Category Archives: Health Care

Quora Query: What Percentage of US Health Costs are Spent on Administration?

There are several answers to this. I am sorry to self promote, but if you go to my blog – Notes from the Southern Heartland (https://www.ajlayon.com) and look at the 3-part series “Problems in Paradise” I go over this in … Continue reading

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Quora Query: What Does “Critical but Grave” Condition Mean?

Great query. I am going to give you a really poor answer, frankly because there aren’t any good ones. The entire way that we in the intensive care unit (ICU) classify a sick person’s condition is almost totally subjective. So, … Continue reading

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Quora Query: If I find Someone Shot with an Arrow, Should I pull the Arrow Out?

I think [the response give by] Dr. Davis is correct. In general, when you are in a place where you can obtain medical attention LEAVE THE ARROW ALONE (or the knife, or the ……). It could not only be tamponading … Continue reading

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Quora Query: If Sepsis Requires Immediate Medical Attention, How Does One Live with it for Weeks, Months, and Even Years?

“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many … Continue reading

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Quora Query: What Will it Take for the United States to Acquire Universal Healthcare?

There are two sets of answers to this query: Political and operational/organizational. Let me address each in its turn. The Political Issues: There is, to my analysis, nothing special about the United States and its people that make a rational … Continue reading

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Quora Query: Is the UK NHS the Best Healthcare System in Europe?

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How, indeed. Perhaps the first principle in answering this query is to point out, briefly, how healthcare systems are judged and ranked. This is done in multiple ways: Ease of access; waiting times; quality of each encounter, this itself is … Continue reading

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Quora Query: As a Doctor, What’s the Most Shocking Thing to Transpire While Delivering a Baby?

Shocking? SHOCKING?? On the one hand, as I am not an Obstetrician, I don’t have many stories about assisting women in the delivery of their children. On the other hand, however, there was a time – when I was a … Continue reading

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Quora Query: Why do you believe that people who abuse the healthcare system in the US should be enabled, through not telling them, in no uncertain terms, that their non-emergency issues are just that…non-emergencies?

There are several fine answers to this query – see, particularly, the one by former Nurse Mara Obelcz on Quora. And just as there are several answers to your question, there are several – many – reasons that people come … Continue reading

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Quora Query: How do I donate my body to medical research? Can I choose the institution? Is there some reason I might choose one over the other? I’m in Iowa, USA, by the way. I’m a young 70, but a dear friend recently did this and it seems like a wonderful idea.

It IS a wonderful and generous thing to do. I can still remember the start of our anatomy year in medical school. We – as I remember there were 4 or 5 of us to each cadaver – were introduced … Continue reading

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Quora Query: Can I Get Into Medical School with an Associates Degree Instead of a Bachelor’s Degree

One of the issues with medical students in general is NOT that they are too broadly educated, but – just the opposite – too narrowly so. I once, some years ago, entered into a very public argument with our then-University … Continue reading

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