Saturday morning coffee [July 28 2012]

So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the taps that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

The coffee mug to the right isn’t a coffee mug at all, it’s a coffee cup from the Starbucks in the lobby of our hotel. The Fahrni crew is on vacation this week. We’re running all over Texas having a great time. Feel free to read about what we’ve been up to here.

- Dark Knight Rises was #1 at the box office last weekend. My family and I saw it. Good movie, but I was a little disappointed. The movie fell short in several areas in my opinion.

– I’ve heard an awful lot about the Olympics this week. Is it just me or are the Olympics losing their appeal? I can’t seem to muster any interest. However, it you have an interest in keeping up with the Olympics you can always do so on your smartphone with this list of Olympics 2012 Android and iOS Apps at Lockergnome.

– New York Times: “A few years ago, my daughter sprained her ankle at dance camp. What happened next offers a glimpse into some of the problems in our nation’s health care system… At the time, the injury seemed unremarkable… I sought a second opinion from a sports medicine specialist, who ordered an M.R.I., but ended up referring her to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. The specialist examined the ankle and ordered another M.R.I. as well as extensive blood work. After seven vials of blood, my daughter nearly passed out. A week later the doctor called. Some of the blood work looked uncertain, and he wanted to retest. After several more vials of blood, the results remained ambiguous. Even so, my daughter was referred to an eye specialist and a pediatric rheumatologist, who ordered more blood work and a third M.R.I. At the end of the appointment, the doctor noticed my daughter’s crooked pinkie fingers and, oddly, ordered an X-ray of her hands. Five months after twisting an ankle, my otherwise healthy daughter limped out of the radiology office carrying X-rays of her hands. “Mom,’’ she said, “my ankle still hurts.”” – This type of thing is all too common in healthcare. You know the old saying, “don’t go see a surgeon if you don’t want surgery.”

Ever heard of Gourdoughs? It’s a small place in Austin Texas that makes some of the coolest donuts you’ll ever see. In the mood for a Cherry Bomb? How about a Funky Monkey (image to the left)? They’re both on my list of must tries.

Janssen Healthcare Innovation has announced the Care4Today Mobile Adherence program, which delivers reminders to patients to take their medications, refill prescriptions and make appointments with physicians. This is an interesting concept, and one that I’ll be interested in to see if it works. Historically speaking patients that fail to adhere to medication regimens won’t be swayed by reminders.

– How about a system that automatically recognizes different types of bakery items and helps cashiers during checkout?Pretty cool stuff. I can think of a few uses for something like this in the pharmacy world. Check out the video below:

– The Guardian: “In the shorter term, his team is looking at ways in which relatively simple drugs – ibuprofen is the example they are using – might be successfully produced in their 3D printer or portable “chemputer”.” – Can you imagine a time in the future when you will be able to use a 3D printer to “print” drugs. Fascinating stuff.

Medscape – Optimal Opioid Therapy and Redefining Cancer-Related Pain: “…no study has suggested that all individuals who are given opioids for chronic pain management purposes benefit from opioids. There also has never been a study that indicates that gabapentin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or antidepressants used for pain relief have benefit for everyone who receives them. If we are honest about the appropriate positioning of chronic opioid therapy for non-cancer-related pain, several points that came through in sessions presented at the APS — and that what we could agree upon going forward — were that we want to maximize safety. One important point that was made repeatedly by those supporting the Washington State guidelines was about [avoiding] high doses. At the same time, we cannot throw the baby out with the bath water, meaning that we cannot say that chronic opioid therapy is not useful for everyone with chronic pain. We also cannot say that we can predict with absolute certainty the best way to treat someone who has chronic pain.” – This quote is from Dr. Charles Argoff, and one that I agree with. Treating pain is highly individualized, and guidelines are only good for initiating therapy and giving one direction. Treat the patient and the pain not what others think of opioid use. Pain can be physically and mentally disabling when not properly treated.

– The Lenovo Ideapad S2110 went on sale this week. This is one of the first Android tablets to go head to head with the Asus Transformer tablets. The Ideapad S2110 features a 10.1-inch tablet with optional keyboard dock and touchpad. Throw in USB ports, card reader, and extra battery and you’ve got a winner. Specs: a Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060A chip with a dual core 1.5GHz processor and Adreno 225 GPU, 1GB of RAM, 16 to 32GB of storage, 1280 x 800 screen, Bluetooth Version 4.0, front 1.3 MP and rear 5.0 MP cameras, and Android 4.0. Not bad.

- Recipe: Pan-Seared Fish Tacos (courtesy of Greatist.com). Serves four, with two tacos per person. What You’ll Need:

1 pound fresh grouper
2 tablespoons canola oil
8 corn tortillas
1 avocado, diced
1 medium peach, diced
4 tablespoons red onion, diced
3/4 cup red cabbage, finely shredded
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
2 limes, quartered
Salt
Fresh ground pepper

 

1. Prep all of the garnishes: Dice the avocado, peach, onion, and cilantro; chop the cabbage; and quarter the limes.
2. Pat the fish dry with paper towel and season both sides with salt and fresh ground pepper.
3. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When oil is rippling, place fish in the heated pan, flesh side down.
4. Depending on the thickness of the fish, cook 3 to 5 minutes per side. (You will notice the fish whiten around the bottom and outside as it cooks.)
5. Remove the fish from the heat, and divide into 8 equal portions.
6. Assemble tacos: Top each tortilla with a portion of the fish, and some avocado, peach, red onion, red cabbage, fresh cilantro and a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice.

-The Galaxy Nexus 7 is making a big impact on the tablet market. How do I know this? Besides people all over the internet claiming it to be true, I’m starting to see all kinds of cases popping up for sale. Don’t make light of something so simple. When cases start appearing from various manufacturers you know the tablet is pervasive.

– This is interesting. The inaugural edition of the new on-line publication, Intelligent Hospital Today is available. Find it here.

– I’ve been reading some interesting things about Microsoft and Windows this week; most of it negative. I don’t understand people. How hard can it be to understand that Microsoft has to do what it is doing or the company will die a slow, painful death? So they’re creating a new ecosystem, i.e. Windows 8 Phone and Windows 8/Metro. And along with their new software platform Microsoft is building their own tablet PC hardware, i.e. the Surface tablet. That’s it. No more, no less. They’re trying to become relevant again.

– Engadget: “A new project at the creative studio uses the combination of a Kinect for Windows sensor with a Planar LookThru transparent LCD enclosure to provide an augmented reality overlay for whatever passers-by see inside the box.” – This is some really cool stuff (video below). I find it interesting that we, the consumers, don’t hear a lot more about Microsoft Kinect. It is a product that has changed the way things will be done.

Have another cup of coffee and have a great weekend everyone! Time for me to go. I have better things to do this morning than play on my computer.