D

Dallas Saves You Time, Kinda

This month, Real Simple did a list of the top 21 time-saving cities. The magazine ranked cities based on how easy and fast they are to get around; how long it takes to see a doctor or the response of emergency services; availability of wireless and broadband and resources such as 311 hotlines; bike friendliness and recycling; and on the number of personal trainers and takeout restaurants per capita. Dallas came in at number 16, in a tie with Cleveland. We scored a 14 on the time-saving scale (getting around: 2; health and safety: 3.5; information and technology: 3; green time-savers: 3; lifestyle: 2.5). I think Dallas should have had a higher score in lifestyle, but I’m biased.

Also in the same issue, I learned I could use a ketchup bottle as a pancake dispenser. So there’s that.

UT Southwestern Probing Patient-Info Theft

So my better half gets a letter in the mail from UT Southwestern Medical Center. It says that her personal information may have been stolen from there by somebody who used to work in the hospital’s patient financial services department. This person supposedly accessed “personal identifying information of patients who had made payments,” then gave the info to someone who intended to use it to apply for credit cards, loans and bank accounts. UT Southwestern cops are investigating.

The hospital doesn’t know exactly how many patients were affected by the scheme. So it’s notifying a bunch of people and urging them all to place a “fraud alert” on their credit files. It’s even arranged with one of the fraud-reporting companies to offer identity-theft protection to the potential victims “at no cost for one year.” And, here’s a nice P.S.: the letter containing all this bad news arrived in an envelope that was open, looking like it had never been sealed.

Elaine Agather Steals the Show at Planned Parenthood Luncheon

As Tim mentioned earlier, Dallas was the place for protesters today, and the Planned Parenthood of North Texas luncheon at the Hilton Anatole was no exception (Dallas Dirt’s Candy Evans and I made it through the back entrance and avoided abortion protesters). Once inside, guests were treated to a charming introduction by Elaine Agather of JPMorgan Chase; the Kay Bailey Hutchison supporter seemed a bit surprised to be there herself—she quipped that last year someone asked her to write a check, and this year she was the emcee. Conservative politics aside, Agather said she recognized the need for Planned Parenthood when she realized that more than 50 percent of her company’s employees were women, many of whom needed access to basic health services. Keynote speaker Anna Quindlen gave a heartwarming speech with one sour note that offended a few of the well-heeled ladies: She asked attendees to take a look at the lovely suits they were wearing, consider how much the ensembles cost, and donate at least that much to the nonprofit.

FB Reader Poll: Sickest Winter in Dallas History?

I only have anecdotal evidence, but along with being one of the coldest winters on record, I’m starting to think it is the sickest as well. I’ve been in general foul health since November – nagging cough, the post-nasal congestion, and now the relentless drip. The wife hasn’t stopped coughing or sneezing in a couple of months. The two-year-old went through two rounds of antibiotic treatment, and this morning the four-year-old threw-up three times in about 45 minutes, complaining of her second ear infection in three weeks. So tell me: can we just not take care of ourselves, or are you also battling epic illness?

Wealthy Collin County Healthier Than Poorer Dallas

Of the four major counties of North Texas — Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton — Dallas has the lowest rankings on a new study comparing the health of all U.S. counties by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Collin County is ranked tops in “health factors” among all counties in the state, while Collin and Denton both rank among the top three counties for “health outcomes.” The study looks at things like smoking rate, obesity rate, and the ratio of liquor stores and fast-food joints to healthy-food outlets. The levels of wealth and poverty are also factors.

Dallas ranks No. 70 and No. 171 on the two Texas lists, while Tarrant County comes out much better, at No. 37 and No. 52.

Dallas also finishes behind the state’s other major metro areas, Harris and Bexar counties. (Though we’re slightly better than San Antonio on health outcomes, we’re well behind on health factors.)

UNT Doctors May or May Not Know Something New About Osteopathic Treatments and Pregnancy

Putting aside that Reuters doesn’t know the difference between the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth and something it calls the “University of Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth,” their article about how osteopathic techniques “may” lessen back pain for pregnant women points out one of the difficulties when we in the news media try to report on the latest medical or scientific studies.  Buried inside the piece:

Over the course of the study, women in the osteopathic group reported improved back pain and related symptoms, Licciardone noted in an email to Reuters Health. The sham ultrasound group reported no pain improvement and those in the standard care group reported increased pain. However, none of these differences were statistically significant.

Let me repeat: None of these differences were statistically significant.

Translation: We don’t really know anything new yet.

Science moves way more slowly than the news cycle.

Matt Chandler’s Battle

We first told you about Village Church pastor Matt Chandler undergoing brain surgery in December. This article gives you the whole story and a bit of an update on him. His tumor was diagnosed at Stage 3 (Stage 4 being the most aggressive).

The average life expectancy in such cases, Barnett says, is approximately two to three years. The doctor says later, in an interview, he believes Chandler will live longer because of the aggressive surgery, treatment and Chandler’s otherwise good health.

The father of three is receiving treatment at Baylor University Medical Center, and it sounds like he’s taking everything in stride. But don’t take my word for it, read the article.

Local Hospital Officially Limits Elective Delivery

North Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills is trying to cut back on the number of elective deliveries for pregnant women at fewer than 39 weeks. It’s interesting, but I’m mainly posting this because I want an excuse to quote a mother who described her baby— born at 40 weeks—as “puffy and juicy and nice and ripe.”

Parkland’s Bum Rap on Executive Pay

Many people, including even Ross Perot, are upset with some of the huge bonuses paid out on Wall Street. But the incentive pay for execs at Parkland Hospital, including CEO Ron Anderson, seems like a different matter entirely. The hospital not only reduced ER wait times, it also improved billing processes and boosted net income. That’s called performance. Why would anyone begrudge these payouts–or salary increases for the rank-and-file–especially since Parkland is struggling valiantly to cope with patients, and social problems, the rest of us would just as soon ignore? (Anderson and Parkland, BTW, are scrutinized in a great story by Charlotte Huff in the new issue of D CEO.)

Laura Bush And Entourage Turn Heads At Jonsson Public Library

FFL Laura Bush + media + Secret Service (pictured)+ Kids Vision Fest +  Jonsson Public Library daytimers = Robert Altman-type scenario.

SweetCharity has a play-by-play.

Massage Parlors Sue City of Dallas

The January issue of the “print product” will contain a fascinating story (if I do say so myself) written by Thomas Korosec about how two women came up with an ingenious tactic for shutting down the city’s brothels. We’ve put it online early because WE’VE GOT BREAKING NEWS. The brothels — er, massage parlors — are fighting back.

(more…)

DMN Recycles Old Column, Omitting Key Info

OK, I’m officially confused. In the past, the DMN’s Problem Solver column hasn’t hesitated to finger outfits like Microsoft,  AT&T and D/FW International Airport that were giving folks a hard time. So why was it, I wondered, that in today’s Problem Solver column (which carries the tag ”New” on it), a hospital that mistakenly classified a patient as “dead”–setting off a whole chain of unfortunate events–was identified only as “a Dallas hospital”?  

Come on, guys, which hospital was it? Isn’t that a key part of the story?  Then I Googled today’s story and, in the process, found a suspiciously similar Problem Solver column from last month. It not only told the very same tale but, lo and behold, this time named the hospital: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.  So what’s going on here, Newsies?

UNT Thinks an Osteopath is Inferior to an M.D.?

Texas is apparently suffering from a doctor shortage. But really it’s not so much a doctor shortage as a primary-care/family practice physician shortage. The University of North Texas says it wants to help this problem by opening a second medical school in Fort Worth.

Apparently they want an M.D. program, in addition to the existing osteopathic medicine college that they have over there. But here’s my question: D.O.’s have historically been more committed (a greater percentage of them make the choice) to going into primary care than have those with M.D.’s. From an old New York Times article:

One of osteopathic medicine’s most marketable features these days is its longstanding commitment to general medical practice, or primary care. Osteopathic education has historically prepared students exclusively to take care of patients rather than become specialists, academics or researchers. Osteopathic medical students generally spend considerably more time working as apprentices in clinics and private offices than their conventionally trained counterparts. ”We live with patients in the wild,” said Dr. Tyler Cymet, an osteopathic internist in Baltimore. ”We get
to see what they’re like.”

Although the number of osteopathic doctors in primary care has fallen in the last 20 years, about half of all practicing osteopathic doctors are still primary-care doctors, Dr. Wood said, in contrast to only about a third of M.D.’s.

Sorry that article is about a decade old, but I think that’s still generally true. So if what you need is more primary care doctors, and osteopaths are more likely to make that career choice, why not push to expand the school you have, rather than create a whole new one?

The answer is that a D.O. still doesn’t command the same respect as an M.D.?

Obamacare and Claytie Williams: The Connection

Doctors have been demonized lately as “greedy”–out to pad their wallets by performing unnecessary surgeries. They’re facing reams of new red tape that soon will make practicing more costly. And they’re about to be squeezed even further on reimbursements. So I was surprised this week by the weary response of a physician-acquaintance–a Dallasite who works longer, tougher hours than any six guys on a construction site–when asked about national health care “reform,” which now seems likely to pass. “What are you gonna do?” he shrugged, waving one hand. “I’ve decided to subscribe to the Clayton Williams philosophy. You know, if it’s gonna happen, you might as well relax and enjoy it.”

John Goodman: Doctors’ Comp Is Stupid

The head of the Dallas-based National Center for Policy Analysis compares how we pay doctors to how we pay lawyers.

Leading Off (11/20/09): Patently Unfair Media Criticism Edition

1. The Dallas Observer’s Sam Merten nearly derailed the entire City Hall corruption case.

2. Some people would say that the appearance of the word “some” in a headline is a sure sign of a newspaper covering for a thin local angle on a national story.

3. If a fire breaks out in east Fort Worth, and NBC5 isn’t there to provide “team coverage,” does anybody care?

Dallas Thinks it Looks Good in Skinny Jeans

According to a new report, a good number of the fat people of our fair city don’t think there’s anything wrong with them:

The study, based on survey data collected in Dallas, found that one in 10 participants — all of whom were classified as obese — were satisfied with their body size and didn’t think they needed to lose a few.

“That is a sizeable percentage who don’t understand they are overweight and believe they are healthy,” said lead researcher Tiffany Powell, a cardiology fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Dallas County Expected to Run Out of H1N1 Vaccine Today (Probably)

So, go ahead and panic, if that’s your thing. My thing? An unnatural, inexplicable cockiness, and constant thumb drumming on my legs (not a euphemism).

Leading Off (10/27/09)

1. MAVS DAY! MAVS DAY! MAVS DAY!

2. Mayor Leppert is trying to rush through a complicated package of ethics reforms, in the wake of former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill’s corruption conviction. Some council members want to take more time, some don’t think the reforms are needed, and none have answered my e-mails about how they think Erick Dampier will react to his new role occasionally coming off the bench. Where is your fancy talk of transparency now, city hall?

3. Southlake Carroll ISD is ditching its perfect attendance award so sick kids stay home. I, however, am still planning on maintaining perfect attendance at the games on my Dallas Mavericks ticket plan, starting with tonight against the Washington Wizards.

Signs of the Times On Health Care Reform

Demonstrators for and against health care reform are continuing to snarl traffic around Sen. John Cornyn’s office at Spring Valley and the tollway, DallasDirt’s Candy Evans reports. Three cop cars were parked there keeping watch around noon today, Candy says, when the “aginners” outnumbered the “fers” by about 150 to 12. It’s been closer to 50/50 since the demonstrations began several months ago, she adds, but rainy weather has tended to keep the reform proponents away.

A Rash of Cheese Overdoses at Parkland

Awhile back, Angela Gardner tweeted: “Apparently there is a new batch of ‘cheese’ on the street.” Gardner is the president-elect of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and she works at Parkland. I got her on the phone to explain what’s happening down there.

Gardner has worked at Parkland for about five months. In the first four, she says, she saw only a few cheese overdoses come through the ER. But in the last couple of weeks, she has seen about half a dozen. She stresses that her count is anecdotal. The patients have all been males in their early 20s. They all say they did the drug at a party. “I’m struck that these kids think that because they’re snorting the cheese, it’s not as bad for them as injecting heroin,” Gardner says. “They don’t know that it can stop your breathing and kill you.” Her patients have all survived.

Side note: I asked her how the flu is looking at Parkland. Gardner’s response: “The flu is looking terrible! It’s terrible!” She thinks Dallas will get the H1N1 vaccine the first part of November, and she encourages everyone to get a shot.

Guests Get Two Bushes for One

Laura Bush showed up with a surprise guest today at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center luncheon in Dallas: her husband George W. in tow. SweetCharity has the details.

Baylor, Harris Methodist, Beryl Best Places to Work

Congratulations to local outfits  Baylor Health Care System, the Harris Methodist Southlake Center for Diagnostics & Surgery, and the Beryl Cos. (in Bedford), for being among the 100 Best Places to Work in Health Care, according to Modern Healthcare Magazine.

Baylor President and CEO Joel Allison was recently named the 29th Most Powerful Man in Health Care by the same publication. Beryl Cos. CEO Paul Spiegelman was one of 34 Great Entrepreneurs recognized in the July issue of D CEO. And I’m sure the folks over at Harris Methodist Southlake are good people.

OK, any disgruntled employees of these companies, our comments are open for your horror stories.

Everyone in Dallas Will Die From the Flu, Ctd.

Well, we have a diagnosis. The boy has the flu. Is it the dreaded and feared swine flu? As his pediatrician put it (shout out to Dr. Bergman!), the swine flu is the only flu in town. I’m headed off now to get Tamiflu for the whole family.

What does this mean to you, the dear, sweet, healthy FrontBurnervian? Remember that the swine flu is just the flu. It’s no more dangerous than regular flu flu. Thing is, no one has immunity to it, making it very contageous. Got that? Our pediatrician says the hard part of his job is deciding whom to treat with Tamiflu. Treat those who’ve been exposed to it now, and they’ll likely just be exposed again in a few weeks or a few months (he’s expecting a lot of people will get sick this year). And down the road, we’re almost certain to run out of the stuff. Right now, he says he’s only prescribing for family members of those who’ve got it. If your kid has a fever, get him to the doc pronto. Get it early, and Tamiflu lessens the severity of the flu. Wait a couple days, and it does nothing.

Finally, if you’ve French-kissed either me or my son recently, you’re probably going to die. Watch out.

Dallas Invented Health Insurance

Maybe all you wise FrontBurnervians already knew this, but I’m reading this morning that the first health insurance plan in the country originated right here in Dallas, at Baylor University Medical Center:

For its beginnings we need to go back to 1929 to a man named Justin Ford Kimball when he became vice president of Baylor University in Dallas, Texas. He was an experienced administrator, as he headed the College of Medicine, School of Nursing, College of Dentistry, and the university hospital.

Soon after taking the job, he developed a health plan that guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for 50 cents a month. The plan soon spread to other employee groups in Dallas, and then similar plans began to crop up nation-wide.

Yes, that Justin F. Kimball. And I read about it on two different websites, so come on, it’s got to be true, right? Maybe Dallas is the best place to figure out a new model of health care.