Gallbladder disease is common in the U.S., and people suffering from it often find themselves in the emergency room to deal with the pain. Researchers recently concluded that a disturbing number of these patients are sent home only to return shortly for emergency surgery. The study published in the Journal of Surgical Research found that….
Continue ReadingArchives for August 2014
FDA’s Expedited Drug Review Lets Sketchy New Drugs Slip into the Market
In the 22 years since the FDA implemented a program for pharmaceutical companies to pay a fee to expedite market approval for their drugs, recalls for drugs have increased significantly. According to research published in the August issue of Health Affairs (subscription required), newer drugs have a 1 in 3 chance of either being withdrawn….
Continue ReadingSuggested Reading– What You Should Know About Long-Term Acute Care
Most patients who must stay in an acute care facility for an extended period do not have a rosy prognosis. And most people know very little about these specialized care centers. But thanks to an aging population, and the fact that medicine is very good at keeping people alive in the intensive care unit (ICU),….
Continue ReadingFeds Withhold Some Information From Doctor Dollars Database
Next month the federal government’s database of drug company and medical device manufacturer payments to doctors is supposed to launch. But it won’t be as we expected. As reported by ProPublica.org, about one-third of the records will be withheld because of data inconsistencies. Keep in mind that although the Physician Payments Sunshine Act was passed….
Continue ReadingCalculating the Risk of Medical Intervention
We always advise people to understand the risks as well as the benefits of any procedure or treatment they are considering, but getting your arms around the idea of “risk” – much less being able to quantify it – is a challenge all its own. Last month, “Risk and Reason,” a multipart series on NPR,….
Continue ReadingMore Muscle for Medical Sleuths
This summer, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began a campaign to define, explain and find support for disorders whose origins and treatments are unknown. The Undiagnosed Disease Network is composed of six medical centers around the country focused on the most difficult-to-solve medical cases. They will conduct clinical evaluation and scientific investigation in cases….
Continue ReadingCalifornians to Vote on Revising Caps on Medical Malpractice Judgments
It has been 39 years since California passed the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), and, finally, its chilling effect on the rightful redress for the victims of medical error is being exposed to prospective voters as the unjust law that it is. Voters will decide in November whether to adjust the caps on medical….
Continue ReadingPelvic Exam Debate Continues to Rage
Early this summer, the American College of Physicians (ACP) said that for many women, there is no need for a routine, annual pelvic examination. Like many such sweeping conclusions about a longstanding clinical practice, it caused confusion among patients and disagreement in some medical corners. An article called “You don’t need that annual pelvic exam…..
Continue ReadingThe Wrong Thing to Say About Robin Williams’ Suicide
Can words kill? Maybe not literally, but what happened on NPR in the aftermath of Robin Williams’ suicide is a fresh reminder that certain choices of words, well meaning but still very wrong, can perpetuate a myth about suicide that can be deadly for vulnerable listeners. One NPR commentator referred to Williams’ role as the….
Continue ReadingSuggested Reading — Dishing More Dirt About the Medicare Drug Program
An investigative story by ProPublica and the New York Times is a troubling narrative about how Medicare spends shocking amounts of money on drugs to treat rare conditions that have not been shown to be superior than older, less expensive options. To add insult to injury, several of the doctors who most often prescribe these….
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