December 18th, 2009 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Opinion
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The advent of the internet, combined with social media, has made everyone experts and has increased the disdain for authority.
No where is that more apparent than the firestorm that surrounds vaccines and its detractors.
The Los Angeles Times’ James Rainey writes a column on the phenomenon, observing the backlash against a well-written, nuanced piece debunking the link between vaccines and autism.
But as we know, those who already believe there is a connection are unlikely to be swayed. And on the web, it’s easy to find data and studies that fits an already established mindset. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
December 16th, 2009 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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The current generation of medical students are not choosing primary care and instead are flocking to specialty care medicine in droves. Unlike decades ago when the best and brightest often went into internal medicine, the vast majority of students opt for dermatology, radiology, anesthesiology, and ophthalmology. Reasons for doing so include better predictable schedules, work-life balance, and compensation.
While I understand that proponents for more primary care doctors use other reasons to increase the primary care workforce, namely decrease the healthcare cost curve and improve health outcomes, medical students today need more compelling and practical reasons to do primary care.
I’ll give three. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
December 16th, 2009 by DrCharles in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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With all the controversy about the utility of mammography, optimal Pap smear intervals, and risks of prostate cancer screening, you have to ask yourself – what are the most beneficial and cost effective preventive services we should be focusing on?
Here are the top 10 preventive services. These items were chosen by the National Commission on Prevention Priorities, and highlight those preventive services including immunizations, screenings, preventive medications, and counseling that give “the most bang for the buck.” For an in depth discussion of methods and results, read Am J Prev Med 2006;31(1):52–61
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Examining Room of Dr. Charles*
December 14th, 2009 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Most doctors have a closet in their office filled with various pharmaceutical samples. The pharmaceutical industry has had “drug reps” or account reps or pharmaceutical sales staff making the rounds on doctors offices in every city and town across the United States for decades. The industry spent $33.5 billion promoting drugs and sending reps to doctors offices with samples in 2004. That is a lot of samples!
Most of us thought we were doing the right thing for our patients when we accepted drug samples. I was able to give patients a month (or more) free to make sure it worked and that they tolerated it. Other patients had no insurance and I supplied them with all of their medication for free from my sample closet. I had a good relationship with the rep and they kept my office stocked with the medication my patients needed. It seemed like a win-win for everyone. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
December 13th, 2009 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News
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I guess the theme this week is “when things go wrong.” It seems like just when I think we are getting a grip on public health issues like smoking and violence against women, something appears to shake up my naive belief that we are making progress.
Last month the Parents Television Council (PTC) reported that incidents of violence against women on mainstream U.S. TV has increased by 1.2 times in the past five years with the depiction of teen girls as victims being four times as high as it was five years ago. This particular type of violence seems to be increasing at a higher rate than just regular violence, which makes it worse.
Singled out as the worst offender was Fox which the PTC said allows violence against women to be trivialized through punch lines in comedies like “Family Guy” and “American Dad.” Faring the best was ABC (that is, until the AMA Award show last week) which apparently was the only network not showing a dramatic increase in the number of stories that included beating, violent threats, shooting, rape, stabbing and torture. Read more »
This post, Television Violence Against Women On The Upswing, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
