November 12th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Backed By Science, Boob Job Cream, Consumer Safety, Cosmetic Products, Cosmetic Surgery, Daily Mail, Doctors Who Voice Their Concerns, Dr. Dalia Nield, Dr. Ramona Bates, Fear Of Retaliation, Increasing A Woman's Breast Size, Libel, Medical Product Claims, Non-Evidence-Based, Patient Safety, Plastic Surgery, Product Safety, Rodial Limited, Scientific Proof, Scientific Testing, Sense About Science, Suture For A Living, The London Clinic, Treatment Dangers, Women's Health
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Shouldn’t it be possible to voice a concern about a medical treatment, procedure, or claim without the fear of retaliation? If the claims are backed by science, then simply addressing my concerns would be enough.
Fear of retaliation silences discussion. Fear of retaliation makes it difficult to do the “right thing” when the public or an individual patient is at risk.
This incidence involves a British plastic surgeon threatened with libel action by the ‘Boob Job’ cream’s manufacturer after she voiced concerns/doubts of its effectiveness. Sense About Science has a great summary of the entire affair: “Plastic surgeon threatened for comment on ‘Boob Job’ cream.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
November 12th, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: AF, Atrial Fibrillation, Brand Name Drugs, Cardiac Electrophysiology, Cardiovascular Drugs, CV Drugs, Dabigatran, Dofetilide, Dr. John Mandrola, Drug Prescribing By Doctors, Generic Drugs, Lovenox, Overprescribing, Pharmaceutical Reps, Physician Drug Prescribing Habits, Pradaxa, RE-LY Trial, Warfarin
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I loved my old status. Perhaps, reveled in it would be a better description. I was a crotchety, generic medicine-only doctor.** Sadly, my status changed today. Dabigatran (brand name Pradaxa) was the culprit.
It was a little nerve racking. I wrote the order, looked at it, thought it out again, talking to myself: “John, are you sure you don’t want to do it the old way? [pause to think] No, I am embracing the new.” And then, I closed the chart and handed it to the nurse.
“What’s that? Pradaxa?” asked the nurse. “Stop the Lovenox? You sure?” My face must have told the story.
Eight days had passed since dabigatran’s approval. “That’s plenty of time to mourn warfarin’s demise,” I thought. Enough studies, enough blogs — it was time for the rubber to hit the road. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
November 12th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: 33 Charts, Compromising Patient Care, Cutting Corners on Healthcare, Doctor Performance, Doctor's Job, Dr. Bryan Vartabedian, Farewell, General Medicine, Giving Good Care, Improving Patient Care, Less Than 100 Percent, Mediocre Medical Care, Pediatrics, Quality Improvement, Two-Biscotti Physician
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[Recently] I ate at one of my favorite Italian restaurants. I had eaten there many times before, but the experience this time was different. After ordering, I received a vacuous bread basket with precisely two pieces of bread. At the end of my meal I was offered two biscotti — and no more. Only the manager could offer an explanation: As a means of containing costs, the decision had been made to capitate bread and biscotti distribution.
I was disappointed. I had been eating here for years. When Colic Solved was released, my publication party was held here. After all those anniversaries, New Year’s celebrations, and birthdays, I’m shortchanged on cookies? It’s remarkable how a great experience can be shadowed by something so small.
Then I got to thinking: Perhaps I’m a two-biscotti physician. Like this restaurant, there are times when I don’t finish well. I may do a phenomenal job with assessment and diagnosis, only to delay a callback on biopsies or X-ray results. Perhaps I get it all right, but fail to get the detail right on the home health orders. Are there small pieces missing in my encounter that represent everything a parent remembers? I know that there are, and I know there are things I have to work on.
There’s a lot we can learn from a restaurant. I don’t want to be a two-biscotti physician.
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
November 12th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: ACP Internist, American College Of Physicians, Archives of Internal Medicine, Buy Doctors Lunch, CME, Conflict of Interest, Continuing Medical Education, Doctors As Industry Marketing Agents, Drug Companies, Drug Rep Lunches, Drug Samples, General Medicine, Industry Perks and Gifts, Industry Relationship, Industry-Supported Medical Education, Medical Ethics, Medical Marketing, Medicare spending, Pharma-Paid Lunches, Pharmaceutical Industry, Physician Payment Sunshine Act, Primary Care Physicians, Ryan DuBosar, Ties To Industry
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Physicians and particularly primary care doctors are reporting fewer industry ties than five years ago, according to a survey.
While 94% of doctors reported some type of perk from a drug or device maker in 2004, 83.8% did in 2009, researchers reported in the Nov. 8 Archives of Internal Medicine.
Researchers surveyed a stratified random sample of 2,938 primary care physicians (internal medicine, family practice, and pediatrics) and specialists (cardiology, general surgery, psychiatry and anesthesiology) with a 64.4% response rate. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
November 12th, 2010 by GruntDoc in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Blood Donation, Cancer Treatment, Dermatology, Genetic Match, Genetics, GruntDoc, Hematology, Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Nature, Oncology, Stem Cell Research, The Australian, Turning Skin Into Blood
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From The Australian:
Stem cell researchers have found a way to turn a person’s skin into blood, a process that could be used to treat cancer and other ailments, according to a Canadian study published today.
The method uses cells from a patch of a person’s skin and transforms it into blood that is a genetic match, without using human embryonic stem cells, said the study in the journal Nature.
Wow. Very cool. I wonder if hopefully someday this could be a replacement for random blood donation?
*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*
