The Morning Drill: April 23, 2012

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Good Monday Morning!

On to today's dentistry and health headlines:

6 Unique & Inspiring Ways To Use Pinterest In the Field of Healthcare

A few months back we posted an introduction to Pinterest – the now third most popular social network in the U.S. behind Facbook and Twitter. As it remains the talk of the town, the buzz surrounding Pinterest is naturally giving growth to a lot of questions among many medical professionals. They are wondering how they can incorporate Pinterest into their social media strategy, and whether or not it makes sense to do so.

In my previous post, I outlined a few ways doctors can utilize Pinterest. Today, I am providing healthcare professionals some real life examples of this, which may inspire them to become involved with this site. After all, Pinterest is intended to be a “fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.”

Budget would delay statewide Medicaid managed care for dentistry

The state budget and an implementing bill signed this week by Gov. Rick Scott would delay the phasing in of Medicaid managed care plans for dentistry, but Scott made clear he would support the plans in the future.

The language would require the agency to continue allowing dentists to bill for Medicaid patients under the traditional fee-for-service system in areas outside Miami-Dade County, but would expire in July 2013. The Agency for Health Care Administration announced it was delaying the statewide implementation of the managed care system after the language was approved by the Legislature.

In a signing statement, Scott indicated that although he did not feel that he could veto the language without affecting other important parts of the budget and enacting legislation,  he will still back the expansion of medical and dental managed care plans.

"In the interest of disclosure he's letting everyone know he's still committed" to remodeling Medicaid, Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, R-Palm City, said. "He's not going to stop the process."

Florida Dental Association President Cesar Sabates said in a statement that the group is pleased that Scott approved the provision. In a "white paper" released this week, the group warns that a managed care system creates the possibility that "fewer providers can afford to participate in the government program and access for this patient population can be challenging."

Researchers Find Joint Failures Potentially Linked To Oral Bacteria

The culprit behind a failed hip or knee replacements might be found in the mouth. DNA testing of bacteria from the fluid that lubricates hip and knee joints had bacteria with the same DNA as the plaque from patients with gum disease and in need of a joint replacement.

This study is one of many coming from the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine that have linked oral bacteria to health problems when they escape from the mouth and enter the blood.

Working with University Hospitals Case Medical Center researchers, the dental, orthopedic and arthritis researchers suggest it might be the reason why aseptic loosening or prosthetic wear of the artificial joints fail within 10 years when no infection appears to be present. The pilot study's findings were reported in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology.

Dr. Nabil Bissada, chair of the Department of Periodontics at the dental school, said the objective of the study, "Identification of Oral Bacterial DNA in Synovial Fluid of Patients with Arthritis with Native and Failed Prosthetic Joints," was to see if bacteria like Fusobacterium nucleatum and Serratia proteamaculans found in patients with gum disease were present in the fluid.

"For a long time, we've suspected that these bacteria were causing problems in arthritis patients, but never had the scientific evidence to support it," Bissada says.

Doc rolls out 'Hangover Heaven' on Vegas Strip

He had a Las Vegas wedding to attend, but Bryan Dalia was hung over from some marathon partying the night before.

"I did two bachelor parties, back-to-back," Dalia said, putting his hand to his forehead as he recalled steins of beer and shots of alcohol the previous afternoon at the Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas, then gambling, dining and drinking martinis at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort. He remembered "getting a little lost and finding myself on the floor of the Paris" hotel-casino, then "a few more martinis as I gambled my life away."

"How are you doing now?" medical technician Debra Lund asked.

Dalia looked at Lund, swaying with the gentle rocking of a bus named Hangover Heaven as it rolled down Las Vegas Boulevard. Lund checked an intravenous fluid bag, hung from the ceiling, dripping a saline and vitamin solution into Dalia's left arm.

"Better," he replied. "My palms aren't sweating anymore. I don't have that, like, cold sweat feeling anymore."

Dalia, from Caldwell, N.J., was one of the first patients on the rollout day of a mobile treatment center for tourists who spent the night before drinking in all the nightlife Las Vegas has to offer. For a fee, they get a quick morning-after way to rehydrate, rejuvenate and resume their revelry.

"I'm starting to feel great," Dalia said. "This is really very cool."

Doctor and board-certified anesthesiologist Jason Burke calls his fledgling business a medical practice on wheels, analogous to a physician with an RV offering X-rays, MRIs or mammograms, a mobile dentist, or a blood bank bus set up in an office building parking lot.

The idea, Burke said, is to bring relief to tourists with stomach-churning wooziness, headaches and body pains — symptoms that could ruin an entire day in Sin City.

"Many people come to Las Vegas with the intent to drink and have a good time," Burke said as he moved between patients seated on plush benches in the retrofitted, full-sized tour bus. The casino scenery passing outside the windows, the flat-screen TVs, the ceiling mirror and the aide in the suggestive nurse outfit? Hey, it's Vegas.

Enjoy your morning!