Allegheny County Medical Society Blog

I’m a fan of bumper stickers and car window decals. My favorite is not the Coexist, nor is it the Jesus Fish, nor is it the Darwinian Jesus Fish with feet, although I love all of these. It is not the Stick-Figure family; nor is it the My T-Rex Ate Your Stick Figure Family; nor is it the Zombie Stick Figure Family, complete with Zombie cat. (I really don’t understand why zombies are a “thing.”) My favorite is a simple saying: “Wag More, Bark Less.” And so, here are a list of New Year’s resolutions.

Yoga is a timeless and pragmatic science that evolved over thousands of years in India. It deals with the physical, mental, moral and spiritual well-being of human beings as a whole. The word yoga is itself derived from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means to join or attach. It also means union or communion, a true union of our will with the will of God. It is one of the means or techniques for transforming consciousness and attaining liberation (moksha) from karma and rebirth (samsara).

Fifty years ago, the first adult human heart transplant was performed in Cape Town, Africa. It was perhaps the epoch advance in science.

Opinion

Editorial - 6
New Year’s resolutions
Deval (Reshma) Paranjpe, MD, FACS

Editorial - 8
Therapeutic nihilism and psychiatry
Robert H. Howland, MD

Perspective - 10
Interconception Care: Preventive care for future pregnancies
Sukanya Srinivasan, MD, MPH

Perspective - 11
Should we recommend yoga to patients?
Tanmayee Bichile, MD

Perspective - 14
The 50th anniversary of the heart transplant
Kris A. Gopal, MD, FACS

Departments

Society News - 16
• Pittsburgh Ophthalmology Society
• Pennsylvania Geriatrics Society – Western Division
• 2018 ACMS board chair recognized
• ACMS announces publication of history of medicine book
Activities & Accolades - 20

Articles

Feature - 22
2019 ACMS president and officers

Materia Medica - 26
FDA approves first direct-to-consumer pharmacogenetic test
Karen M. Fancher, PharmD, BCOP

Legal Report - 29
Pa. Patient Test Result Information Act imposes new notice requirements
Basil G. Joy, Esq.
William H. Maruca, Esq.

One of the benefits of a medical education is an indoctrination into the art of critical thinking. Physicians are chronically subjected to information overload comprised of past and present patient histories, new and old clinical and basic science research, psychosocial factors that relate to patient care, and governmental and institutional rules and regulations. We are besieged by an ever-expanding and increasingly complex volume of data that we must organize and effectively synthesize and manage to maintain our professional competence. We regularly re-educate and re-certify ourselves toward this end. We integrate evidence-based data and evidence-directed guidelines that inform and influence the critical thinking that enables us to render optimal medical care.

Recently, there has been increasing interest in the subject of mentoring with the publication of two Perspective pieces in the Bulletin.1,2 Anna Evans Phillips, MD, in the February 2017 edition and Geoffrey Lim, MD, in the May 2018 edition recalled their experiences with mentoring.1,2 Anna’s experiences during her residency and fellowship years inspired her to begin mentoring her own junior colleagues. As physicians, she pointed out our obligation the Hippocratic Oath holds us to regarding teaching our art to future generations of healers. Geoffrey added not only his thoughts and gratitude to his mentors as he completed his residency, but also enumerated a set of core qualities that he felt defined “healthy” mentorship. He went further in also listing the reciprocal qualities the ideal mentee should have. I would like to add my own perspective from the standpoint of someone who had the privilege of serving as a mentor to many younger physicians.

On Oct. 24, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and  Communities Act, also known as the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (H.R.6).1 According to the White House, this Act “addresses the opioid crisis by reducing access to and the supply of opioids and by expanding access to prevention, treatment and recovery services.”2

Opinion

Editorial ................................438
‘Shades of Gray’
Deval (Reshma) Paranjpe, MD, FACS

Editorial ................................440
Mentoring
Richard H. Daffner, MD, FACR

Perspective ......................... 442
Preventing firearm violence: Can anything really be done?
Jerome M. Itzkoff, MD

Perspective ......................... 444
Approaching the question of wellness in residency
Michael Barkowski, DO, MA

Departments
Society News ...................... 446
• Pittsburgh Ophthalmology Society
• Pennsylvania Geriatrics Society – Western Division
• ACMS announces publication of history of medicine book
Community Notes ............... 449
Editorial Index .................... 464
Advertising Index ............... 466

Articles
Feature .................................450
2018 ACMSF award winners
Christina E. Morton

Materia Medica .................... 456
Doravirine (Pifeltro®) for the treatment of HIV-1 in antiretroviral naive patients
Briana N. Schreckengost
Corynn E. Ozenghar
Alexis C. Treaster

Legal Report ....................... 460
Opioid update: New federal law and physician subpoenas for records and depositions
Danielle Dietrich, Esq.

Benjamin Rush Individual Award

Richard E. Deitrick Humanity in Medicine Award