Among other things, the Affordable Care Act, and its mandatory insurance coverage provision, is supposed to slow the rising cost of health care. A story last month in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) called “The Thousand-Dollar Pap Smear” is pretty clear evidence why everyone needs to pay attention to fees for services rendered…..
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Fine-Tuning Our Knowledge About Hormone Replacement Therapy
Some menopausal women experience uncomfortable symptoms, such as hot flashes and mood swings, and some are at risk of bone fractures because producing less estrogen impairs the body’s ability to rebuild bone. For a long time, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to address these concerns has been the subject of scientific study and commentary. We blogged….
Continue ReadingJudgment in Vaginal Mesh Trial Favors Plaintiff
Last month, we wrote about Donna Cisson, who had sued CR Bard Inc., which had sold vaginal mesh that the company itself had said was not suitable for human implantation. The mesh is surgically implanted to resolve urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, a condition in which the organs have dropped out of their normal….
Continue ReadingSkewed Data Misleads About the Success Rate of Fertility Treatments
Few health issues are as frustrating as the inability to conceive a baby, especially when the prospective parents are otherwise medically sound. Couples keen to be parents and who need help sometimes turn to fertility centers. A new study casts a shadow over what some clinics claim are their success rates. As reported by Reuters,….
Continue ReadingIUD Poses Problems for Thousands of Women
As promoted by Bayer, its manufacturer, the Mirena IUD is a highly effective birth control device that can remain in the uterus for as long as five years. The product website also warns that it’s not indicated for women with a pelvic infection, who get infections easily or those who have certain cancers. What the….
Continue ReadingNew Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines
For a long time, women were advised to get annual pap smears, especially if they had ever been diagnosed with HPV (human papillomavirus), a common sexually transmitted disease. Now, says the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, longer intervals are recommended-every five years for women 30 to 64, and those screenings should include both….
Continue ReadingSurgeons Advise Against Robotic Surgery for Most Hysterectomies
Sometimes, reality is lost in the love for medical device technology. Just because something’s new doesn’t mean it’s better. A recent statement by the president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises caution when it comes to robotic surgery for hysterectomies. Dr. James T. Breeden states, “Robotic surgery is not the only or….
Continue ReadingLonger Lives for Ovarian Cancer Patients: The Only Secret Is Experience
Two treatments are proven to lengthen the lives of women with ovarian cancer, but only 1 in 3 patients gets them, according to a new study. It’s no mystery why. The old rule for better health care — experience, experience, experience — is proven out again. Ovarian cancer is a bone-scary diagnosis because of its….
Continue ReadingTask Force Questions Value of Ovarian Screening Test
In what’s becoming a pattern of late, another cancer screening test has been deemed overused and unnecessary by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The independent group of experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine has determined that tests for screening healthy women for ovarian cancer are more harmful than beneficial, and should not be….
Continue ReadingSix Ways to Rate Your Ob/Gyn
Like reviews of restaurants and plumbers, these days doctors can be rated six Internet ways from Sunday. Some sites are fair, useful and worth your time; some provide more opportunities to vent than to advise. We looked at the doc-rating phenomenon in “The Ups and Downs of Patient Ratings of Doctors.” When it comes to….
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