November 18th, 2010 by David H. Gorski, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research, True Stories
Tags: CAM, Complementary And Alternative Medicine, Dana Ullman, Dr. David Gorski, Fibromyalgia, Homeopathy, Huffington Post, Medical Quackery, Pseudomedicine, SBM, Science Based Medicine, Woo
1 Comment »
Over the weekend, my wife and I happened to be in the pharmacy section of our local Target store. We happened to be looking for one of our favorite cold remedies, because both of us have been suffering from rather annoying colds, which have plagued both of us for the last week or two.
As we perused the Cold and Flu section of the pharmacy, we were struck at how much shelf space was taken up by Airborne (which was “invented by a schoolteacher.“) Nearly three years ago Airborne had to settle a case brought against it alleging false advertising to the tune of $23 million. Despite that, Airborne is still being sold, and there are even a whole bunch of knock-off products copying it.
Then, as we continued to look for our favored cold remedy, we noted that, sitting right next to the extensive shelf space devoted to the various flavors and types of Airborne supplements, I saw Boiron’s homeopathic remedy for colds containing oscillococcinum, which is derived from duck liver and heart and diluted to 200C (a 10400-fold dilution). Yes, I was a bit depressed after that. Now I know what my skeptical friends in the U.K. go through every time they walk into a Boots pharmacy.
Still, even though homeopathy is not as popular in the U.S. as it is in the U.K. and the rest of Europe, it’s obviously making some inroads if it’s being sold in Target. Steve Novella made a point at a panel at TAM8 in July to point out that it’s also being sold in Walmart, but since I rarely, if ever, shop at Walmart, I hadn’t noticed, although I had noticed various dubious concoctions being sold at Walgreens and CVS, two large pharmacy chains here in the U.S. Its relative popularity in different parts of the world aside, ever since I learned what homeopathy is and what its precepts are, I’ve always been fascinated how it can possibly be taken seriously. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
November 18th, 2010 by Felasfa Wodajo, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Interviews, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Felasfa Wodajo, Global Health, Health and Smartphones, Healthcare Apps, Healthcare Around the World, iMedicalApps, International Health, International Medicine, Maternal Health, Medical Research, Medical Technology, Medicine and Smartphones, mHealth Summit 2010, Microsoft, Mobile Health, Mobile Health Apps, Mobile Phones and Medicine, Mobile Technologies, Neonatal Health, Philanthropy, Vaccines
No Comments »
[We reported last week from the mHealth Summit in Washington, DC — a conference covering the integration of mobile technologies with medical research, information, diagnosis, treatment, and care.]
One of the highlights of last week’s mHealth Summit was the keynote interview of Bill Gates. While inseparable from his history as founder and leader of Microsoft from 1975 to 2008, his current passion is global health.
Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has now given 3.8 billion (with a “b”) of targeted philanthropy into global health since 1994, he and his wife Melinda are helping bring about profound change to the lives of millions around the world. In a meeting dedicated to exploring the power of mobile devices to shape health in developed and developing countries, Bill Gates eloquently refocussed our attention towards the real urgency of saving the millions of our fellow humans who die needlessly for want of vaccinations or the simplest treatments. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
November 17th, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
Tags: Benevolence of Medicine, Boston Globe, Doctors Are Humans, Doctors' Courage, Doctors' Mistakes, Dr. David Ring, Dr. John Mandrola, General Medicine, Humanizing Medicine, Life's Imperfections, Making the Treatment Worse Than the Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical Errors, Medicine and Humanism, NEJM, New England Journal of Medicine, Perfection in Medicine, Performing the Wrong Operation, Physicians and Humanness
No Comments »
The best part of doctoring is its humanness. Machines can’t do it — not even Apple products.
But that’s the worst part, too. Since humans practice medicine, there will be “medical errors.” And when doctors err, people — not spreadsheets or profits — are hurt. That’s the rub. Like any endeavor, the greater the reward the greater the risk. Those cards were put on the table in medical school.
“Don’t want mistakes? Don’t do anything. Don’t make any decisions. Don’t do any procedures. Then, there will be no errors,” the grey-haired, Swiss-born cardiac surgeon counseled me many years ago after an imperfect ablation.
The headline was about a doctor’s error. It was a doozy. But for me, the story belies the headline. A Boston Globe reporter called a surgeon’s public admission of performing a wrong operation “an unusual display of openness.” I would call it something else: Breathtaking. Unprecedented. Courageous. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
November 17th, 2010 by Lucy Hornstein, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Ability To Pay For Drugs, Affordable Healthcare, Big Pharma, Cheaper Medications, Cost of Drugs, Cost of Medications, Dr. Lucy Hornstein, Four-Dollar Generic Drugs, General Medicine, Health Insurance Industry, Healthcare Economics, Musings of a Dinosaur, NEJM, New England Journal of Medicine, Pharmaceutical Industry, Pharmacology, Prescription Drug Spending, Prescription Drug Use
No Comments »
There’s an article in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled the “Unintended Consequences of Four-Dollar Generic Drugs.“ Ever one to hone in on unintended consequences of all stripes, I quickly clicked through. Oh, dear! What bad could possibly come of making drugs significantly more affordable?
Were more people demanding prescriptions for drugs they didn’t really need now that they were so cheap? (Dream on. I’m still twisting arms to get my high-risk cardiac patients to take their generic statins.) Were pharmacies going out of business, no longer to make ends meet without massive markups on brand name drugs, contributing to skyrocketing unemployment and otherwise adding to the country’s general economic malaise? Were cardiologists’ incomes plummeting because of sagging rates of coronary disease now that everyone could easily afford their beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, and statins?
Or maybe it was something good. I guess, technically, “unintended” doesn’t automatically equal “bad.” What could it be? So I read. And what did I discover? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Dinosaur*
November 17th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
Tags: Being A Doctor, Caring For Yourself, Diet and Exercise, Do As I Say Not As I Do, Doctor As A Patient, Doctor's Appointment For A Doctor, Doctor's Health, Doctor's Personal Life, Doctor's Story, Dr. Rob Lamberts, Eating Healthy, Family Practice, General Medicine, Healthy Lifestyle, Lack Of Exercise, Musings of a Distractible Mind, Obesity, Overweight, Primary Care, Self-Care, Taking Care of Yourself, Weight Gain
No Comments »
I did a little “self care” earlier this week. I did it by not caring for myself. I went to the doctor.
I was sitting in the waiting area for my appointment and saw the mother of one of my patients. “Why are you here?” she asked. “I have a doctor’s appointment,” I replied. She got a curious look on her face, asking: “Don’t you doctors just take care of yourselves? I thought that was what doctors did.”
We do take care of ourselves. In fact, we do it far more often than we should. Being your own doctor allows for a lot of denial. When you spend your day advocating healthy lifestyles after you had trouble finding pants that would fit in the morning, denial is necessary. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
I realize that this is hypocrisy — that is why I was at the doctor on Monday. My patients have noticed my expanding waistline, commenting on it more than I would wish. Certainly my pants get in the way of denial as well, not forgiving the fact that I have been under a whole lot of stress. Pants don’t accept excuses.
So I found myself in the unfamiliar experience of being the patient. Instead of closing my mind and emotions to my own body, I had to frankly assess what I was doing to it. Standing on the scale was as frank of an assessment as I would ever want. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
