When it comes to health, men in general start life with one strike against them. In Tennessee, it may be closer to two. Many men are just too macho to seek regular care. Playing hurt is a tradition that goes back a long way, and in Tennessee men can take it to an extreme. On top of that add a big portion of southern fried everything in a diet heavy on fats and low on vegetables and fruits. And then mix in a common avoidance of exercise. The lethal result: "Average life expectancy of a male is significantly shorter than a woman's," says Dr. Jim Jirvis, assistant chief medical officer for Vanderbilt Medical Group and director of the adult primary care center. "We males are still dying seven to eight years earlier."
by John Carroll

It's been a year and a half since disgruntled physicians at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles forced the hospital to pull the plug on its massive new computerized physician order entry system, but the event still sends shudders through those working to introduce information technology into the healthcare system. "Doctors demanded that it be taken down because it was harming patients," says Dr. Neal Patel of Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. In fact, Cedars-Sinai physicians said that the massive paperless system slowed down the process of filling their orders, and that some orders regarding patient care were lost altogether.
by Sharon H. Fitzgerald