Category: Practices & Tips

How Chiropractors Can Ensure Patient’s Safety Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this guest post, Dr. Brent Wells, DC discusses what chiropractic clinics and patients should do as clinics begin to open up after COVID-19. Dr. Wells founded Better Health Chiropractic & Physical Rehab in Alaska and has been a chiropractor for over 20 years.

By Brent Wells, DC (Better Health Chiropractic)

As chiropractic clinics start to open back up, many patients might feel a bit hesitant to make an appointment. How will the clinic protect them? What steps are chiropractors using to keep things safe? Below are some ways that chiropractors can ensure patient safety amid this troubling pandemic.

Continue reading “How Chiropractors Can Ensure Patient’s Safety Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic” →

3 Myths about Wearing Masks

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Research has demonstrated that early adoption of wearing face masks slowed COVID infections – “Countries with early interest in face mask use had milder COVID-19 infection rates, according to a letter-to-the-editor published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.”

Myth #1 – COVID Doesn’t Exist, So What’s There to Worry About?

In March 2020, PolitiFact debunked a Facebook post with 8,000 shares claiming that “there is no virus.” PolitiFact is a non-partisan fact-checking website that checks the accuracy of claims and after reviewing Facebook posts denying the existence of COVID-19, PolitiFact concluded “Facebook users are claiming there ‘is no’ coronavirus. That’s ridiculously wrong.”

Continue reading “3 Myths about Wearing Masks” →

Questions We’d Love to Answer on Virtual Patient Care, but Can’t

By Michael Wong (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety), Lynn G. Razzano, RN, MSN, ONC, CMSRN (Clinical Nurse Consultant, PPAHS), and Thereza B. Ayad, RN, MSN, DNP, CNOR (Clinical Nurse Consultant, PPAHS)

Virtual Patient Care Launched to Help Patients

We started Virtual Patient Care to help patients during the current COVID pandemic. Helping patients is what motivated BMS-Pfizer Alliance to provide us with grant support. Helping patients is why the American Heart Association, AC Forum, Heart Rhythm Society, StopAfib.org, Mended Hearts, and Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association have provided such great support and help for Virtual Patient Care. To read the press release on Virtual Patient Care, click here.

Since we launched Virtual Patient Care, we have received many questions from patients asking us to diagnose their ailments or asking us to explain why a certain treatment or medication isn’t curing them.

Continue reading “Questions We’d Love to Answer on Virtual Patient Care, but Can’t” →

Exercising During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Editor’s note: Keeping physically active has a great many benefits and, during the current COVID-19 situation, physical activity is recommended for emotional and mental health, as well as to boost your immune system. However, as everyone’s different, please speak with your doctor about finding the right level of fitness activity for you.

One of the questions we’ve received on the chat line and which we’d like to share the answer to is about exercising during the current COVID-19 pandemic. This is a question that many have probably asked themselves.

There are many benefits to staying physically active, particularly following surgery. However, during the current COVID-19 circumstances that require social distancing and have necessitated the closure of facilities – particularly gyms, pools, and parks – staying physically active can be especially challenging.

Continue reading “Exercising During the COVID-19 Pandemic” →

COVID-19 Patients Are at a Greater Risk of Blood Clots

Editor’s note: Our understanding of COVID-19 symptomatology is evolving as the current pandemic unfolds. The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis has collected a number of studies and case reports on thrombosis in COVID-19 patients. The Journal of American College of Cardiology released a review of current understanding, citing many of the studies and case reports which are on the ISTH site. This COVID-19 pandemic challenges us to use current knowledge and innovate new approaches to care for patients diagnosed with COVID-19. This article seeks to summarize some of the current knowledge about thrombosis in COVID-19 patients, knowing that future studies and case reports will undoubtedly refine the statements made below. However, this is science, continually evolving and improving based on current understanding. With that, this article offers some insights about VTE in patients admitted to the hospital who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

By Michael Wong (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety), Laurie Paletz, BSN PHN RN BC SCRN (Manager, Stroke Program Department of Neurology, Cedars-Sinai), and Thereza B. Ayad, RN, MSN, DNP, CNOR (Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Graduate School of Nursing; Surgical Services Clinical Staff Educator, North Shore Medical Center)

(reviewed by Sue Koob, MPA, Chief Executive Officer, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association and Pat Salber, MD, MBA, Editor-in-Chief, DoctorWeighsIn)

Continue reading “COVID-19 Patients Are at a Greater Risk of Blood Clots” →

Going to the Dentist in this COVID-19 Era

Editor’s note: As many states look to “re-open,” some of us may be looking to do what might have been put off during the last few weeks of COVID-19 isolation – such as, going to the dentist. T help Michael Wong, JD (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety) interviewed Bradley T. Truax, MD about what precautions dentists and their patients should consider.

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

As many states look to “re-open,” some of us may be looking to do what might have been put off during the last few weeks of COVID-19 isolation – such as, going to the dentist.

Continue reading “Going to the Dentist in this COVID-19 Era” →

Great COVID-19 Advice and Resources from Our Cardiovascular Partners

If you have questions, the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety launched a free online service (the CV Virtual Clinic) where patients can speak with experienced registered nurses and get personalized answers to their questions.

Continue reading “Great COVID-19 Advice and Resources from Our Cardiovascular Partners” →

Malignant Hyperthermia Is Your Facility Prepared?

[Editor’s note: This poster was accepted for presentation at the 2020 AORN National Conference and Surgical Expo, which unfortunately has been canceled because of the current Covid-19 crisis. However, the information contained on the poster contains important information that all healthcare facilities should be aware of and implement to prevent Malignant Hyperthermia and to minimize patient harm and prevent patient mortality, so we asked the poster authors to discuss their findings here.

By Thereza B. Ayad, RN, DNP, CNOR and Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONC CMSRN

Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) complicates 1:100,000 adult surgical cases. MH is a severe reaction to a dose of anesthetics – infrequently, extreme exercise or a heat stroke can trigger MH in someone with a muscle abnormality where the individual’s muscle cells have an abnormal protein on their surfaces.

Although rare, MH can be fatal.

MH symptoms/ manifestations include:

Continue reading “Malignant Hyperthermia Is Your Facility Prepared?” →

Coronavirus Brief for Caregivers

Editor’s notes: Rather than long-winded expressions of concern – which is what seems to be occurring regularly from airlines to grocery stores and everything in between, PPAHS will present coronavirus briefs. We hope that you find this brief on tips for caregivers to be useful and just long enough to be of interest.

The quandary for caregivers during the current Covid-19 crisis is the conflicting recommendations demanding social distancing and the need to make sure that the person that they are caring for is still receiving the attention and care that they need.

Here are 5 steps you can take as a caregiver:

Continue reading “Coronavirus Brief for Caregivers” →

Blood Clots Can Happen with Anyone, Don’t Think It Can’t Happen to You or Your Loved One

In celebration of World Thrombosis Day 2019, here are four much-watch videos on the need to assess all maternal patients for the risk of VTE and to provide the recommended prophylaxis treatment, depending on whether the mother is antepartum or postpartum.

Blood Clots Are Preventable in Pregnant Mothers

Blood clots are preventable in pregnant mothers, but to make this happen, all maternal patients need to be assessed for the risk of DVT and, if the patient is found to be at risk, the patient must be provided the recommended prophylactic treatments. In this video, Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director) discusses PPAHS put together an expert panel to develop the OB VTE Safety Recommendations. He encourages all maternal patients to be assessed and treated for VTE.

Continue reading “Blood Clots Can Happen with Anyone, Don’t Think It Can’t Happen to You or Your Loved One” →