From the monthly archives:

July 2005

July 31, 2005

My analysis of George W. Bush’s physical is up at Straightfromthedoc

July 31, 2005

Researchers found, on average, female doctors would spend an extra one minute and 33 seconds with their patients than male doctors

Read the full article →

July 31, 2005

The NY Times gives an update on how concierge medicine is going
“Even patients who decide on a concierge practice may find themselves back in managed care, as those of Dr. Enrico J. Versace, in West Yarmouth, Mass., discovered recently. Dr. Versace said he spent $100,000 on consultant fees and marketing to establish a practice charging [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

July 31, 2005

Ads and billboards are being more commonplace for those looking for organ donations
“As the number of organ donors doubled to 14,154 between 1992 and 2004, the number of patients on the waiting list tripled to more than 89,110, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Last year, about one in 12 of them died [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

July 30, 2005

Lies, damn lies, and statistics: PointofLaw.com looks at the Vioxx case

1 comment Read the full article →

July 30, 2005

Many people discount the recent NEJM study about EchinaceaI think this just shows the amount of distrust that people have for scientific studies. Even when a respected journal like NEJM reports this, it doesn’t really matter. And who can blame them? Patients have been back and forth about Vioxx and hormone replacement therapy with [...]

Read the full article →

July 30, 2005

Are robots, e-mail, and telemedicine further depersonalizing medicine?
“‘This is a triumph of the model of medicine that has abandoned the idea of personal interaction and providing comfort in favor of a model of the patient-physician interaction as essentially an exchange of information,’ said David Magnus, a Stanford University bioethicist. ‘You can see a face, but [...]

Read the full article →

July 29, 2005

Liability Update: A new blog dedicated to malpractice reform
“Featuring news, commentary and legislative action about the medical liability crisis, which impacts both physicians and patients by limiting access to quality medical care.” (via PointofLaw.com)

2 comments Read the full article →

July 29, 2005

What do you know, Dr. Frist shows he can think for himself
After his embarrassing, lemming-like Schiavo debacle, he breaks from Bush in stem-cell research.

2 comments Read the full article →

July 29, 2005

An Illinois neurosurgeon who advocates for caps gets hit with a $2M malpractice verdict
“Dr. Thomas Hurley, president-elect of the Illinois State Neurosurgical Society, told the Chicago Sun-Times his case illustrates the problem of allowing big awards that raise doctors’ insurance rates.
He said his annual malpractice insurance premium would probably increase from the current $245,000 to [...]

22 comments Read the full article →

July 29, 2005

The House passes malpractice caps for the third straight year“The bill, approved by a vote of 230-194, would cap awards for pain and suffering at $250,000. There would be no limit on economic damages, which provide reimbursement for such expenses as medical bills and lost wages. Finally, the bill would in many cases cap punitive [...]

3 comments Read the full article →

July 29, 2005

The life of a “standardized” patient
“Colvin is a professional patient, trained to role-play specific medical conditions to train nursing students, emergency medical personnel, police, medical students and residents at the Center for Studies of Clinical Performance at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.
Officially, Colvin is known as a ’standardized patient.’”
The toughest standardized patients to [...]

Read the full article →

July 29, 2005

A 100-year-old driver with an 82-year unblemished record is angry that his doctor has advised him to give up driving
“Despite suffering a heart attack days before his 100th birthday, Tom
Soulby, a former engineer, says he is still fit to drive his
24-year-old Austin Metro, which has only 24,387 miles on the clock.”

Read the full article →

July 29, 2005

They found boxes of fake Lipitor in the UK
“After discovering 73 fake packets, the MHRA decided to recall all that remains of a 120,000-packet batch, each containing 28 x 20mg Lipitor pills, marked 004405K1 and imported into the country in February. The alarm was raised last week after customs officers confirmed that they had intercepted [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

July 29, 2005

Most undergraduate doctors in the UK receive only 5 minutes education on sleep medicine
I suspect the same is true in the US. No wonder so many physicians take the easy way out and just prescribe a sedative medication for insomnia.

Read the full article →

July 28, 2005

Over-the-top hospital marketing

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries