The “system” by which general practitioners refer patients to specialists is a mystery to most people, myself included, and I worked in the health sector for several years. How and why do GPs select which specialists to refer people to? Why should you need a referral to see a skin specialist if you have a [...]
Flat feet
Son Michael has been complaining about a sore heel for a few weeks, so I asked Juliet to take him to a podiatrist and he had the appointment this afternoon. After consulting Dr Google last night, I thought he might have Sever’s Disease, which is common in boys of his age and they grow out of it. But the podiatrist says Michael has flat feet and needs arch support. He’s having [...]
Swine flu rumor management
I’ve lived in country communities long enough to know that rumors spread like wildfire. Some rumors are true, many are false. The media will ignore many, and some are too big to ignore. Governments, organisations, businesses and individuals have three options when dealing with rumors: Confirm, deny or ignore. Some should be ignored because they [...]
Cutting edge humor
There was an advertisement in The Border Watch recently for a doctor who performs circumcisions. Surprised by this, a reporter spoke to him and it turns out he gets lots of enquiries from country people since the South Australian Government banned circumcisions in public hospitals. I wasn’t aware of the ban, having lived in Western [...]
Doctors and phone books
I spent two hours today delivering phone books. It’s the major fundraiser for Suttontown Primary School that families deliver the local phone book for Sensis. Our designated area included parts of the central business district, which Juliet had to do by herself in warm weather on working days. The big kids disappointingly didn’t want to [...]
