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In most cases, we get it right in health care
Published: December 17, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
I am often criticized by some of my colleagues for writing only about the potholes and chasms in our health care system. They are right; many of my articles do focus on medical errors, the lack of insurance and disparities in care, and I do not often enough touch upon the successes of everyday medicine -- and there are many.  Read More
Honesty about errors is essential to maintain trust
Published: November 12, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
Some years ago, I was awakened by a call from the hospital at 3 a.m., when my patient was writhing in pain with a fever of 103 from a possible urine or central line infection. I ordered some Tylenol along with Levaquin and Vancomycin, antibiotics to treat the offending microorganisms. Read More
Additives contribute to creating hyper kids
Published: October 08, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
Nearly every kid's food is "decorated" -- or "tainted" -- with artificial food color and additives. While they make food look pretty, there may be a downside. Can our children's daily consumption of juices, candy, and soft drinks with these additives be fueling disruptive behavior, restlessness, lack of concentration, fidgeting, and recurrent interrupting? Read More
Sadly getting used to a lack of health insurance
Published: September 17, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
Late on a Saturday afternoon, I met a slightly overweight 19-year-old girl from Mississippi. I was on-call for the weekend, and she was admitted to the hospital.As I entered her hospital room, a dreadfully foul fishy odor overwhelmed me, giving me a nauseated, faint feeling. She lay motionless, quiet, withdrawn as I tried to unearth her illness. Read More
It takes a team to deliver care of high quality
Published: August 20, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
The hotel ballroom was packed with 400 doctors, 10 at each round table. My wife, also a physician, and I were attending a medical seminar.Our facilitator, a pilot, asked us to write in our workbooks. "List all the members on your healthcare team ... the people who help you deliver the best possible care." We had three minutes to do the exercise. Read More
Estimating HIV in India
Published: August 02, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
India has eliminated HIV from 3.2 million of its people in a year! Well... sort of.
Analysis of a recent in-depth survey reveals a lower number -2.5 million people instead of 5.7 million people- living with HIV in India today. The new estimate ratchets India down from being the most populous HIV positive nation in the world to being the third - after South Africa and Nigeria. Read More
Prophets of doom delighted with miss
Published: July 23, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
India has eliminated HIV from 3.2 million of its people in a year! Well ... sort of.
Analysis of a recent in-depth survey reveals a lower number -- 2.5 million people instead of 5.7 million people -- living with HIV in India today. The new estimate moves India down from being the most populous HIV-positive nation in the world to being the third -- after South Africa and Nigeria. Read More
Fight the stereotypes for better health care
Published: June 25, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
At our hospital not long ago, I saw my picture on the hallway message board alongside those of other doctors in a display thanking us for our service. My Asian-Indian complexion set me apart -- it's something I am rarely conscious about in everyday life. It got me thinking: When I walk into the room, do my patients see me as a foreigner?
Then I wondered: When I walk into a room, how do I see my patients? Read More
You can help your doctor gather facts
Published: May 28, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
Have you ever gone to a job interview and wondered what and how the interviewer was thinking? Is she looking at your tie or blouse, examining your physical mannerisms or analyzing your previous work history and school grades? Read More
Sacred bond of patient and doctor should be inspiration
Published: April 23, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
I carry the card in the glove compartment of my car. It is not a valentine card from my wife, or a graduation card from my mother. It is a simple greeting card, with a cheerful watercolor of wildflowers, sent to me by a patient I cared for after moving to Memphis.
She was an attractive 34-year-old medical detailer who was engaged to be married, until she became inexplicably short of breath. First her doctors thought it was asthma, then bronchitis
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In medical affairs of heart, most disease is preventable
Published: March 12, 2007
by Dr. Manoj Jain
Initially, I thought it was a rather inappropriate and tasteless joke. On Valentine's Day, while the rest of the country was gifting chocolate hearts and roses, PBS aired a documentary titled "A Hidden Epidemic -- Heart Disease in America." Read More
More hospitalized than needed if treated earlier
by Dr. Manoj Jain
Tennesseans were more likely than other Americans to be hospitalized for pneumonia, dehydration and 11 other complaints that are often successfully treated on an outpatient basis.
The analysis by two Memphis researchers suggests the network of public and private clinics and health providers that state residents rely on for primary care is inadequate and in urgent need of improvement. Read More
Benefits of chocolate at heart of indulgence
by Dr. Manoj Jain
I can't resist biting into a piece of chocolate, especially when Valentine's Day is upon us and the stuff seems to be everywhere. Read More
It's time for ban on indoor smoking
by Dr. Manoj Jain
A cloud of smoke hung over the nurses' lounge. It was shift change, and nearly all the nurses had a lit cigarette between their fingers or on an ashtray.
In the lounge across the hall, patients with IV poles leashed to their arms puffed on their cigarettes. Read More
Rats! Wine benefit not fully proven in humans
by Dr. Manoj Jain
Eat, drink and be merry.... Really?
I hate to be the one to break some bad news, but red wine and a McDonald's diet is not a path to a long, healthy and happy life. One study; however, would have you believe they are.
Read More
Deserving patients within our borders
by Dr. Manoj Jain
During the past several years, I and some other doctors I know have moved our practices away from Downtown Memphis. There are many reasons for this: having a shorter commute, establishing a presence at one hospital and searching for a better payer-mix of insured patients. Read More
Are you drinking enough coffee? Get health up to speed
by Dr. Manoj Jain
I am not a drinker. Honest. But now, I may start drinking ... coffee.
Scientific studies have been pouring in, one after another, some 19,000 of them over the past decades, evaluating the health effects of coffee. And, the overwhelming consensus is that coffee is beneficial for health -- specifically for people with diabetes, heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver and even Parkinson's disease. Read More
Connecting the dots uncovers thyroid problem
by Dr. Manoj Jain
It was during Super Bowl XXXVIII that I first noticed my heart racing. Usually it beats in keeping with the second hand on the clock, one beat a second. Now I was almost at 2 beats a second, a heart rate of 120 beats per minute - while at rest. Read More
SARS: An Opportunity Within an Epidemic
by Dr. Manoj Jain
On February 19, 2003 when an unsuspecting nephrologist was admitted into a Hong Kong hospital for what seemed to be an innocent respiratory infection or, at worst, a bad pneumonia, the world witnessed the public birthing of a new disease. Read More
Common Table has recipe for health
Published: October 03, 2004
by Dr. Manoj Jain
It's time for breakfast. Will it be bacon and eggs, or a heart-healthy cereal and fruit? The choice could cause cholesterol levels to surge or plunge, affecting whether our arteries clog or allow blood to run freely - and ultimately helping to determine how long we live.
It's time for school. Our children go to schools where soda machines are available in the cafeteria. Drinking one can of sugary soda per day can lead to a 15-pound weight gain over a year. Read More
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