June 16th, 2010 by AndrewSchorr in Audio, Better Health Network, Expert Interviews, Health Tips, Opinion
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Experts say over 100,000 lives a year could be saved in the United States if patients focused more on preventive medicine. What is preventive medicine? What can you do in your everyday life that may make a long-term difference?
On this Patient Power program, you will hear from two board certified internists from the UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics in Western Washington. They will discuss how having an ongoing relationship with a primary care physician who you check in with regularly –- even when you’re well –- gives you the best chance at staying healthy.
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June 14th, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Quackery Exposed
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Some things are just part of the problem in healthcare. The company Medical Justice is one such thing. I’ve written about them before. Medical Justice sees the medical malpractice crisis and devised a solution: Muzzle the patients. It’s as misguided as it is ridiculous.
Medical Justice says doctors need to stop their patients from saying bad things about them. They charge doctors hundreds — even thousands — of dollars a year to help do this.
Under one of their programs, they give doctors contracts to use with their patients. The doctor tells the patient that they must agree to the terms of the contract before the doctor agrees to see them. Okay, so there are lots of forms that patients need to sign when they go to the doctor. What makes these so different? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
June 14th, 2010 by StevenWilkinsMPH in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
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In a recent article, the editors of the Archives of Internal Medicine make the case that too much unneeded care is being delivered in physician’s offices these days. According to the authors, “patient expectations” are a leading cause of this costly problem.
Their solution? Get physicians to share with patients the “evidence” for why their requests are crazy, wrong, ill-informed or just plain stupid. But getting patients to buy into the “less is more” argument is a daunting task as most physicians already know. The problem is complicated by the fact that patients have a lot good reasons for not buying it. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Mind The Gap*
June 14th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion
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Just when I’ve lost hope that mainstream media will stop perpetuating the myth the more medicine equals better care, the Associated Press came up with this excellent piece. The article states, rightly, that “anywhere from one-fifth to nearly one-third of the tests and treatments we get are estimated to be unnecessary,” and that, “it may lead to dangerous side effects.”
Regular readers of this blog should be familiar with those concepts. I wrote recently that patients often reject evidence-based medicine. One reason is that there aren’t enough clinical guidelines available for patients to make an informed decision. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
June 13th, 2010 by Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D. in Audio, Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion
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When should small kids get online? Is there a magic age? Is there a “best” way to start? What websites should small kids begin their online life with? And, most importantly, is it safe for small kids to be online?
Tune in as Dr. Gwenn talks about helping your youngest kids begin their online safely and smartly with you there as their earliest online guides. Listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio here.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*