initial conclusions:

I have a few friends who have email contact with their kids' teachers, and I'm envious. Emailing my kids' teachers would be nice, but I can't even imagine emailing their doctor. I've been a part of the "call and make an appointment" system so long, it's hard to imagine it any other way.

But patients are pushing for doctors to move into the 21st century and use email on a more regular basis. Doctors, however, are reluctant. A recent survey found that only 31% use email to communicate with patients. Doctors cite workload concerns, as well as compensation for time spent and privacy issues as reasons for not using email.

I only see one doctor with any regularity, my allergist. He's such a busy guy, I'd be afraid to communicate with him through email. With my flexible schedule, however, it's easy for me to pop in and see him. If I was working a 40+ hour work week, I might feel differently.

What about you? Does your doctor use email? Do you wish that he or she would?

New research released recently concluded that many doctors don't discuss all available options with breast cancer patients before actual surgery -- leaving many of them uninformed about breast or lump removal.

Is this a sign of incompetence or a sign of dollars from more surgeries? Either way, it's hard to fathom that some of the most highly educated professionals leaving out every conceivable detail when conveying information to each and every patient.

That's apparently what is happening in an increasing way with breast cancer patients, although the true reason why will probably never be known, much like decades of "research" that basically solve nothing.

I'm amazed people are choosing to enter the medical field these days. It's a true calling to want to become a doctor, but being a shrewd businessperson better be on that list of professional traits as well. One of the bigger concerns: malpractice insurance.

So, it comes as no surprise that Texas is seeing a huge increase in the number of doctors wanting to set up shop in the state due to recently relaxed laws in that state regarding the exposure physicians have to malpractice lawsuits.

Many applicants to the Texas state medical board are having to wait months to see patients due to the long wait times. While they wait, at least they can study up on tort reform.

A new medical school in Washington plans to produce graduates interested specifically in working in the areas that need them most, namely the rural areas in the Pacific Northwest. The College of Osteopathic medicine, which just recently broke ground, is expected to open by the fall of 2008, which puts it's first graduating class (estimated to be around 70 students) ready in 2012.

Graduates are not actually required to work in rural areas, but a desire to service rural communities is part of the selection process for admission. The university also plans to continue actively seeking grants and other funds for further expansion into other health-related programs and colleges on the campus.

As Bethany posted on last night, some states are considering easing restrictions on what doctors can say to patients without being sued into oblivion. How about you -- do you implicitly trust your doctor? Physicians are human beings and sometimes make mistakes, a fact that attorneys partially clue in on when those larger mistakes happen that end up in a patient's death or disability.

The only difference here is that mistakes made on people are seen as of the highest caliber imaginable. But, as I said before, doctors are humans too. Everyone makes mistakes (some of us many of them every day), right? If engineers made quite a few mistakes, airplanes would fall out of the sky daily. If doctors made many mistakes, patients would die daily in alarming numbers. Are they? Well, you do your own homework on that one, but I think not.

What about more common mistakes? The days of supreme ego from the established doctor should be a thing of the past these days, where a solid line of communication between doctor and patient should exist. Some states are suggesting that approach more and more, it appears. For fear of lawsuits and rising costs in malpractice insurance (which are already sky-high), can a doctor say anything about possible fault without landing in court? That is what some states want, and maybe it should be applauded.