Judging 'Obamacare' depends on your situation
Put politics aside and just focus on facts
Published: July 01, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain
On the day the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its historic decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, I was rounding on my hospital patients: a man on the ventilator with pneumonia who had private insurance, one elderly woman with abdominal pain going for gall bladder surgery on Medicare, and one middle aged obese woman with a skin infection without any health insurance.  Read More
Family support makes transplants easier to take
Published: June 18, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain
I had not recognized the deep bonds between sisters until I saw my two daughters holding each other in a long embrace after the older one returned from college.
Thinking back, I should have recognized this bond from my two patients, twin 51-year-old sisters whose first names are separated by only one letter. Both were admitted to the hospital a few months ago. Juana Boyland is three minutes older than Tjuana Boyland, their younger brother told me at Tjuana's bedside, and Juana required a lung transplant in 1997, seven years before Tjuana.
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Dr. Manoj Jain: Alert wife assists on doctors' diagnosis
Published: June 03, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain
Often patients and families think their doctor is all-knowing when it comes to the causes of their illness and the plan for treatment. Yet, uncertainty underlies each diagnosis and treatment plan.
This could not have been more true in Jay Killen's case. I know this first-hand because I am one of the doctors caring for him. Read More
Culture change on obesity will take time
Published: May 21, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain
"Ouch," that hurt, I said last Sunday. It was not a reaction to the Grizzlies' Game 7 loss to the Clippers, but Chris Peck's scathing must-read commentary on Memphis being the national hub for obesity and our lack of concern about it.
I will not pain you with many statistics like: one in three white women and one in two black women in Memphis are obese. Rather, I will share some stories about the Memphis culture.
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Cautionary tales make anti-smoking ads effective
Published: May 14, 2012
by Dr. Manoj Jain
As I was scrolling through the newspaper online recently, an ad kept blinking on the side of my computer screen. It read: "A Tip from a Former Smoker. After a stroke from smoking, get used to losing your independence." In the background was a middle-age woman in bed who could not move her left arm. The ad continued. "Smoking causes immediate damage to your body that causes a stroke. For Suzy, it triggered blood clots that caused a stroke." Read More
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