Dr Ridzwan Bakar, a cardiologist trained in Malaysia, UK and the US, has been involved in a wide spectrum of healthcare activities, ranging from being a clinician, medical school lecturer, academician, hospital manager, corporate leader, medical tourism writer to being the President of the Asian Hospital Federation a few years ago. He is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians in the British Isles (all 4 of them!) and the American College of Cardiology. He attended formal courses in hospital management conducted by Harvard, Mayo Clinic and Wharton’s.
In this blog, he hopes to provide insight into how healthcare has changed in recent times and perhaps suggest how individuals, organisations and countries could benefit. Thanks for reading!
E & O E
Contact: drbakar@pop.jaring.my
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Doctor2008's Weblog 
HEY DOC:just went through your website,very interesting.keep up the good work
Very good. CTA business or pacemakers and CT interraction are very recent and useful information for any doctor. Continue, please. Doctors need some blogs that could show the other side of commercialism in medicine. One would need some critical overview of the latest issues. I would welcome either an expert opinion from the other side than some sponsored study or at least some web links to ambiguous issues or the issues that are “blockbusters” and yet rather weak in the weigth of evidence when looked at closely. Medicine and cardiology presents sometimes these (pharma business or some docs trying to be popular, fabricating kind of “science”.
Just go on.
Wow, a surprisingly interesting read. I was expecting the worst to be honest: you know, a doctor blogging… 🙂 But you’ve managed to keep your articles interesting, and what’s more, super informative as well. Kudos mate, plug away!
Thanks so much, Doc! Very informative! Good work !
HI Doc,
Yes it is really refreshing to see a doctor blogging….yeah, there is more to life than all the political stuff coming from RPK and malaysiakini.
I have a question for you. Do you know anything about AML-angliomyolipoma? My friend has got a benign tumour in the kidney area and it is growing….do you know any latest medical developments on this area? Shoudl this be surgically removed?
Thanks.
very interesting articles. keep up those good work doc….
Friends,
Thanks for your messages.
One of my credos is “to talk as a doctor to people who are not”.
So I do rely on feedback on matters which you would like to know more about 🙂
Peter1,
I have to refrain from online consultations as I believe your personal doctor would still be the best point of reference.
Just to say that angiomyolipoma (the correct spelling) is a generally benign condition. Its just that this diagnosis must be confirmed 100%. Also, apart from surgery and ablation, there is a new drug that can help -it is an immunosuppresive one called sirolimus. Talk to your doctor.
Doc,
Salam
I’ve been confirmed +ve HIV by prelim test at GH last month. Tomorrow, i’ll have further examination & hopefully something change. I’m waiting a miracle from God!
God willing
Doctor2008 says: Don’t jump the gun! The screening test is not accurate and we have seen special tests,such as the Western Blot test, turn out normal eventually. Good Luck!
Hey lovely blog, interesting articles. Keep on blogging! C:
Doctor 2008 says: Thanks. Yours is not bad too!
HI Dr,
Thanks for the info-I must commend you for being so up to date….surfed the and saw an article in the New England Journal of Medicine 10/1/08 issue about AML and sirolimus….however, seems like after one stopped taking sirolimus, the tumour will grow again…..nevertheless, thanks so much for the info.
Don’t mean to flatter you, but do wish there were more doctors like you around..that can communicate effectively with their patients…thanks again dr….
Greetings! From a fellow bloger and medic. Looking forward to see you listed on next year top 20 Malaysian Doctor’s Blogs.
http://chenghiang.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/top-20-malaysian-doctor-blogs/
hey doc, nice website..
i hope u can add a special categories for medical student (tips, hints, your own experiences, and some knowledge).
Doctor2008 says: Thanks. There are already quite a number of what you want in the various postings..
Thanks so much, Doc! Very informative! Simple and all to the good ! Good work !!!
Hi, Read your blog with interest. Fadzil & I also are blogging away to our hearts content. You may be interested to drop in.
http://www.aginghippietales.blogspot.com
http://www.pakdoktergolfblog.blogspot.com
Doctor2008 says: Keep it up guys!
Hi Doc :o)
Thank you for blogging informative entries :o) You’re doing good.
Congrats on the blogsite. Pretty cool to see you online. Anyway, just wondered if you would pen your thoughts on alternative medicine (energy healing/reiki/qigong etc) and whether you think it would (or could) ever exist alongside mainstream medicine (in hospitals). In any case, i share the sentiments of “ichxian” above, that you make it to Malaysia’s top 20 malaysian doctor blogs.
congrats doc,
its nice to see you sharing your knowledge and insights in healthcare
with us. keep up the good work and bless you and your family
cheers
moon
Hi Doc! I saw your blog as I was researching and I think it’s amazing how you share so much amazing medical information! Great job!
Would you please consider adding your blog to the directory (for free) at http://www.GLCzone.com?
I believe you’ll get great traffic and exposure there, plus get your information to many more people who would love to read and learn from it. It’s always great to know that you’re not alone in the things with which you are dealing!
Thanks for your time and hope to see you at http://www.GLCzone.com!
Doc,
Great blog. I find the info here interesting and useful. Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us.
I have a request — and I’m not sure if this is relevant to what you write in your blog — but can you tell us more about Melamine and how it affects the body, how can we detect Melamine poisoning early and what are the long term affects of Melamine absorption in the body.
I’m requesting this of course in light of the ongoing milk crisis in China and also because I’m slightly perplexed as to why Melamine can be so toxic but the material is present in the dishes and cutlery we use everyday.
It’s just a request and of course your not obligated to oblige. 🙂
Have a good day Doc and God bless.
Doctor2008 says: Welcome aboard! You read my mind about melamine…see my latest post
Wow! What an accomplishment. Congrats and keep it up.
Doctor2008 says: Thanks MK. Good to see you on board! Contributions and suggestions welcomed 🙂
Dear Doctor Ridzwan,
A very nice and highly informative blog..
-woody
Doc,
Thanks for putting your thoughts about Melamine and milk up 🙂
Happy to have stumbled into ur blog. Extremely user friendly ( as they say) and layman informative. Keep up the good work doc .. we need more people like you,. Salaam
Hi Doc! I love your blog, your writing style, and everything in between. I’ll definitely be reading during my study breaks 🙂
Dear DOC.
WOW a great website for those who are not aware or not concerned on health. I am sure that many will and have benefited from this site.
TC DOC
Sharav
Dear Doc
It seems like only yesterday that I saw you puffing like a gold fish at the really smelly bagpipes while I march with those rifles that cannot shoot. Or was it the flute that you were whistling into? Age……!
So, you are a writer too….. and a good one at that.
Well done and good work, Doc.
Lets live life, Victorian.
Doctor2008 says: Methinks it was the tenor-sax…. keep on dropping by! 🙂
Hey Doc,
I really love your blog. Its both educational and enlightening.
I’ve cross posted one or two of your entries on my blog to share with my frens what I think is thought leadership in the healthcare space.
Look forward to reading more from you
🙂
Doctor2008 says: Thanks for the thumbs up!
Dear Dr. Ridzwan, i enjoy reading your blog – very informative, well-rounded and your style of writing – refreshing! All in all, i am sure your patients are very lucky lots to have a doctor like you. Keep on writing Dr!
Assalamualaikum…
What an informative blog you got. I like your style of writing in explaining all those health stuff. Its easier to comprehend 🙂 Keep up the good work, doc.. and thanks for the sharing of knowledge too 🙂
Hi Doc,
Congrats on your weblog. Does this mean I don’t have to drop by your clinic for consultations!!
All the best and keep up this splendid work.
Doctor2008 says: Thanks.
Hi Dr Ridzwan Bakar.
Thank you for sending your knowledge around the world this way, – this is such a good idea. Your blog is both interesting and informative.
In my country, Denmark, we are looking forward to spring and summer now, -most of us. If you choose to write about the subject SUN (and actinic dermatitis) one day, I will be a very interested reader, as I keep looking for news about this.
Greetings, Birgitte
Doctor2008 says: Thanks. Will keep this topic in mind!
Just added your site to my ramblings. Hope many will benefit. Thank you.
Hi Doc! Long time no see. Got directed to your site via Rocky’s Bru. Great service you are giving to the men and women at large!
I have been following your blog diligently and everytime I read a new article of yours …it takes my breath away. BTW,could you pen something on the medical shows on TV like HOUSE, ER,DOC MARTIN…are they for real? I am no doctor but then again are they doing what doctors normally or abnormally do?I’m really addicted to the shows. Please help.
doctor2008 replies: Thanks for the kind words. Will try to once I’ve seen some of these shows, although I can’t really help your addiction! 🙂
Hi Doc,
How are you? Just excited to stumble across your blog. You have been a patient doctor attending to my late mom many many years ago. Am I not glad to know that you are still a practising doctor. I am sincerely looking forward to interact with you through this blog. You have really written some very interesting and exciting articles.
Regards
Wan
Doctor2008 says: Good to hear from you.Welcome aboard!
Dr. Ridzwan,
If you want to add Facebook or email sharing buttons to your blog posts, there’s a plugin that does it for you: http://tinyurl.com/sharebuttons
Hope you find it helpful!
Cheers,
Jerry
Doctor2008says: Great tip!Thanks!
Salam Dr,
Read about your blog in the paper yesterday. We needed such a site and I look forward to making use of your insights regularly. All the best in your effort.
Hi, doc,
Have been following your blog. Besides gaining much knowledge, I have also enjoyed medical stories in your style and remember well!
Just wonder if there is any chance of running some of your blog posts in my newspaper. Can we deliberate further in an email?
Yan
phylliswyy at gmail dot com
Doctor2008 says: Sure thing!
HI Doc, can i post your article on msg on my blog.
Doctor2008 replies: Sure, if you include the links.
Hi
My name is Amy Parker. I’ve just visited your website and I was wondering if you’d be interested in exchanging links with my website. I can offer you a HOME PAGE link back from my Health Medical website which is http://www.der-starhopper.com
As mentioned, your link would be placed on the site HOME PAGE, not on any “links” pages which may be buried in the site somewhere. I’m sure this exchange would be benefitial for both of our sites, helping towards increasing our visibility in search engines.
If you are interested, please add the following information to your website and kindly let me know when it’s ready. I’ll do the same for you in less than 24 hours, otherwise you can delete my link from your site.
Title: Asbestos solicitor
URL: http://www.asbestosvictimadvice.com
I hope you have a nice day and thank you for your time.
Best regards;
Amy Parker
Web Marketing Consultant
amy.parker@der-starhopper.com
Doctor2008 replies: Thanks for your interest; but,as you can see, I do not carry links on my blog.
Our website is a Medical Professional Database that is used by over 100,000 users monthly to connect to and seek Medical professionals. We recently ran a poll asking the professionals listed what online informational resources they use to keep up to date or even to simply find great information. It seems many of our users have labeled your blog as an excellent source of Medical information. We have reviewed your blog and must say, we absolutely love the information you have made available to the public and would love to make your blog a part of our top medical blogs. After browsing your blog, our research team has decided to award you a Top Medical Blogs award banner. It is a distinction we offer to blogs that our team feels is ahead of the curve in terms of content. We have put great efforts in making this decision to give deserving with award acknowledgment. Please reply to request award banner.
Doctor2008 replies: Thanks for the thumbs up!
Dear Dr Ridzwan,
I’ve used nutritional therapy to rid myself of calcified plaque and to reverse premature aging of my heart some ten years’ ago. What’re
your views on what Sinatra called Integrative Cardiology using
nutritional supplements to complement mainstream cardiology?
As the number one killer around the global, the importance
of treating the causes of heart disease is in my view grossly underestimated by many healthcare practitioners.
Doctor2008 replies: Nothing is more true than your last sentence! Preventive aspects have been sidelined by curative techniques, largely because the big pharmas see no money in it. Some aspects of complementary medicine have been accepted into mainstream (Western) medicine, like fish-oil, niacin and the like; however, others are not yet accepted as mainstream medicine relies on the results of proper clinical trials and not just hearsay or flimsy clinical studies.
Dr, Like to thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done for my Dad, Mr Marcus Dukes. He passed on last Tuesday, 22 December 2009. He was a great man to me and you were a great doctor to him. May Allah bless you.
Doctor2008 replies: It was a real pleasure to have known your dad and to be able to have helped him. May is soul rest in peace.
What an excellent blog, I’ve added your feed to my RSS reader. 🙂
Hi Doc,
Hve had the pleasure of mtg u on many fronts as a patient, in corporate activites n social mtgs and must say society needs more doctors wth your allround traits. Your website is informative ,relevant and easily understood. Pls continue being u .
Kind Regards .
Good work doc! Nice reading your articles.
very nice site!very informative!
Doctor2008:Thanks bud!
Hi doctor, your blog is extremely informative and interesting. Thanks a lot for all of the information!
Hello Doc,
Great website – and as a layman, I can understand you easily. Can I ask where are you based now? Proud to see a fellow Malaysian contributing and doing well 🙂
I have a website, and I would like to republish some of your articles with full acknowledgement and a link back to the original, mainly for weight loss articles. Please let me know if I can have your permission.
Doctor2008: Always striving to talk to laymen in layman terms :). I’m based in Kuala Lumpur in private hospital practice. You have my permission for the links too.
Doc, I understand that Malaysia does not recognise the FRCP but instead the MRCP!
Doesn’t the F in front of the FRCP denotes fellowship and can only be obtained after years of practise after obtaining the MRCP?
The whole thing is rather confusing!
Thank you.
Doctor2008 says: Not true! The MRCP is a specialist entrance exam. The FRCP is conferred as a mark of recognition by the specialist body on those holding the MRCP after they have reached a certain level of experience and expertise.
I’m a big fan of this blog and I check it regularly. Keep up the great work!
Hi Dr Ridzwan,
By a series of accidents, I was introduced to your blog this afternoon by my girlfriend. I’m a newbie (2 weeks old to be exact) to blogging on health matters. She suggested your blog would make a great guide for me, in many ways.
I look forward to learning. 🙂
Have a good weekend.
Doctor2008: Welcome aboard!
Doc, what happened to this blog?
The last post was in Jan 2014.
Is it now defunct?
Thank you.
Regards,
Thanks for your concern and interest. Needed a year’s break and should be able to resume next week.
Thanks again for your interest.
Doctor2008