By Miriam Lippel Blum
I learn a great deal from reading all these blogs. Sometimes what I read makes me furious. I learned from Renal BizBlog this week that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, as part of his budget balancing measures, has called for the discontinuation of dialysis for CKD5 dialyzors who have Medi-Cal only (this constitutes 10% of the dialysis population in CA). He calls it an "optional benefit." I am outraged! Is this not cruel and unusual punishment for those who have committed no crime? Is this not murder? What do you think? Here are the CKD related blogs updated since my update on 5/31. If you have or know of a blog that should be on the list let Bill know. Comments in parentheses are my reactions or opinions.
- Dialysis from the sharp end of the needle has a blog report.
- Kaply, Inc. Tracy spends time in the ER with a sore arm; and tells someone on the second floor to leave her alone (in no uncertain terms).
- Drinking my way through Trader Joe's Wine Anna reminisces fondly about and reviews her first wine - Boone's Farm Tickle Pink. (Mine was Manischewitz Concord Grape!)
- Toastiest struggles with whether to take off from work when he feels lousy from PKD and isn't ready to start dialysis yet even though he thinks he needs it.
- Hasten down the wire writes about a typography program for the Web.
- Nitey Nite- a nocturnal dialysis blog links to a humorous and satirical diary in the I Hate Dialysis forum.
- On the Road to a Cure The Lupus Foundation recognizes Men's Health Month (June), because men get lupus, too; and Walk for Lupus Now events in California and Florida on June 6.
- I Am. Are you? announces 2 weeks left to win Kenny Chesney tickets from Donate Life, Illinois; he also discusses Natalie Cole's transplant and dismisses the myth that the rich and famous get priority in transplants.
- Transplant Alliance is exhausted by a visitor.
- Life on Dialysis treks with a friend up Karnala; and takes a a small camping trip to Savna Lake; now is struggling with health issues and feels lonely and despondent, yet he hopes.
- Chronic Chick Talk finds organic gardening therapeutic and the results delicious.
- Bud's Ramblings watched badly dressed kids at the mall, drank too much fluid, and his arm is still purple from a needle infiltration. (Ouch!)
- Precious Bodily Fluids Joel likes his iPod pedometer but recently has noticed some imprecision in its calculation; a report on a British libel suit that may quash scientific discourse; and links to an important article in The New Yorker about what drives the high cost of US medicine; reports on another negative trial of renal artery revascularization - stents fail again.
- Renal Fellow Network relays important facts about catheter-related bacterimia and implications for treatment; discusses dialysis in the elderly (over 75) with and without ischemic heart disease.
- Uremic Frost reports on a study that shows that aspirin use is okay in hypertensive CKD patients; a German study shows an increased risk of Sudden Cardiac Death among diabetic dialysis patients with the
highest HbA1c levels; and a new audio download on Acute Kidney Injury is available from NephSAP, link is provided.
- Kidney Notes - Exploring the Intersection of Medicine and Technology has a photo entitled "Manhattanhenge 2009"
- Lemonade and Kidneys is dreaming about baking, literally; and provides snapshots from life events that she has not blogged about.
- Chronicals of the PD Warrior writes about the murder of the Wichita doctor who performed abortions.
- DailyHemo - Home Dialysis Advocates New Videos: Two about TeleMedicine in use; an Italian educational video about AV fistulas; Demonstration of RMW removal; Sophia's Dialysis at Hopkin's Children (This brought tears to my eyes); French organization ATEM creates dialysis clinics around the world; Growing AV fistula tissue in the laboratory (This one fascinated me!); A Second Lease on Life at Jahangir Hospital; Andy Williamson, Kidney Dialysis Patient Climbs Skyscrapers (And he plays the tenor sax at the same time, really!); Brazilian Campaign in the Prevention of Kidney Disease.
- Biologically Safe Water Filters has a post on burn unit/wound care water filtration.
- Encompass Network Partners Foot screenings are imperative in diabetic hemodialysis patients to prevent amputations.
- Renal BizBlog California proposes budget cuts that will end dialysis for Medicaid patients in the state, as it's considered an "optional benefit." (This does not bode well for the rest of the country.)
- A Kidney for my Daughter reports on a wearable dialysis machine called AWAK that is being tested (It's a peritoneal dialysis based system.)
- The Renal Unit Current renal tweets, news, and blogs.
Miriam, if anyone does expire from this policy, then California and Arnold will learn about class action lawyers in a hurry. I can't see how this will ever happen, but there are lots of things happening today that I never thought would happen either.
Posted by: Peter Laird, MD | June 03, 2009 at 06:03 PM