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Unnecessary Tests And Treatments: Responsible Reporting Can Help

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*

“Patient Journalists”: Health News From The Patient’s Perspective

My wife and family are alternately happy and unhappy about the prospect of me headed out of town to attend two medical conventions in a row. When they need me they REALLY need me, and when they have plenty else to do, I could be on the moon and they wouldn’t miss me.

Oh well, I am off anyway to two parts of the country in rapid succession with the goal of helping patients worldwide. The first stop is the meeting of the American Urological Association and the second is the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. I’ll be in San Francisco and then Chicago to gather medical news for patients.

I am a big believer that there should not be a delay in bringing significant medical news to people living with or affected by a medical condition. For me, as a leukemia survivor, I don’t want to wait to hear about a new or better treatment. I want it now and in-depth. I don’t want to wait for my next doctor visit. And I want to hear it from the source. That’s what being a powerful patient is all about. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*

The American Medical News’ Secret To Twitter Success: Copy Editor, Pam Wood

amednewsConnoisseurs of Twitter feeds know when an account is being managed by interesting minds. So when I took a moment to express my appreciation to American Medical News for their contributions to Twitter, it was not surprising that a group of doctors immediately joined the chorus. We all knew that @amednews was a reliable source of entertaining and important information from multiple sources, but we didn’t know the person behind the account… until today.

Pam Wood is the Chief Copy Editor for American Medical News, and has cultivated a loyal following of healthcare professionals and patients on Twitter. I asked her to join me on a phone call to explain the secrets to her success. I’m sure you’ll enjoy getting to know the person behind the tweets @amednews.

[Audio:https://getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/pamwood.mp3]

Dr. Val: Tell me a little bit about yourself – where you’re from, your educational background, and what you’ve been doing at the AMA. Read more »

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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