A couple of years ago, Steven Brill published a series of articles in Time magazine called “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us.” Brill’s work on the subject has blossomed into his new book, “America’s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System.” We described the Time….
Continue ReadingArchives for January 2015
When Advanced Care Is a Step Back
America is a country of newer! Better! Now! More! But in medical care, as readers of this blog know, more is not always better, and the point was driven home recently in a New York Times commentary. “Doing More for Patients Often Does No Good,” by Dr. Aaron E. Carroll, a professor of pediatrics at….
Continue ReadingMore Evidence Not to Take Daily Aspirin If You’re Not at Risk for Heart Trouble or Stroke
About once a year, it seems, we caution readers about taking aspirin regularly to guard against heart problems, and now there’s more solid science to reinforce that advice. A study published this month in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that a significant number of cardiology patients are receiving aspirin primarily to….
Continue ReadingHow to Get the Right Amount of Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for maintaining bone health and strength. It also contributes to nerve, muscle and immune function, and helps to moderate inflammation. But ensuring that you get enough vitamin D is complicated by much public misinformation about it. There has been a lot of discussion lately about testing (well … overtesting)….
Continue ReadingTraining IVs Used by Mistake Proved Fatal
A few weeks ago, the FDA learned that intravenous fluids intended to be used for training medical personnel in fact were given to patients as treatment. Last week, the agency announced that many people had gotten sick as a result, and one person died. This preventable situation occurred only because commercial, medical and government interests….
Continue ReadingCompanies Pay Doctors a Lot to Promote Redundant Unproven Drugs
To paraphrase Calvin Coolidge, “The business of America is business.” Even, we would add, when it should be about medical care. According to a recent news report, “[T]he drugs most aggressively promoted to doctors typically aren’t cures or even big medical breakthroughs. … they are newer drugs that manufacturers hope will gain a foothold, sometimes….
Continue ReadingPap or HPV Test — or Both?
The medical community is divided about whether a Pap smear or an HPV test is best to detect cervical cancer. The debate was stoked earlier this month when a committee of gynecologic oncology experts categorically voted for only the HPV test. As reported by NPR, representatives of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology….
Continue ReadingThe Health Connection Between Your Teeth and Your Heart
As the old song goes, the toe bone’s connected to the foot bone, the foot bone’s connected to the heel bone… But did you know that the heart is connected to the gums and jawbone? As the Harvard Health Letter recently explained, new research strengthens the association between dental and cardiovascular health. The American Journal….
Continue ReadingProposed Rules Give Drug Companies Less Cover to Hide Harms During Trials
Clinical trials are the scientifically rigorous process by which drugs and medical devices are tested for how well they work and the risks they pose before the products are allowed to be marketed. Recently, the data from a lot of clinical trials sponsored by industry (that is, companies with a stake in the outcome) have….
Continue ReadingCertain Knee Surgery Might Increases Chances of Arthritis
One of the most common kinds of knee surgery might not be such a good idea, new research suggests. Knee cartilage called the meniscus (there are two in each knee) are easily torn when the knee is twisted or rotated forcefully, especially during weight-bearing activity such as basketball or soccer. Surgically repairing the tears in….
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