Area Surgeon First to Use New Surgical Technique in Birmingham Birmingham surgeon McClain (Mac) Cottingham, MD recently performed the first single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Birmingham and the first single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy in the state just eight months after the new surgical technique's national debut in Tampa, Florida. Since mid-July, he has removed ten gall bladders and one appendix using single-incision laparoscopic surgery SILSTM in which one incision made in the patient's navel serves as the portal for the insertion of a camera and other medical instruments and the abstraction of the internal organ. "I'm an enthusiast of minimally invasive surgery," Cottingham said. "I like to keep up with new procedures on the horizon." CATHY DELOZIER

Physicians Trend toward Employment Eighty percent of physicians who complete training programs over the next decade will shun private practice and seek employment, reports the Hospitals and Health Network online magazine. This new wave of physicians holds no interest in starting practices or joining small existing practices. At the same time, established physicians face exponentially rising practice costs such as malpractice premiums, as well as headaches associated with trying to keep up with technology, find trained administrators and billers, and stay abreast of billing and collection systems. "It's become a challenging environment for independent physicians to make ends meet," said Steve Nyquist with Salient Health Ventures in Cullman, Alabama... JANE EHRHARDT

Advances in Understanding Diabetes If current trends continue, one-third of American children born in the year 2000 will become diabetic at some point in their lives. Almost 21 million Americans are already dealing with this disease, and 54 million more are prediabetic and at risk of developing the condition. The World Health Organization estimates there are more than 180 million diabetics around the globe, and that number is expected to double by 2030... LAURA FREEMAN

Helping Diabetics Stay Healthy Looking at a graph that shows the sharp increase in new cases of diabetes is a bit like catching sight of an iceberg from the deck of the Titanic. The challenge of dealing with the immediate effects of the disease in such numbers is daunting. Even more chilling is the thought of the yet-to-emerge impact on related health problems in an aging population. Diabetes uses the bloodstream as a direct path of attack on virtually every part of the body, causing heart and kidney disease, increasing risk of Alzheimer's and dementia, and potentially causing loss of vision and limbs... LAURA FREEMAN

Protecting Your Medical Practice with Life Insurance If one doctor in a practice is killed in an accident, the practice immediately begins to lose revenue. "But you can't ratchet down your overhead. That overhead and the lead time needed to find a replacement mean someone's going to be paying out of pocket," said Jim Stroud with Warren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino. And that someone will be the other partners. But if done correctly, life insurance purchased by the practice naming itself as the beneficiary can lift that financial risk... JANE EHRHARDT

Rudeseal Traces Lineage to Creek Ancestors When Dr. Frank Rudeseal was just four years old, he accidentally impaled his hand on a pitchfork at his family's south Texas farm. "I didn't feel pain, but I could see light through the holes in my hand," Rudeseal said. "I went inside and poured Merthiolate on it and wrapped it in a neckerchief." His father took him to the doctor, where young Rudeseal was given a penicillin shot and a tetanus shot. When the tetanus vaccine sent him into anaphylactic shock, the doctor had to resuscitate the 4-year-old. Impressed by his brush with death, Rudeseal had new career aspirations... CARA CLARK

New Identity Theft 'Red Flag' Rules Apply to Healthcare Providers, FTC Says Several federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, recently issued joint rules and guidelines aimed at detecting, preventing and mitigating identity theft as part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. These rules, known as the Red Flag Rules, create certain requirements with which most healthcare providers will need to comply... MICHEL MARCOUX