It isn’t easy ever for moms and dads to have “The Talk” with teen-agers. But the reluctance of physicians to deal with youthful sexuality may be affecting women’s long-term health, new research suggests. A study by faculty at the medical schools at Harvard and Vanderbilt finds that primary care physicians are reluctant to recommend that young patients….
Continue ReadingArchives for October 2015
Boo! Those sugary Halloween treats can be scary for kids’ health
Please be careful this weekend when the munchkins, angels, devils, Donald Trumps, and other costumed Halloween celebrants take to the streets. And when hitting the markets to figure what treats should be earned by the tricksters, keep in mind this, too, please: Do you want to dole out a substance that a growing body of….
Continue ReadingFood for thought: Why consumers need to be skeptical about diet research
Was somebody handing out free breakfasts worldwide, tied up in ribbons with an expenses-paid trip to Paris included? That might justify why so many news reports this week gave such sizzle to a study by experts convened by the World Health Organization. Alas, no such giveaway was under way, and the sober scientists were explaining something….
Continue ReadingMore Fraud Uncovered in Heart Implants
Thankfully, most doctors are honest, but a pattern of greed and dishonesty has popped up with disturbing frequency around the country: heart specialists putting permanent devices into healthy hearts with no medical justification. It’s happened in California, Maryland, New Mexico and now in a Chicago suburb, Munster, Indiana. This town of 23,000, 30 miles southeast….
Continue ReadingDoctor, Do Less?
Now that the American Cancer Society has joined a growing chorus of experts and offered new screening guidelines for women with fewer mammograms and fewer breast physical exams, everything changes — just like that, right? Not that easy. As the New York Times points out, it will take time for patients to see these breast practice recommendations followed. “Once….
Continue ReadingA Checkup for Your Heart Valve Could Be a Good Idea
Some folks chatter as easily about their heart valves — and whether they’re made with cow, pig, or human tissue — as about milestones in their grandchildren’s lives. But the many people with these medical implants may want to check with their heart doctors to see if the device’s valves are opening and closing properly, and whether they may….
Continue ReadingHospital Satisfaction Is Tied to Readiness for Discharge
Too often a hospital is more like a battleground than a place to heal. Insurance companies want to hold the line on expenses, hospitals want to maximize use of their services and providers of care want their piece of the action. An interesting new study showed that one factor in how happy patients were with….
Continue ReadingOxyContin Approval for Kids Draws Mixed Response
In August, the FDA approved the use of OxyContin, a powerful narcotic, for children with certain disorders. The decision remains controversial. As described in the New York Times, opposition to the painkiller for kids has come from people concerned about the rampant abuse of opioids in the U.S., their potential for addiction and the consequent….
Continue ReadingChecklist for Avoiding Diagnostic Errors
The “say what?” study last month describing the disturbing frequency of errors in medical diagnoses has prompted much navel-gazing in many quarters. One story, in KaiserHealthNews.org (KHN), quoted Leslie Michelson, who heads Private Health Management, a company that charges substantial fees for helping patients figure out what’s wrong with them, as saying he wasn’t surprised…..
Continue ReadingFDA Says Cancer Detection Kit Is More Harmful than Helpful
The DIY movement is all the rage these days, but when it comes to one company’s cancer detection kit, you’re better off not doing it yourself. As reported last month by Bloomberg News, the FDA deemed Pathway Genomics Corp.’s cancer detection kit marketed to healthy people to be high-risk. It said the kit could harm….
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