Amanda Trujillo - Nurse Interupted

I am just now hearing about the case of Arizona Nurse Amanda Trujillo and readers of EverythingHealth may also have missed this conflict between a Hospital, the Arizona Board of Nursing and a nurse advocating for her patient.  Nurses across the Country are blogging about it but I've seen very little from Physicians.  I think it is an important story and here is what happened:

Ms. Trujillo, a

States Medicaid Expansion Saves Lives

Some experts have said that individual States and the decisions they make around health care reform will have more impact on people than the Federal Government and the Accountable Care Act (Obamacare).  Since States will be able to "opt out" of of the reform law's Medicaid expansion, where a person resides may have a huge impact on their health.

A new study published in the New England

Answer to Image Challenge

The answer to yesterday's image challenge is.....drumroll.....

#1  Congenital nevus.

The skin in this region of the boy's scalp was lightly pigmented, with dark hairs; the lesion had been more pigmented at birth.  A congenital nevomelanocytic nevus was diagnosed.  Such nevi are often present at birth but can develop later in life.  Biopsy or excision is often done since they can transform into

Let's Start With a Challenge

Re-entry after vacation can be hard so I'll start blogging by asking you to do the work with this New England Journal of Medicine challenge.  This patient was brought in by his parents for the odd discoloration on the top of his head.  What is the diagnosis?

1.  Congentital nevus
2.  Psoriasis
3.  Tuberous sclerosis
4.  Vitiligo
5.  Warrdenburg syndrome type II

Post your answer in the

Blogging Break

EverythingHealth will be taking our own advice and relaxing and experiencing new ventures for 2 weeks.  Please scan the archives or the links on the right for great blog reading.  Enjoy the summer and check back in mid-July.

Incense and Bath Salt Intoxicants

I've been hearing about kids ingesting bath salts and incense to get high for the past year.  I had never heard of this before.  These synthetic legal intoxicating drugs (SLIDs) have come on the scene and have increased in popularity.  Who would want to snort bath salts or smoke incense?   What the heck are these things?

Although they are sold as bath salts and incense to avoid FDA regulation

What if Health Law is Overturned?

The Supreme Court is likely to rule on the 2010 Accountable Care Act (ACA-Health Insurance Reform-Obamacare) this week and it will be the most important decision this court has undertaken. The court could strike down the entire act or rule that the individual mandate is unconstitutional.  Washington and policy makers are buzzing with possible scenarios depending upon what the court does.  Here