Happy NP Week
Happy NP Week to all of my NP colleagues out there!If you are a patient of an NP or work with one, be sure to recognize the fine work they do every day.Here is the press release from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the theme this year is 125,000 Solutions to the Primary Care Shortage.(I'm a bit late, but also Happy PA Week to all of my physician assistant colleagues).

AHRQ Ad Campaign: Questions are the Answer
I came across this well thought out commercial that has appeared on TV from the U.S. Department of Human Health & Services' Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ). Their website has a few other public service announcement-type of ads. With their, "Questions are the Answer" campaign, they are encouraging patients to ask questions about their care and to take an active role in the provision of their care. Hopefully, patients and providers alike will embrace this idea so that there are more answers than questions. Any questions

H1N What?
With all the talk about H1N1 influenza, I think it;s important for folks to understand where the H1 and N1 come from.The "H" comes from the substance hemagglutinin and the "N" comes from neuraminidase. There have been identified influenza strains of the H and N types and this is how some influenza viruses are classified. The particular "swine" flu that has garnered so much attention is of the H1N1 type. A few years ago, the fear was of the avian type, H5N1. This past Spring, the Wall Street Journal Health Blog did a good job explaining some of the background

Provider Ratings
I recently decided to obtain auto insurance quotes from most of the major insurance companies websites. The quote process is generally very simple: enter your information and you get an instant on-line quote. As I feel it necessary to perform some due diligence and not just go with the least expensive quote, I Googled "auto insurance ratings." Well, what a frustrating experience. I wouldn't say that I am now more confused - only that it wasn't at all helpful. The Web is filled with a smattering of reviews and many of the negative ones seem that there is more to the story than what is written. In addition, we mostly know that an unsatisfied customer is much more likely to take their story to

Mandatory Flu Shots
The New York State Department of Health recently passed emergency regulations requiring all healthcare personnel working in hospital and nursing homes to receive mandatory influenza vaccinations or face termination of employment.I am a vaccine advocate and believe that vaccinations have decreased and in some cases eradicated some infectious illnesses. I do, however, worry about the mandate aspect of this law and how it will be truly be enforced.What do you think? Good idea? Cutting-edge? Violation of privacy? I'd love to hear your thoughts.