May 17th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research
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Let’s face it, the best way to cut healthcare costs is to say “no.” That means denying unnecessary tests that most patients in the United States are accustomed to having.
The New York Times‘ David Leonhardt has the best take on this issue that I’ve read. He acknowledges the difficulty of telling the American public “no,” and cites examples ranging from the breast cancer screening controversy to the managed care backlash in the 1990s:
This try-anything-and-everything instinct is ingrained in our culture, and it has some big benefits. But it also has big downsides, including the side effects and risks that come with unnecessary treatment. Consider that a recent study found that 15,000 people were projected to die eventually from the radiation they received from CT scans given in just a single year — and that there was “significant overuse” of such scans. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
May 5th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research
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Doctors often have a communication disconnect with their patients. A recent piece from the New York Times encapsulates the issue, citing a recent New England Journal of Medicine perspective.
According to oncologist Ethan Basch, “Direct reports from patients are rarely used during drug approval or in clinical trials. If patients’ comments are sought at all, they are usually filtered through doctors and nurses, who write their own impressions of what the patients are feeling.”
There are a variety of reasons for this. Some doctors feel they have a better sense of the patient’s symptoms than the patient himself. Biases can affect how doctors and nurses perceive symptoms. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
May 3rd, 2010 by Felasfa Wodajo, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research, True Stories
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[Here’s a] good article [from] the New York Times written by a doctor [Pauline Chen, M.D.] about intrusive aspects of electronic health records (EHRs) on doctor-patient communication. An excerpt:
“…just because EMR improves information sharing and retrieval, it doesn’t necessarily follow that our communication with patients and colleagues will also be better.”
Read the rest of the article here.
*This blog post was originally published at a few thoughts from a tumor surgeon*
April 28th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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A recent post on Kevin MD by Joseph Biundo, a rheumatologist, challenged my assertion that primary care doctors can save money:
(In reference to my claim…) That may be true in theory, but I see patients in my rheumatology office every day who have been “worked up” by primary care physicians and come in with piles of lab tests and X-ray and MRI reports, but are diagnosed in my office by a simple history and physical exam.
Prior to that, an article in the New York Times along with a post by Kevin Pho noted the fact that more solo practitioners are leaving private practice and joining hospital systems. Why are they doing this? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
April 27th, 2010 by DaveMunger in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research, True Stories
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First, an article in the New York Times talks about whether exercise can actually help you lose weight. Short answer: Probably not, but it may help you keep the pounds off. Click here to read the article.
Second, I’ve done a podcast about my post on whether diet can be used to control blood pressure long term. Each week Razib Khan, Kevin Zelnio and I discuss an article we’ve covered on one of our blogs, and it was my turn. Click here to listen to the podcast online, or click here if you’d like to subscribe to the podcast. You can also visit iTunes and search on “ResearchBlogCast.”
*This blog post was originally published at The Daily Monthly*
