Another chapter in the book of “Big Pharma Behaving Badly” is being written, courtesy of a story by Bloomberg News. The news service obtained Bayer company emails reportedly showing executives discussing ways to illegally promote a long-controversial drug. The suspect drug, Yaz, is a member of the family of birth control pills knows as Yasmin,….
Continue ReadingArchives for November 2011
Evidence-Based Medicine Leaves Room for Communication
We’re big believers in “evidence-based” medicine. Most recently, we questioned the fuzzy-science circumstances surrounding the death of Steve Jobs. But a recent article in The Atlantic by Megan McArdle reminds us that, sometimes, the art of medicine should play as large a role as that of science and that, ultimately, striking that balance requires the….
Continue ReadingIt’s OK With Delta Airlines If You Get the Flu
There’s ignorance, and then there’s dangerous, irresponsible, willful ignorance. In a series of posts, the website HealthNewsReview exposed the bone-headed actions of Delta Airlines in showing an onboard video sponsored by an anti-science organization minimizing the importance of flu shots. The video “urges viewers to become informed about influenza and how to stay well during….
Continue ReadingCleaning Up Misinformation About Cleaning Products
When it comes to the green revolution, you’re a conscientious soldier. You care about the effect consumer products have on your health and the health of the planet. You read labels. You understand that chemical use has consequences. Or you would, anyway, if manufacturers let you. While the law requires that food products list their….
Continue ReadingWhy Don’t Medical Procedures Have Price Tags?
A primary consumer benefit of free enterprise is competition. Not happy with the service/quality/price of something you want to purchase? Compare one merchant’s offer with that of another, and take your business where it makes most sense to you. A few months ago, we wrote about a Florida law requiring urgent care clinics to post….
Continue ReadingBreast Cancer Awareness: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Some things you just can’t make up. A website is promoting breast cancer research through sales of its product. So far, so normal. But consider that the site, The Firearm Blog, “is dedicated to all things firearm related. If you are into AR-15 and AK carbines, skeet shotguns, self defense pistols or hunting rifles then….
Continue ReadingCuring Infectious Diarrhea with Fecal Bacteria
Yes, you read the headline correctly. Transplanting feces from healthy patients into patients with horrible infectious diarrhea is rapidly becoming standard medical practice because of its dramatic positive results. Contracting an infection from Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) can be deadly. About 6 in 100 hospital patients become infected with the insidious bacterium. People who use….
Continue ReadingScience Panel Calls for Greater Oversight of Electronic Medical Records Technology
Last week, the New York Times summed up pretty well what a lot of people have been thinking: “Poorly designed, hard-to-use computerized health records are a threat to patient safety, and an independent agency should be set up to investigate injuries and deaths linked to health information technology, according to a federal study…” The paper….
Continue ReadingI Know! Let’s Invent — and Cure — the Disease of ‘Runner’s Face!’
Evidence Mounts Against Unnecessary, Costly Tests
Once upon a time an adult physical exam routinely included urinalysis, blood tests, echocardiogram and many other screening tests, such as a bone-density scan. But a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine adds to the growing body of evidence that many such tests are inappropriate, unnecessary and costly beyond their value. The study,….
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