The medical community has begun to accept that the use of X-rays as a first-response, default diagnostic tool often is questionable. The amount of radiation a person can accumulate over a lifetime of X-ray exposure can be significant and risky (see our post about the overuse of such scans.). One such use of X-ray technology….
Continue ReadingArchives for October 2012
Monster Energy Has a Monster Problem With Adverse Events
There’s been a lot of news lately about energy drinks, and none of it’s good. We recently wrote about how little is known about their contents, and their link to heart disease and high blood pressure. Now, as reported in the New York Times, five people died in the last three years after drinking Monster….
Continue ReadingHospital Studies Reinforce the Need for Consumer Savvy
Two studies about how hospitals care for patients confirm the wisdom of researching the facilities where you’re considering having an inpatient procedure, and for enlisting a strong patient advocate to act on your behalf once you’ve been admitted. In our Better Health Care newsletter, we’ve addressed how to find the best hospitals and the importance….
Continue ReadingWhere to Go for Information about Medical Screening Tests
Health journalist/watchdog Gary Schwitzer is among our heroes, and here’s another reason why. In a recent post on his HealthNewsReview.org, he championed the efforts of British physician/writer Margaret McCartney, who introduced a new resource for patients seeking information about their care. “Private health screening tests are oversold and under-explained,” she wrote in a British newspaper….
Continue ReadingContaminated Drugs Affect the Whole Industry
As the horror builds with the increasing number of meningitis casualties from contaminated steroid medication provided by a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy, a disturbing report was published last week in the New York Times that details how such problems aren’t limited to that niche of the drug-manufacturing sector. Weevils in vials of heparin; morphine containing as….
Continue ReadingThe Effects of Aspirin on Heart Health
In antiquity, people chewed willow bark for its analgesic properties. Willow is rich in salicylate, the precursor to acetylsalicylic acid, the compound delivered today by common aspirin. It not only relieves pain, it reduces inflammation and fever. And within the last generation, aspirin has become the only over-the-counter analgesic that some health professionals have recommended….
Continue ReadingStarting a Dialog between Attorneys and Surgeons about Medical Malpractice (Part 2)
This is part 2 of my talk to the American College of Surgeons about medical malpractice and how attorneys for injured patients can work together with organized medicine to make for better, safer care (and fewer lawsuits as a result). (Click here for part 1.) I want to tell some very short stories about clients….
Continue ReadingStarting a Dialog between Attorneys and Surgeons about Medical Malpractice
I was honored to be invited to speak the other day to a leadership conference of the American College of Surgeons about medical malpractice. They assured me I could leave my bullet-proof vest at home, and true to their word, the assembled surgeons were cordial and asked excellent questions. Even better, they told me how….
Continue ReadingPatient Advocates: A New Market Niche
As the health-care landscape continues to be reconfigured through legislative reform, greater consumer awareness, technological advances and evolving provider business models, an entrepreneurial niche has been carved out to help patients find the best, most efficient care. It’s called patient advocacy, and although the business is in its infancy, already there are a couple hundred….
Continue ReadingFosamax Warning Renewed
Drugs known as bisphosphonates are huge sellers in the U.S., prescribed mostly for post-menopausal women to protect against bone fractures. The risk of osteoporosis (bone density loss) increases after menopause. But the possible side effects of bisphosphonates have long been of concern if they’re taken for an extended period. Bisphosphonates have a long half-life, which….
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