September 9th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Defensive Medicine, Health Affairs, Health Courts, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare reform, Medical Malpractice, Medicine and Legal Issues, No-Fault Malpractice
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Nothing polarizes the heath care debate more than defensive medicine. A recent study from Health Affairs will only add more fuel to the fire.
Here’s what I wrote a couple of years ago in USA Today: “When you consider that rampant testing is a major driver of escalating health care dollars, addressing defensive medicine should be a primary goal of cost containment.”
Is that still true? Well, yes and no. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
September 9th, 2010 by Steve Novella, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: Africa, Anti-HIV Drugs, Anti-Scientific Propaganda, CAM, Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, Evidence-Based, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, International Medicine, Lack of Health Services, Modern Medical Doctors or Facilities, Primary Healthcare, Science Based Medicine, THPAZ, Traditional Healers, Traditional Health Practitioners Association of Zambia, Western Medicine, Western Science, WHO, World Health Organization
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There’s an AIDS epidemic in Africa, and efforts to fight it are hampered by the endemic social problems of that continent. Chief among them are the lack of sufficient modern health resources, the spread of destructive rumors and myths about HIV/AIDS, and even the persistence of HIV denial in Africa (although this last factor is better than in the past).
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance are teaming up with the Traditional Health Practitioners Association of Zambia (THPAZ) to address the first problem –- the lack of health services.
Most Zambians use traditional healers for primary healthcare. The WHO has therefore decided to utilize traditional healers in the fight against AIDS. There are interesting pros and cons to this policy, but it must first be recognized that there is no ideal solution to the problem. The resources to provide optimal modern health care to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS (which would need to include a massive education program) in Zambia and the rest of Africa simply do not exist. One might argue that the world should provide those resources, but let’s put that issue aside and focus on what to do in the meantime. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
September 9th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Blind, Blindness, Braille Buddy, Learning To Read And Write, Lost Eyesight, Ophthalmology, Visually Impaired, Yanko Design
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Yanko Design blog is profiling the Braille Buddy project that aims to develop a simple-to-use tool to help people who’ve lost eyesight to learn Braille.
Braille Buddy has little retractable bumps that code for different letters, a keyboard, and a voice synthesizer that guides patients through different lessons. The voice will read out letters that a patient has to type back in Braille, and the tactile screen will display letters to read and identify.
Yanko Design: My Best Buddy Braille…
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
September 8th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Andrew Holtz, AP, Associated Press, BRCA 2, BRCA1, Breast Cancer, Cancer Genetics, Evidence-Based Health Media, Gary Schwitzer, Gene Mutation, Health Journalism, HealthNewsReview.org, Inaccurate Health Reporting, JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association, Mastectomy, National Public Radio, NPR, Oncology, Ovarian Cancer, Preventive Cancer Surgery, Preventive Health, Reuters Health
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Journalist Andrew Holtz has been a colleague for longer than probably either one of us wants to remember. He is currently one of our story reviewers on HealthNewsReview.org. In fact, he was one of the reviewers on four stories we analyzed last week on the same study. He thought there were some important take-home messages that rose above the walls of our formal systematic review, so he wrote this guest blog post, and we thank him for it:
The Sept. 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association included an article that is likely to have a strong influence on the advice given to women who have a very high risk of breast and ovarian cancer linked to mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Of the four stories we reviewed, only the AP report scored well on our review criteria.
I know what my first journalism professor, Marion Lewenstein, would have done with at least two of the stories: Given them an “F” for factual errors without further consideration of their merits. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
September 7th, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion
Tags: Boutique Medicine, Concierge Medicine, Cost of Healthcare, Dr. Pauline Chen, General Medicine, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare reform, Individualized Doctor-Patient Relationships, Primary Care, The New York Times
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A recent piece in The New York Times wondered if the few patients who can afford to pay for additional attention and access to their primary care doctors in a concierge medicine or boutique medicine practice might be ethical since the extra dollars are used to support the traditional primary care practice that the vast majority of patients currently receive.
Questions you might ask are:
– What is a concierge medicine or boutique medicine practice?
– Is it worth the money?
– Is the care better quality?
– Is it possible to get similar access and care by doctors not in a concierge or boutique medicine practice?
When you think of a concierge, you think about a fancy hotel staff person who answers questions and speaks various languages, books reservations to restaurants, events, and tours (even sold-out attractions) — right? The hotel concierge is your insider, someone who possesses intimate knowledge of the city and recommends must-see sites like a true local. You are personally cared for and pampered. Imagine, then, your physician providing the same attentive service. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
