....or how to panic people with statistics.  

We all "know" that vegetarian diets are far more health than eating meat, or even fish.  Right?  

But is that really true?  And if so, what does it really mean anyway?  After all, 

There are lies, damned lies and statistics. -Mark Twain 

There was a recent article in the British Medical Journal, 

Risks of ischaemic heart disease and stroke in meat eaters, fish eaters, and vegetarians over 18 years of follow-up: results from the prospective EPIC-Oxford study, by Tong, et al. 

This study has a pretty decent size study group (48K subjects) and good follow up (18 years).  So what did they find?

First, there is a greater risk of ischemic heart disease in meat eaters, compared to vegetarians.  But wait, there is a second major finding in the paper also.  Vegetarians have a higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke during that same time period. 

Wow.... maybe...

We all know that cybersecurity is an issue that each person and company (i.e. practice) needs to deal with.  But how many of you have said...

• It won't happen to me
• I will take care of cyber threats tomorrow
• Anyone can hack passwords, so why bother?
• I have no idea where to start...

Sound like you?  I bet for most of you, it's hitting a bit close to home.  It seems like in this world of medicine and business, there are so many other things... that we simply don't put a priority on cybersecurity.  But you should.

Here are just some recent descriptions of various threats and attacks on health care facilities.  Some are prepared.  Some are not. What would an article say about your company if you were attacked by a hacker? 

• Malware attack disrupts operations at Indiana medical center
• Three Alabama hospitals halt admissions after a ransomware attack
• Indiana medical center alerts 106k patients of a ransomware attack
• Patient data from EHR...

Risk management is the practice of helping reduce a bad outcome in your life.  While we typically think of risk management as using insurance as a way of helping reduce the financial impact of a bad event in your life, the fact is this:  Financial protection is important, but protecting your life and health from untoward events, is even more important.

At WhiteCoat Risk Management, our A.R.P. system helps people better identify, reduce and protect against the risks in their life.  Sometimes it's financial, but other times it helps you protect your life and health. This is one of those times.

Risks Of Injury: Knowledge Is Power.

If you knew that you had a high chance of being injured this year, would you be better off understanding what the most likely cause of that injury would be?  Or are you better off not knowing and taking your chances?  

I believe the answer is obvious.  If you know the most likely cause of an injury, then you can...

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is something that we all need to be concerned about.  Regardless if we use our computers for casual use, business, fun, or all of the above, there undoubtedly are times when we need to enter usernames and passwords.  

The Password Problem

If you are like I am, I literally have a list of hundreds of passwords for various sites.  The best practice is that you have a different password for each site. But that can be very hard to do.  After a while, you just have a hard time even thinking up new passwords, let alone remember them.  And beyond that, truly secure sites often require you to change your password every 60, 90 or 120 days.  Use upper and lower case.  Add a number or two.  Then add in a few random symbols.  Sheesh! When will it end?  

Password Complexity And The Weak Link...

Yes, creating and using complex passwords is good practice, and you should do it. 

But there is a flaw in the...

Phishing Problems

We have all heard about the problems that can occur when an employee clicks on a malicious link within an email. Perhaps you have even experienced it in your business. 

Maybe it was an honest mistake.  Maybe it was careless. Maybe they didn't know any better.  But regardless of the reason, justified or unjustified, the action can put your business .... out of business.  

It used to be that accidentally clicking on a malicious link would result in you being put on a mailing list. Or maybe hijacking your computer to a porn site.  Steal a credit card number.  Or any number of problems from inserting a virus into your system.  But typically these events didn't put your business at real risk of a catastrophic problem.  But that has changed recently.

What Made Hackers So Damaging?

Yes, the world of computer hackers has taken a truly evil turn.  What has made this possible?  Three things.  The first is...

The "Curbside Consult"

We have all done it. 

You see Mark in a hospital hallway and he asks, “Hey Frank, I have a patient with XYZ symptoms….what do you think?”

When this happens, you provide a quick thought about what might help a colleague get to the root of a patient’s problem.  But you always thought that it was “off the record” and wasn’t really a part of the patient’s care.  That, after all, was Mark’s issue.  He is the physician who is responsible for the patient.  He is the one where the buck stops.

 Perhaps that’s what you thought, but the reality may be far from that. 

While we have all heard horror stories where a physician who provides a curbside consult gets sucked into a malpractice case, they seemed to be infrequent. But that may not be the case in the future.

Minnesota – April 17, 2019 : Minnesota Supreme Court

Mark this date.  On that date, the Minnesota...

Worried about your mistakes resulting in a medical malpractice case?

Well, you should also consider this.  That EMR in your office may also be contributing to your medical malpractice risk.  

EMR Generated Errors

In this recent article in Medical Economics, they outline sources of errors that are in your EMR.  In fact, the number of medical malpractice cases due to errors generated by an EMR tripled from 2013 to 2017.

There have been errors that have resulted in incorrect surgeries and other medical issues, but perhaps the most common problem is in electronic prescriptions.  

The articles recommendation?  You should test your EMR to make sure it's accurate. 

Yes, you heard this correctly. YOU should be checking the system periodically to make sure it's accurate.  As if you, as a physician, didn't already have a significant efficiency handicap because of poorly designed EMRs with poor interfaces.  Now you...

What are the times on a flight which have the highest risk?  It's only 11 minutes out of every flight.  

11 Minutes of High Risk Flight

When you are flying, the highest risk of a crash is in the first three minutes of the flight...and the last eight.  A total of 11 minutes overall on most flights.  This is when most airline accidents occur.

This statistic may be different now with some of the Boeing 737 crashes which occurred 12 and 6 minutes after takeoff, but regardless, it's clear that the highest risk of a crash is at the beginning and the end of your flight.

So to help reduce your chance of injury or death, you might ask...

Does Where You Sit On A Plane Matter?

This is a difficult question to answer because it all depends on the type of plane and the nature of the crash or accident.  It's obvious that if the plane hits something else, the people in front of the plane are less likely to survive, while when the rear of the plane bottoms out, the...

The Risk Of Rapid Communication

I just messed up.  It wasn’t life-threatening or even dangerous, but it was a goof that didn’t need to happen.  And it would have been better if I had not done it.  

So what did I do that was so bad?

Simple.  I acted on an e-mail before I read the entire text of the e-mail.  It was sent to a group of people, asking them for their independent thoughts on a logo.  

Now, I have been through several logo designs and selection processes.  I have seen great logos put aside and passed over for far worse ones.  I have seen logos that look good when they are fresh and crisp, but would not look good when photocopied. Or faxed. Or scanned. These could be logos that rely on color as being a primary element of the logo, rather than a secondary element.  Or design elements that are too small.  Regardless, I have a good feel for what looks good as a logo, as well as what won’t look good in...

 Repeat after me...."I DO!"

Be a millionaire at age 65?   For SOME it’s easy.

So you want to be a millionaire.   To join the “double comma” club.  The seven-figure bank account. All by age 65.

Sounds great ‘eh? 

Now here is a secret.  You can buy membership into that club for a monthly fee.  

How does 300 bucks and some change a month sound?  Would that be a great deal to join the club?

Or would you rather pay $450 or so for membership?

Or $650?  ….all the way up to $6,000 a month to join that club?

Which would you choose?   $300?  Or $6,000 a month “dues”?

I suspect that we would all choose to join the club for $300 a month. 

But there is a catch to becoming a millioniare…

It’s about time.  It’s how long you put away that monthly money and let it do a lot of the work for you.  Depending on your age, it may be too late to join the...