May 1st, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in News, Opinion
Tags: Business, California, Cosmetic Medicine, Cosmetic Surgery, Medicine, Physician-Owned Hospitals, Plastic Surgery
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This MSN article states that doctor-owned hospitals are on the rise. In California, the opposite is the case. The hospital business is a lousy business in which to be. I would rather open a surgical facility. I had an opportunity to be a part of a group that bought a hospital a few years ago and passed.
In California, real medicine is going into the toilet as doctors realize that the work they have put in to get educated makes practicing fairly unrewarding. Niche markets and gimmicks are replacing the conventional medical landscape. That’s the reason we have so many non-plastic surgeons turning to cosmetic work. The bottom line is that you need to pay doctors enough so they can make a decent living or they will find something else to do.
Sad but true.
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
April 29th, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Health Tips, News
Tags: Asthma, Babies, Birth, FDA, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Off-Label Use, Pregnancy, Pregnant Moms, Pregnant Women, Preterm Labor, Terbutaline, Uncategorized
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The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a new warning about a medication that has been used for years and it has sent shock waves throughout my specialty. Terbutaline is an FDA approved medication that is used for asthmatic patients or patients who have significant narrowing of the airways. However for years it has been used as an “off-label” medication to treat preterm labor but now that’s about to change. An off-label drug means it hasn’t been approved for that specific use by the FDA.
According to the FDA, the injectable form of Terbutaline should only be used for a maximum of 24 to 72 hours because the drugs association with heart problems and death. The FDA goes on to say that the oral version (pills) should not be prescribed to treat preterm labor because it’s ineffective and can cause similar problems. As an obstetrician, I feel utterly betrayed. The medication clearly had side effects that included shortness of breath and a racing heart. As resident physicians we were taught that the benefit outweighed the risks of having a premature baby and the patients should try to adjust to the medication. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
April 29th, 2011 by GarySchwitzer in News, Quackery Exposed
Tags: Acai Berry, Fake News Sites, FTC, NPR, Scott Hensley, Weight Loss
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On the NPR Shots blog, Scott Hensley reports: “This Just In: Fake News Is No Way To Sell Acai Berries.” Excerpt:
“Some marketers of weight-loss products containing acai berries are also purveyors of news you shouldn’t use, the Federal Trade Commission says.
The FTC has asked federal courts to put a stop to the activities of 10 different outfits that the commission alleges use “fake news websites” to tout acai berry weight-loss products.
Chances are you’ve stumbled across the sites, which often sport the logos of major mainstream news organizations, such as ABC, CNN and Consumer Reports. (See this example posted by the FTC.)
Take, for example the FTC’s complaint against Beony International LLC, a company based in San Diego.
The company allegedly ran sites with names such as “News 6 News Alerts,” “Health News Health Alerts,” and “Health 6 Beat Health News.” The sites feature purportedly objective investigative reports of acai products by reporters, who supposedly tried the stuff “and experienced dramatic and positive results.”
The blog post also includes links to examples and complaints posted by the FTC, a Consumer Reports feature on acai scams and this Better Business Bureau video warning about free trial scams.
Unfortunately, every day in our nationwide scan of health news stories, we see REAL news stories that look like advertising. So advertising that is made to look like news is not surprising.
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
April 28th, 2011 by American Journal of Neuroradiology in News, Research
Tags: A Third Cerebellar Hemisphere, Anomaly, Brain Deformity, Case Report, Cerebellum, Congenital Malformation, CT Scan, India, Radiology
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Improved visualization of the posterior fossa structures has led to an increased recognition of cerebellar malformations, including the Dandy-Walker malformation, Joubert syndrome, rhombencephalosynapsis, tectocerebellar dysrhaphia, and so forth. New anomalies continue to be discovered, highlighting the fact that cerebellar anomalies are poorly understood and have largely been ignored in the literature. We present a structural anomaly of the cerebellum, which we believe has not been previously reported.
A 16-month-old girl presented to the pediatric outpatient department with some delayed developmental milestones. She was full-term with a normal vaginal delivery and no history suggestive of perinatal asphyxia. The motor milestones were delayed, and the child could not stand. The other milestones, including language and socialization, were normal. Examination revealed a bony hard swelling in the occipital region, which, according to the mother, was noticed soon after birth. The occipitofrontal circumference was 52 cm, and the anterior fontanelle was open. There was generalized hypotonia, and the deep tendon reflexes were depressed. Mild truncal ataxia was observed, but there was no nystagmus. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at AJNR Blog*
April 28th, 2011 by Elaine Schattner, M.D. in News, Opinion
Tags: American College of Surgeons, Dr. Lazar Greenfield, DVT, Gaff, Greenfield Filter, Medical News, Semen, Sexual Statement, Valentine's Day
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A few days ago I read that Dr. Lazar Greenfield, Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, resigned as the president-elect of the American College of Surgeons over flak for authoring a Valentine’s Day-pegged, tacky, tasteless and sexist piece in Surgery News. The February issue is mysteriously absent in the pdf-ied archives. According to the Times coverage: “The editorial cited research that found that female college students who had had unprotected sex were less depressed than those whose partners used condoms.
From Pauline Chen, also in the Times:
It begins with a reference to the mating behaviors of fruit flies, then goes on to discuss studies on the menstrual cycles of heterosexual and lesbian women who live together. Citing the research of evolutionary psychologists at the State University of New York, it describes how female college students who had been exposed to semen were less depressed than their peers who had not, concluding: “So there’s a deeper bond between men and women than St. Valentine would have suspected, and now we know there’s a better gift for that day than chocolates.”
Not that I’m OK with any of this, as I’ve known the ickiness of older male physicians who don’t even realize when they’re being inappropriate. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medical Lessons*
