August 7th, 2011 by Lucy Hornstein, M.D. in Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Boil, Breast Lump, Breast Tissue, Mammographic Images, Medical, Medical Costs, Pathology, Radiology, Red Bump, Surgical Excision, Unnecessary Procedures
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I saw a lady with a boil. It began as a small red bump which got bigger and harder, then drained white stuff, and was now getting better.
The reason she was worried about it was its location: it was on her breast. This was why the chief complaint officially read, “Breast lump” despite the fact that it was technically no such thing.
I examined her carefully, determining that the pathologic process was indeed confined to the skin and clinically did not involve the actual breast tissue in any way. However because she was of an age for screening mammography, I did take the opportunity to urge her to have it; which she did. The problem arrived with the radiology report:
A marker is placed over the area of palpable abnormality. Mammographic images reveal normal breast tissue with no mass or architectural distortion. The pathologic process is confined to the skin. Recommend surgical excision. (emphasis mine)
Um, no. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Dinosaur*
August 7th, 2011 by David H. Gorski, M.D., Ph.D. in Opinion, Research
Tags: Acupuncture, Allergies, Alternative Medicine, Alternative Therapies, Back and Neck Pain, CAM, Chiropractic, Cold and Flu, Complementary And Alternative Medicine, Consumer Reports, Integrative Medicine, Massage Therapy, Prescription Drugs, Science And The Media, Science Based Medicine, Yoga
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Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve intermittently read Consumer Reports, relying on it for guidance in all manner of purchase decisions. CR has been known for rigorous testing of all manner of consumer products and the rating of various services, arriving at its rankings through a systematic testing method that, while not necessarily bulletproof, has been far more organized and consistent than most other ranking systems. True, I haven’t always agreed with CR’s rankings of products and services about which I know a lot, but at the very least CR has often made me think about how much of my assessments are based on objective measures and how much on subjective measures.
Until now.
I just saw something yesterday on the CR website that has made me wonder just how scientific CR’s testing methods are, as CR has apparently decided to promote alternative medicine modalities by “assessing” them in an utterly scientifically ignorant manner. Maybe I just haven’t been following CR regularly for a while, but if there’s an article that demonstrates exactly why consumer product testing organizations should not be testing medical treatments; they are ill-equipped to do so and lack the expertise and knowledge. The first red flag was the title, namely Hands-on, mind-body therapies beat supplements. The second red flag was the introduction to the article: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
August 7th, 2011 by Happy Hospitalist in Opinion, Research
Tags: Acute Coronary Syndrome, American Journal of Cardiology, Health Insurance, Heart Attack, Lipitor, Medicare, Patient Consults, Plavix, Prevent Heart Attacks, Quit Smoking, smoking, smoking cessation, Smoking Lecture, Smoking Relapse
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I’ve been telling my smoking patients for years that nothing I do for them is going to make an ounce of difference until they quit smoking for good. And the Italians are out to prove me right. The American Journal of Cardiology reported July 11th, 2011 on the Effect of Smoking Relapse On Outcome After Acute Coronary Syndrome.
In a study of just under 1,300 patients, Reuters reports that just over 1/2 the patients started smoking within 20 days of hospital discharge, despite in-hospital smoking cessation consultation for all patients. Researchers also found that resuming smoking increased death 3-fold compared with those that did not relapse and quitting smoking had a similar lifesaving effect as taking cholesterol and blood pressure medications. And I’m sure these folks all landed themselves back into the hospitals for a very expensive dying process.
That’s why billing the patient or their insurance for smoking cessation (CPT® 99406 and 99407) is so important. And that’s why I give many of my smoking patients my smoking lecture. You know how much Medicare pays for a ten minute consultation to help cardiac patients quit smoking right now? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
August 7th, 2011 by DrWes in Opinion
Tags: Abstracts, American Medical Association, Bloggers, Borders Book Stores, Chicago Tribune, Doctors, Howard Bauchner, JAMA, Journalism, Medical Journals, Medical Technology, Online Journals, Print Journals
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This morning in the Chicago Tribune’s business section appeared an article entitled “Just What the Doctor Ordered” that included an interview with Dr. Howard Bauchner, the new editor for the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). He plans to pursue a strategy of “intelligent innovation” for the journal:
…looking for ways to get information to doctors and consumers through several new platforms, such as social media, video and other forms. “If you look at TED or Big Think, they have been experimenting with video clips,” Bauchner said. “I could imagine having some of our authors do video clips where they speak about the meaning of their research for eight or 10 minutes, and then that’s easily linked to a smart phone.”
He also wants shorter on-line version of articles that condense the topic to 500 words from the typical 2,500- to 3,000-word articles not too dissimilar, I suppose, to the abstract.
Which leads to the inevitable end result: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
August 6th, 2011 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Expert Interviews, Opinion
Tags: #hcsm, AMA, American Medical Association, David Harlow, Disclaimer, Doctor, Doctors, Facebook, FDA, Health Care Attorney, HIPAA, Hospital Care, Hospital Social Media Policies, Insurance, Legal Implications, Nurses, Pharmaceutical Industry, Social Media, Social Networking
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This is the third part of a three part post addressing the legal concerns of social networking in the health care arena.
In part one, legal expert David Harlow, Esq., Health Care Attorney and Consultant at The Harlow Group, LLC in Boston, answered questions regarding “The Legal Implications for Doctors, Nurses and Hospitals Engaging in Social Media?”
In part two, Mr. Harlow answered questions related to the Pharma industry; “Legal Concerns: What Steps can Pharma Take to Engage in Social Media?”
The third part addresses a question from a follower on Facebook about the use of disclaimers.
Q: Barbara: A Healthin30 reader on Facebook writes: “I’m looking for a good disclaimer to put on a couple of medical practices’ Facebook pages. The AMA social media guidelines aren’t helpful. Do you have a good boilerplate you recommend? Thanks in advance for your help!” David, can you offer a couple suggestions?
A: David: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
