Perhaps you’ve heard the buzz about “bioidentical” hormones; that they’re safer and more effective than FDA-approved hormones. Uh, no, says Harvard Women’s Health Watch. The buzz is not about health, it’s about hype. Bioidentical hormones generally are described as compounds with the same chemical and molecular structure as those produced by the body. And, generally,….
Continue ReadingArchives for September 2011
Proof that Medical Innovations Can Save Lives at Low Cost
The scourge of cervical cancer — a leading cancer killer of women in the third world without access to Pap smears and HPV vaccinations — is being whipped with an unlikely low-tech, low-cost preventive treatment: Ordinary vinegar plus freezing of the cervical warts before they turn cancerous. The vinegar is brushed on the cervix by….
Continue ReadingHow to Choose a Psychological Therapist
Choosing a medical caregiver, like any good consumer behavior, involves comparison shopping. Mindful of the restrictions of your health-care plan, cost, geography and/or time, choosing a psychological therapist is no different from choosing any other medical provider. In some ways, it’s even more important to have a good match between doctor and patient, because for….
Continue ReadingDatabase of Dangerous Doctors Gets Yanked from Public Eye
The Obama administration’s decision to remove from the Web a database of physician discipline and malpractice activity shows how far this country is from giving the public ready access to information on who the most dangerous doctors are. The National Practitioner Data Bank was set up in 1986 to provide a clearing house for hospitals….
Continue ReadingPatients Send Mixed Signals About Student Doctors
In theory, people support the presence of trainees for medical procedures. But when it comes to personal practice … not so much. So says a study in the Archives of Surgery, which examined patient perceptions and willingness to participate in resident education. More than 8 in 10 patients consented to having an intern participate in….
Continue ReadingHospitals Embrace Alternative Therapies
Western medicine is often perceived as conservative and traditional, and unwilling to consider alternate therapies. But a new study by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and nonprofit Samueli Institute says that hospitals are broadening their treatment horizons. More than 4 in 10 of the hospitals surveyed indicated that they offer one or more complementary and….
Continue ReadingTo Care for the Patient, the Doctor Must Care About the Patient
Putting the care back into medical care is the aim of a $42 million grant from a couple to the University of Chicago. Sometimes trivialized as “bedside manner,” the issue of compassion and caring is central to what so many of us patients see as the lost piece of modern medical treatment. The new Bucksbaum….
Continue ReadingHow States Rank for Long-Term Care
Like real estate, rating the quality of long-term care is about location, location, location. A new report from AARP, The Commonweath Fund and The Scan Foundation found a wide disparity of services and accessibility in the U.S. for the elderly and disabled and their caregivers on a state-by-state basis. As summarized by WebMD, the study….
Continue ReadingAndrea Mitchell’s Lost Opportunity to Explain the Real Risks of Breast Cancer
Earlier this month NBC news reporter Andrea Mitchell announced on network TV that she was among the 1 in 8 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and that she was being treated successfully. Then she added, “For you women out there and for the men who love you, screening matters. Do it. This….
Continue ReadingDollars for Docs: Learn How the Big Bucks Flow from Drug Manufacturers
In 2013, by law all drug and medical-device companies will be required to report to the federal government how much they spent promoting their products. It’s a long-overdue effort to shine a cleansing light into the murky closets of Big Pharma. The figures will reflect not only expenses for advertising but fees for doctors who….
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