Mea sententia...

Mea Sententia translates roughly as 'My Opinion' and has been my intermittent blog since 2011. Much of my writing is about medical issues, but my topics range through philosophy, behavioral and decision making, management, humor, and personal/family anecdotes.

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The suboptimal ED evaluation

Submitted by PeterElias on Sun, 06/22/2014 - 06:00

When this happens, I never know whether I should be frightened or enraged.

 

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    • Medicine

Father's Day thoughts

Submitted by PeterElias on Sun, 06/15/2014 - 06:00

It’s been four years since my Dad died.

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    • Family

Information in medicine

Submitted by PeterElias on Sun, 06/08/2014 - 06:00

Information is the currency of medical care. Transparency is the way it is vetted. Communication is the way it is shared.  Collaboration is the way it generates patient-centered outcomes. The right information must always be available to the right people at the right time in the right format.

And, by ‘available to the right people’ I don’t just mean the PCP or the consultant.

I mean the patient. 

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    • Medicine
    • Shared decision making

West Paris Snowy Owl

Submitted by PeterElias on Thu, 05/29/2014 - 06:00

Today on the trip from Auburn (Maine) to Montpelier (Vermont) my wife spotted the Snowy Owl she had heard was hanging out near the Elk Farm just north of Snow Falls. 

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    • Personal anecdote

Seven questions to ask before a test

Submitted by PeterElias on Thu, 05/29/2014 - 00:00

When your clinician suggests a test, here are seven questions you should consider asking. (And if you are a clinician, you should be asking yourself these questions before you recommend the test.)

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    • Medicine
    • Shared decision making

PCP pet peeves

Submitted by PeterElias on Thu, 05/22/2014 - 06:00

Ask any primary care clinician for a list of pet peeves and one of the top three will be: “Doing my consultant’s work.”

Just to be clear, the overwhelming majority of specialist consultants DON’T do this. But some do it occasionally and a few do it as a matter of routine. Every time it happens, it rankles.

A few examples:

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    • Medicine

The 'spam sign'

Submitted by PeterElias on Thu, 05/08/2014 - 06:00

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is both familiar and common.  This week in the office, I came across a manifestation that I think warrants reporting. I call it the Spam Sign.

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    • Medicine
    • Humor

The postcard relationship

Submitted by PeterElias on Thu, 05/08/2014 - 06:00

I met Wes when were both counsellors at the same summer camp in Rhinebeck, NY. I had just graduated from high school and he was a graduate student, a gifted musician, and willing to help me find my way through a troublesome summer.

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    • Personal anecdote

Association, causation, and the worship of surrogates

Submitted by PeterElias on Thu, 05/01/2014 - 06:00

I am constantly amazed at how many smart people in medicine and in medical leadership or policy positions fail to grasp the difference between association and causation, and end up focused on a surrogate rather than the issue.

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    • Medicine

This can't end well

Submitted by PeterElias on Tue, 04/29/2014 - 06:00

"We live in a society absolutely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. That's a clear prescription for disaster." (Carl Sagan)

 

 

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    • Philosophy and ethics

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