Holiday Anecdotes

Quick thoughts from my holiday time with my family:

• My son had a doctor appointment a week ago and, while he was fully healthy, he had some fluid in his ears. No shocker with a dad who had chronic ear infections as a child. In any case, the doctor prescribed an antibiotic. My wife, being the practical woman she is, wrote a table on the bottle with 10 rows for days, and 2 columns for AM and PM. The idea was to mark off each cell once he was given the medicine to ensure he got it exactly when he needed it. Brilliant, and very quality-system-like. The only problem is compliance to the system, right? Like, when the silly, stubborn husband knowing that there's only a few doses left decided that he knows that the AM dose has been given so he doesn't need to mark it off. Foolish man - communication is of utmost importance in a quality management system (or is it quality marriagement system?). The system was great, but because I didn't mark the bottle I ruined the effectiveness of the system. I have since made the correction (telling my wife my son got his medicine and marking the bottle) and the corrective action (training myself to remain compliant to the end of the bottle).
• Holistic healthcare regulations - For several different reasons, I have been thinking about this topic for a little while (some being the Red Bull/Monster Energy events, and also the use of essential oils in my household). There are plenty of products out there as supplements, etc. that are not regulated by the FDA. Many might write this as an FDA-should-protect-people-from-those-things-because-its-their-job posts, but I'll take an alternative approach: why don't we legitimize alternative medicine by developing it? It might be an interesting development if the FDA (or maybe more appropriately the NIH) were to fund people using older tactics and remedies to fit our modern healthcare needs. It might bring a more profound use of our lemon oil rather than cleaning floors (though it does smell wonderful).
• Healthcare reform - One alternative approach to the reforms of the Affordable Care Act that I've heard is that healthcare reform would be better served by improving the wellness of average Americans. I've been told in conversations that some insurance carriers offer rebates associated with good yearly physicals and blood tests. This wellness program could take many forms, but a friend suggested that all Americans should be issued some type of tracking system. She uses the FitBit, my wife uses the BodyMedia Link product, and I am a particular fan of the Nike+ FuelBand (haven't used, but I like my Nike+ app on my phone and like the look of the Fuel Band). I like the idea as I am on my own journey toward becoming more fit and active, but I acknowledge that the additional push for accountability wouldn't likely travel far. Perhaps ingesting nanorobots and implanting microchips into our brains will be more acceptable.

Happy holidays!

-RTK