Reading Room
The reading room includes articles of potential interest to consumers and medical professionals. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the NC Medical Board, its members and staff.
What the healthcare industry could learn from Lyft and Airbnb
Fast Company
October 9, 2018
The sharing economy is built upon service and interaction designs that engender interpersonal trust. Healthcare organizations could learn from it.
Without safety net of kids or spouse, ‘Elder Orphans’ need fearless fallback plan
Kaiser Health News
October 4, 2018
“Elder Orphans” (older people without a spouse or children on whom they can depend) and “Solo Agers” (older adults without children, living alone), need to plan ahead to make sure they have resources in place for when they became ill or disabled later in life.
The unfortunate thing West Virginia, California and Rhode Island have in common
MarketWatch
October 1, 2018
The opioid crisis is a national health emergency, but some states are hit harder than others. California, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Kentucky and Florida suffer the most from opioid abuse, according to Fair Health, a New York-based nonprofit market research firm that analyzed 26 billion privately-billed medical and dental insurance claims from 2002 until 2017.
Tim Caulfield explores health fads in the new Netflix show “A User’s Guide to Cheating Death.”
STATNews
September 28, 2018
Tim Caulfield has made it his job to tease apart fact from fiction when it comes from health advice. Now, he’s taking that mission to Netflix in a new show that explores everything from crystal therapy to ionic foot baths. His latest foray into medical myth-busting, the six-part documentary series “A User’s Guide to Cheating Death,” premieres Friday (9/28) on the streaming service.
The history of surgical gloves
Past Medical History
September 19, 2018
In modern medicine, the thought of performing surgery without wearing gloves is utterly unthinkable. It is common knowledge that their use helps to prevent the transmission of infection in operating theaters, as well as protecting the surgeon and other staff. This was, however, not always the case, and before the late 1800s, no surgeon wore gloves. The introduction of the surgical glove in 1889 had a massive impact on the safety of surgery and would save countless lives. Few people realize that the reason they were introduced has its roots in a love story.
Why a ‘Memory Town’ is coming to your local strip mall
CityLab
September 17, 2018
On August 13, a brand-new town in Southern California welcomed its first residents. They trickled through the doors of a generic beige warehouse on a light-industrial stretch of Main Street in Chula Vista, a San Diego suburb. Then they emerged in Town Square®—a 9,000-square-foot working replica of a 1950s downtown, built and operated by the George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers. Unlike the businesses around it hawking restaurant supplies and tires, Town Square trades in an intangible good: memories.