June 23rd, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
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He came in for his regular blood pressure and cholesterol check. On the review of systems sheet he circled “depression.”
“I see you circled depression,” I said after dealing with his routine problems. “What’s up?”
“I don’t think I am actually clinically depressed, but I’ve just been finding it harder to get going recently,” he responded. “I can force myself to do things, but I’ve never have had to force myself.”
“I noticed that you retired recently. Do you think that has something to do with your depression?” I asked.
“I’m not really sure. I don’t feel like it makes me depressed. I was definitely happy to stop going to work.”
I have taken care of him for many years, and know him to be a solid guy. “I have seen this in a lot in men who retire. They think it’s going to be good to rest, and it is for the first few months. But after a while, the novelty wears off and they feel directionless. They don’t want to spend the rest of their lives entertaining themselves or completing the ‘honey do’ list, but they don’t want to go back to work either.”
He looked up and me, “Yeah, I guess that sounds like me.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
June 22nd, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
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Boston Celtics basketball player Kendrick Perkins injured his knee during the NBA Finals against the Lakers when he landed awkwardly. Unable to weightbear, he left Game 6 not to return for the following pivotal Game 7.
Based on his mechanism of injury and his physical examination, his trainer reported that he tore his medial collateral ligament (MCL) as well as the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). More amazingly, this was done without the help of a MRI. Since Perkins was unable to play the final game, there was no urgent medical need to expedite the test, as regardless of the result his season was already done.
How do doctors know what’s wrong without X-ray vision or an imaging test? (Note that Perkins did get a X-ray, but X-rays generally don’t show ligament injuries.) Is it guessing? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
June 14th, 2010 by StevenWilkinsMPH in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
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In a recent article, the editors of the Archives of Internal Medicine make the case that too much unneeded care is being delivered in physician’s offices these days. According to the authors, “patient expectations” are a leading cause of this costly problem.
Their solution? Get physicians to share with patients the “evidence” for why their requests are crazy, wrong, ill-informed or just plain stupid. But getting patients to buy into the “less is more” argument is a daunting task as most physicians already know. The problem is complicated by the fact that patients have a lot good reasons for not buying it. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Mind The Gap*