Mediwikileaks

                                                                     Source - https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/HomeHealthandConsumer/ConsumerProducts/ArtificialPancreas/ucm259548.htm What is the Artificial Pancreas? One of the most exciting breakthroughs our times, the Artificial Pancreas is a device that will automate the checking of blood glucose level and the dispensing(or withholding) of insulin (according to the glucose level in the blood). The system is made up of a sensor that measures blood glucose under the skin; an insulin pump; an infusion patch that delivers insulin from the pump via a catheter inserted into the skin and a computer chip that uses data to optimize insulin delivery by the minute. (More info -  http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/fda-approves...

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority recently stirred up a controversy when it announced 85% reduction in the coronary stent price. The market leader for the same, a company called Abbott thereafter refused to sell the stent for the deflated price citing their really diminished profit margin. The NPPA however has stood its ground on this issue and set the ceiling price for stents. According to the new law, The biodegradable stent that used to cost Rs.1 lakhs upwards will now cost Rs.30,000. Bare metal stents that used to cost Rs.24,000 now will cost Rs.7500. A coronary stent keep your arteries open while patients undergo treatment for coronary disease. In India where cardiovascular diseases are rampant, stents are useful for a number of major surgeries and treatments.This move mainly will be helpful in bringing down the cost of Angioplasty in private as well as public hospitals. Stents are now a part of National List of Essential Medicines in India thus helping in s...

Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/artificial-kidney-may-hit-market-by-end-of-decade/articleshow/56801777.cms What is it? An implantable kidney that works due to silicon microchips. These microchips will house living kidney cells that will grow on an around the microchips. These cells will then mimic the natural action of the kidney. How does it work?  It will work in the same way that a regular kidney works with the patients blood flow. The living kidney cells will create membrane that will filter your blood the way a normal kidney does. Also because it is out of reach from the bodys immune system response it cannot be rejected as with an organ transplant. Who is making it? It is being developed by University of California San Francisco (Shuvo Ray) and Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, Nephrology (William H Fissel). Fissell has been working on the implantable artificial kidney for more than a decade with University of California San Franc...

In India everything concerning a childs well being , from the moment they are born, is considered to be a mothers responsibility. It is not surprising therefore that when their 15 to 30 year olds are afflicted with organ failure there is a huge pressure and expectation from mothers to be willing to donate an organ to their offspring. While the father's just take care of the expenses and other details. What really makes my blood boil is when really aged mothers (60 to 70 year olds) are called upon by their children to help them out of their sickness. These patients are mainly egged in by doctors who encourage donation of an organ from blood relative because the organ donation rules in India only allow donation from blood relatives believing they are the most alutirstic and not unfair advantageous to the donor. But the government in their view to create lesser corruption for organ donation have created a population of women and mothers in Indi a with only one kidney after donating a...

If you have ever passed through government hospitals, then you have seen that apart from the horrible state that the                hospitals are in the absolute worst thing is the way in which pregnant women are treated at the hospitals.  Picture Courtesy - http://www.may28.org/obstetric-violence/ Mostly these government hospitals are overcrowded and many a times women in labor are sent back until such time as they are crowning because there is no place to admit them. Also the worst behavior is meted out to women giving birth by being verbally abusive to them, putting too much pressure directly on their stomach during and fracturing arms and legs of newborns while trying to pull them out in a hurry.  There is also no privacy and cleanliness is a real issue. At a time that should be one of the most memorable and beautiful in a women’s life is turned into a more stressful affair than wh...

Previously published here . Wait, before you dismiss this question casually and think ‘Oh no, not another feminist post’, please give some thought to the question in all honesty. I want you to reflect back on the last time that your mom was not feeling well and she brushed it off because everyone including her thought that she had some high BP due to some emotional issues. She would sleep through the day and feel better. You attributed your constant girlfriend’s constant complaints body pain on periods. Or you off handedly dismissed your wife’s general weakness because women generally have low hemoglobin and low Vit D ‘usme kya hai!’. I personally know of so many times that I have gone to a doctor and expressed concern about irregular periods or losing hair or even acne only for these concerns to be brushed off casually. Perhaps it’s also one of the reasons why women prefer going to woman doctors instead of male ones because their concerns are easily brushed off. Irres...

I've always had a problem with the way doctors are treated in India. Especially, in the smaller towns where the penetration of education is low...people think doctors are gods. Even mediocre medical professionals who consult in villages are considered clever than the patients and in a way revered and respected. However, over the years this has created such a divide between the doctor and the patient that even until now Indian patients have a problem opening up to their doctors. Even today I see patients asking the pharmasict/chemist at the medical store about how to take the medicines - pre lunch or post lunch etc...instead of asking the doctors. Here are something I want to define for Indian patients, somethings I wish I could always tell them about the medical profession : 1. Medicine in India is defined as a 'Service'. Just the way you hire your maid or a taxi...the medical professional you hire is a just service and as such if you are cheated in any way or unsat...