At this high-travel time of year, looking around the cabin at all the passengers coughing and sneezing, you might wonder how likely you are to contract an infectious disease from a fellow air traveler. Good news: You’re pretty well protected against dire disease, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times. It recalled how,….
Continue ReadingArchives for December 2013
Salt Content in Some Drugs Might Affect Heart Health
Most people know that any drug, over-the-counter or prescription, has potential side effects, and can cause harm. But until last month, their cost-benefit consideration usually didn’t concern their sodium levels. A study in BMJ (British Medical Journal) showed that the maximum daily dose of some medicines would exceed recommended daily limits for sodium irrespective of….
Continue ReadingA Possible Association Between Consuming Sweet Drinks and Endometrial Cancer
Americans love their sodas and sweet coffee beverages that taste more like melted ice cream than caffeine delivery systems. But for one group, drinking too many sugary drinks might pose a cancer risk. As reported in the New York Times, a new study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention found that drinking….
Continue ReadingHealth Insurance for Part-Time Workers
As part of our ongoing series on health insurance reform, we look at part-time workers with “mini-med” health insurance – plans with very limited benefits and annual caps on payments – who will begin to lose their coverage next month. Such anemic plans are no longer renewable under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”)…..
Continue ReadingOrthopedic Treatments You Should Reject
Sometimes, routine is not in a patient’s best interest. As described in a story on NPR, doctors accustomed to prescribing certain treatments for bones and joints don’t always revise their practices when scientific evidence calls for doing things differently from how they used to. In terms of orthopedists – doctors who specialize in the musculoskeletal….
Continue ReadingFortunes of Two Drugs May Change as a Result of FDA Scrutiny
Last week, FDA attention on two drugs – Avandia and Plan B – may change things for, respectively, people with diabetes and many women seeking emergency contraception. As reported in the New York Times, the FDA removed some restrictions how doctors prescribe and patients use Avandia. A couple of years ago, as we blogged Avandia….
Continue ReadingScanning for Alzheimer’s Disease Has Benefits, But They’re Not What You Think
An op-ed in the New York Times by oncologist Ezekiel J. Emanuel provided that welcome blend of empathy – he worries about being stricken by that evil disease Alzheimer’s as much as anyone – and insight – as a cancer doc, he provides a scientific context for our concern. Emanuel worries if his elderly parents’….
Continue ReadingFDA Tells Genetic Testing Service to Stop Marketing Misinformation
Federal regulators are catching up to some warnings we and others issued a year ago about hype in the genetic testing industry. We blogged about 23andMe, a company that offers genetic testing directly to consumers. We also devoted an issue of our newsletter to explaining how genetic testing works, and the implications for the medical….
Continue ReadingHow to Advocate for a Patient
It’s intimidating, speaking up for a loved one who has the new label “patient.” But it’s necessary, if you want your patient to stay healthy and avoid preventable injuries in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and wherever patients undergo medical care. A new video from a prominent health care standards organization aims to provide some essential….
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