Potential Pandemic Pandemonium: Swine Flu Who's Who

I wrote this comment to post on a blog post entitled,"Get Ready for Pandemic" in May. At this time there was evidence that people will be left out of treatment. Now with the new swine flu vaccine, the designated list of who gets it first has been made known. That alone may be enough to fuel pandemic pandemonium as new cases and deaths erupt daily. (** Thanks to the AC 360 blog for moderating on my comment. Posting it on this blog may reach more people.)

Dr. Flynn & Dr. Redlener, this is a great assessment and all so true. After seeing the actual response, and reading the “unfinished” (states Stage 3 is in progress) 336 page HHS Pandemic Flu Guide, The Pandemic Toolkit from Roche (makers of Tamiflu), pandemicflu.gov, and much more, we have so much more to do.

It would be nice to know that the national stockpile has more than the 50 million doses* for a 300 million plus population, many who are not able to afford it.
Add to the pandemic flu all the other natural disasters occurring daily, and it is easy to see that the health system and all systems will have a tough challenge to keep all safe. As you say, individuals must take responsibility and communication must be ongoing.

Thanks for this great article.

My footnotes added here:*Doctrine of HHS Pandemic Influenza Plan circa 2005, page 6,"
4. Quantities of antiviral drugs sufficient to treat 25% of the US population should be stockpiled." (how did they get this number?) and "8. At the onset of the pandemic, antiviral drugs from public stockpiles will be distributed to health care providers for administration to pre-determined priority groups." (who exactly is this?)

Are we ready for a pandemic? Or pandemic pandemonium?

by J.L. Richardson, MD family medicine doctor, and author of Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide, http://mypatienthandbook.com/ .

More emergency information at Emergency Exchange, http://emergencyexchange.blogspot.com/ .

**http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/05/still-unprepared-for-a-lethal-pandemic/

Tips for Your Doctor Visit

Going to the doctor can be quite a challenge. "Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide" is the perfect tool for patients to make their visits worthwhile.

One of the first things you want to do is make a written or typed medical history to take with you, especially if this is your first visit to a new doctor. Make a copy for you and your doctor. You both will be able to refer to it as needed. This will save valuable time, and give you and your doctor more time to talk instead of flipping through your medical record. It can be difficult trying to "remember" what test or procedure you had 10 years ago.

Start keeping a list of things you want to talk to your doctor about. Update the list before each visit. This way you will be able to keep track of what has been discussed, and what needs to be discussed. Try to talk about the most important things first especially those that need immediate attention. Each time you go for your visit, you can refer to your list and take up where you left off. Be sure to express your immediate concerns first. We all know how short a doctor visit can be.

Request copies of your medical records from all your doctors. "The medical record is the cornerstone of keeping track of everything pertaining to your health." You will be able to check the accuracy of your records, and bring any errors or absent information to your doctor's attention. Let your doctor know about anything you do not understand, or if there is something you are unable to read due to legibility. It is surprising to see how many doctors are often unable to read their own handwriting.

Stay on top of your health care with these tips. After all, great health is true wealth!

P.S. What tips do you have for doctor visits? Share your tips for doctor visits. Click on "comments".

http://www.mypatienthandbook.com/

Disability & Illness

Blog talk radio show tonight July 23 - 7PM - topic #Disability & #Illness

Patient Handbook to Medical Care - show by Drjfpmd & MD4U on #BlogTalkRadio - www.blogtalkradio.com/drjfpmd

Patient Handbook in Your Library

Dear Librarians,

A FREE copy of Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide will be donated to your library upon request until Labor Day.

Bend of the River Books is proud to announce that Patient Handbook to Medical Care is now in 60 libraries throughout the United States. Our goal is to ensure that everyone has free public access to read and learn the importance of health maintenance, prevention, and wellness. This expert's guide to personal health care is the ideal book "to inform and educate patients about medical care".

Thank you for all your support. It is so appreciated.

Best,
Dr. Richardson

read excerpts from Google Books http://short.to/kbv1

High Blood Pressure - Home Checks

High blood pressure, also called hypertension affects 1 in 4 adults. Do you know your numbers? do you what a normal reading is? A good normal reading is 120/80 with borderline at 130/85 to 140/90.

For more accurate measures of your blood pressure and what affects it consider home blood pressure monitoring. Buy a blood pressure monitor for home use. Wrist and arm monitors are available at Target, Walgreen's, CVS, Wal-Mart, and local medical supply stores. Shop on line by doing a search for "blood pressure monitor".

Record your blood pressure readings daily starting with morning, midday, and night. Make a note of your activity and how you are feeling. You may notice that extreme anxiety makes it go up. The correlation to your pressure will help you manage the things that make it go up. Share your results with your doctor so medication and lifestyle changes can be made if necessary.

You may find that while your blood pressure is high in the doctor's office, it may be normal in everyday activity. Remember, the doctor's result is a one time reading every one to four or more months. With normal home results, and high results at your doctor visits you may have "white coat" hypertension. There is much controversy over whether this should be treated. Check with your cardiologist.

If your blood pressure is borderline at 130/85, you want o start a low salt diet. The best is the DASH diet (http://bit.ly/hnbsL). Exercise, weight control, and stress reduction are other things to include in your treatment plan. For higher blood pressure readings over 140/90, medication may be necessary. Take your home blood pressure results in to your doctor. This will help in deciding on the best treatment for you.

Check out the American Heart Association http://hearthub.org/ for more information.

by J.L. Richardson, MD, author of the Patient Handbook to Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide.

http://www.mypatienthandbook.com/
www.twitter.com/MD4U