August 19th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: BBC News, Dispense Medication Directly, England, Express Prescriptions, In-Store Pharmacy, Pharmacology, PharmaTrust, Prescription Drugs, Sainsbury's, UK Trial, Vending Machine, West Sussex
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The UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is running a trial with two different drug vending machines in two of its West Sussex stores. Basically you can drop your prescription at the machine, the pharmacy will collect the prescriptions and deliver the medications which you can later pick up.
As the machines are placed in stores with an in-store pharmacy service, the only benefit seems to be the lack of face-to-face contact (for those people who consider that a benefit). The trial will run for a year after which it will be decided whether they will be rolled out across all of England. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
August 19th, 2010 by Harriet Hall, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: Aging Men, Anti-Aging Treatment, Cardivascular Health, Celebrity Medical Claims, Diagnostic Accuracy, Dr. Alan Brett, ED, Endocrine Society, Erectile Dysfunction, Impotence, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, JournalWatch, Longevity Clinics, Low Sexual Desire, Low Testosterone Levels, Medical Frauds, Men's Health, NEJM, New England Journal of Medicine, Older Men, Physical Performance, Placebo Effect, Reproductive Health, Science Based Medicine, Sexual Health, Testosterone Replacement Therapy
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On the car radio, I have several times happened upon “infomercial” programs touting the benefits of testosterone replacement therapy for men, broadcast by doctors who specialize in prescribing the drugs. They have lots of wonderful stories about men who feel younger, happier, and more vigorous because of their macho remedies. It’s a tribute to the power of the placebo.
I have been reviewing John Brinkley’s goat gland scam for a presentation on medical frauds. In an era before the isolation of the hormone testosterone, Brinkley transplanted goat testes into human scrotums in an attempt to treat impotence and aging. We are more sophisticated today — but not much. Longevity clinics and individual practitioners are offering testosterone to men as a general pick-me-up and anti-aging treatment. Their practice is not supported by the scientific evidence. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
August 18th, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Circle of Life Award, Collaboration of Care, Doctor-Patient Communication, Dr. Tammie Quest, Dying Patients, ED, Emergency Department, Emergency Medicine, Emergency Room, ER, Hospice, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Approach, Skill Sets, Slate
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An alert reader alerted me to this related piece in Slate: “We Can’t Save You: How To Tell Emergency Room Patients That They’re Dying.” An excerpt:
The ER is not an easy place to come to these realizations or assess their consequences. A handful of physicians are trying to change that. Doctors like Tammie Quest, board-certified in both palliative and emergency medicine, hope to bring the deliberative goal-setting, symptom-controlling ethos of palliative care into the adrenaline-charged, “tube ’em and move ’em” ER. Palliative/emergency medicine collaboration remains rare, but it’s growing as both fields seek to create a more “patient-centered” approach to emergency care for the seriously ill or the dying, to improve symptom management, enhance family support, and ensure that the patient understands the likely outcomes once they get on that high-tech conveyor belt of 21st-century emergency medicine.
Emergency medicine and palliative care-certified? That’s an interesting mix. We have a great palliative care service where I work (in fact, it just won the national “Circle of Life” award.) It makes a lot of sense to have a palliative care nurse stationed in (or routinely rounding) the ER, though. I think I’m going to suggest this to our hospice folks.
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
August 18th, 2010 by GarySchwitzer in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: ALS Association, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Brain Trauma, Dr. Steven Atlas, Epidemiology, Gary Schwitzer, Health Journalism, HealthNewsReview.org, Inaccurate Health Reporting, Lou Gehrig's Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Neurology, New York Times, Science Journalism
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This was one time when the headline was okay, but the story that followed had our heads spinning. “Study Says Brain Trauma Can Mimic Lou Gehrig’s Disease” is a story that was troubling on a number of fronts. It reported on a study which at the time had not yet been published suggesting that some “athletes and soldiers given a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis…might have been catalyzed by injuries only now becoming understood: concussions and other brain trauma.”
To be clear — and please don’t anyone miss or miscontrue this point — this is an important and fascinating area of research. But the story did not exhibit the best of health/medical/science journalism:
1. It was based on a study of 3 people. (The ALS Association says there are up to 30,000 people in the U.S. living with ALS.)
2. It stated, “Lou Gehrig might not have had Lou Gehrig’s disease.” (No evidence for this was provided. He also may not have been a great left-handed hitter. That may have been an optical illusion.)
3. It said this could “perhaps lead toward new pathways for a cure.” (After a suggestive finding in just three people?)
4. The story later says, “The finding’s relevance to Gehrig is less clear.” (Hedging already after a bold earlier statement in the story.)
5. But just a few paragraphs later, the story says, “The new finding…suggests that Gehrig might not have had (ALS).” (Head spinning yet?) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
August 18th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News
Tags: As Effective As Doctors, Blue Shield of California, Doctor-Patient Communication, Dr. Richard Baron, Dr. Sam Fink, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Hands-On Care, Internal Medicine, Less Healthcare Cost, Medical Behaviorists, Nurse-Led Facilities, Pharmacists, Primary Care Shortage, Retainer Fees, Shared Medical Appointment, Tele-Visits, The Power Of The Pen, Train More Doctors
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New primary care arrangements show how primary care is evolving — or splitting apart, depending upon one’s perspective.
Retainer fees let one practice handle more patients by phone or email. But, points out Richard Baron, FACP, affluent communities can take advantage of such arrangements, and not every community is. And Sam Fink, FACP, of southern California says tele-visits are no substitute for hands-on care. In another model, nurse-led facilities service the poor in north Philadelphia, and more states are expanding the power of the pen to cover shortages.
Another trend is the shared medical appointment. Led by physicians and conducted by “behaviorists,” the sessions cover a half-dozen or more patients at a time for both primary and specialty care.
Even pharmacists are getting in on primary care. Blue Shield of California is trying a pilot project of pharmacists, believing they have the clinical and patient communication skills to be as effective as doctors, but for less cost. But primary care doctors aren’t completely ceding their profession. There are also pilot projects in California to train more doctors and steer them into communities facing a shortage of primary care services. (USA Today, Fox News, ACP Internist, New York Times, Whittier Daily News)
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
