A Canadian advisory panel recommends Vioxx to be returned to the market
They also want ibuprofen to be moved behind the counter so pharmacists can discuss with customers the risk of cardiovascular side effects.
July 2005
All Stories
My bad: How apologies can curb malpractice suits
"Studies show that it comes down to the simple human exchange of apology and forgiveness. When people are harmed, they often value a sincere apology more than money . . .
. . . Opposition comes, as you might guess, from trial lawyers. Their money-grubbing hearts are bared on their Web sites. One boasts of winning $80,000 for a passenger ...
How about a cap on malpractice insurance premiums?
"Hey docs, I got an idea for ya. Instead of capping compensation for victims (or their advocates), if you're so concerned about high insurance premiums... why not just cap insurance premiums?
High jury verdicts may or may not be causing high malpractice insurance premiums (not!), but why try and attack a perceived cause? Why not just directly deal with the problem?"
A doctor is sued for overprescribing narcotics during an inpatient procedure
"Vinyard states in the suit her son was initially taken to W.W. Hastings Hospital on June 19, 2003. Dr. Dexter Scott accepted Vinyard for transfer to Tahlequah City Hospital for surgery to repair the fractures 3-1/2 hours after Kevin's arrived at Hastings.
The suit states Kevin's tibia and fibula, two bones in the lower leg that go from ...
Evidence be damned: Many immigrants are using homegrown remedies
"Faced with skyrocketing health care costs, lack of insurance and language barriers, many immigrants to American believe they are better off with homegrown remedies from their native cultures than conventional treatments . . .
. . .Dr. Marie-Denise Gervais, who practices at a free clinic in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood, has seen poor patients jeopardize themselves by relying on alternative ...
Four in 10 doctors said they were not trained in medical school how to prescribe controlled substances
The lack of education leads to two types of prescribing habits: doctors who will freely prescribe controlled substances, sometimes inappropriately, and those who don't prescribe it at all.
The medical response to the London bus bombing
A view from London hospitals
Professor Jim Ryan, a senior A&E consultant who is leading the major incident team, said: "They came in with blast injuries. They have fragmentation, skin, inhalation and limb injuries. The characteristic injury of a terrorist incident is multiple injuries to multiple body systems, and that is what we have seen."
"It wasn't about the money, which doesn't keep the lawyer from complaining that the award was too low."
Overlawyered talks about the Dick Schapp malpractice case, with Ted Frank adding further insight.
Why can't people hospitals be more like those for animals?
"Much of the problem with human healthcare, the analysts say, boils down to money, fear of lawsuits, the short length of hospital stays, the sheer size and complexity of modern hospitals, and, of course, priorities."
Blogging medical cases and HIPAA
Clinical Cases and Images lays out the rules for those in doubt.
Do doctors belong in politics?
"Are you fed up with physician-pols who believe that their scientific credentials allow them to make authoritative pronouncements without letting facts get in the way of political sentiments?
Somewhere between medical school and arrival at the top of the political heap, both Drs. Frist and Dean seem to have forgotten such apparently trivial matters as the scientific method - testing hypotheses, indicating limitations and ...
The USPSTF recommends screening all pregnant women and those at risk for HIV
"People considered at risk for HIV report one or more individual risk factors or live or receive health care in an area with a high prevalence of the disease. Individual risk factors include:
* Men who have had sex with men after 1975
* Men and women having unprotected sex with multiple partners
* Past ...
The PSA screening test for prostate cancer is flawed
"They found the standard prostate-specific antigen, or PSA test, produces many false positives and false negatives -— meaning some men who think they do not have cancer actually do, while others may undergo uncomfortable biopsies only to learn there is no tumor after all."
The evidence says this is a suboptimal test. Am I still going to do it? ...
Getting it: The USA Today supports health courts
"Opponents say the right to trial by jury is too important to give up. But special courts already handle tax, bankruptcy, maritime and family disputes without juries.
The national malpractice roulette is inefficient and unjust. Health courts could show the way for quicker and fairer compensation to the deserving, and they might reduce the incentive for doctors to engage in ...
A future where medical schools are answerable to shareholders?
It could happen: "In the first scenario, academic medicine flourished in the private sector and medical research, training and service became commercial business activities. But, although overall efficiency and effectiveness improved, equity and innovation suffered."
A recent study says vitamin E does not prevent heart disease and stroke
It has been written here before that vitamin E is useless.
The American Academy of Pediatrics does not support the abstinence-only approach to sex education
"Even though there is great enthusiasm in some circles for abstinence-only interventions, the evidence does not support abstinence-only interventions as the best way to keep young people from unintended pregnancy."
Forget malpractice, docs in the UK are being charged with involuntary manslaughter for medical mistakes
"Medics can be charged with involuntary manslaughter if they make a mistake because of reckless behaviour.
Doctors argue the law is too open to interpretation and needs reforming. Prosecutions used to be rare, but have risen sharply since 1990."
A study suggests that women feel more pain than men
"More research needs to be done. It's hugely important because most of the drugs we use in pain have been tested on men. There is some evidence that women respond better to different pain killers than men."
Can gender-based pain medications be far off?
Kevin Pho, MD
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Warren Buffett’s prostate cancer choices aren’t right for every man
A version of this column was published on April 24, 2012 in USA Today. There has been a recent uptick of elderly men...
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Many medical decisions require shared decision making
The following column was published on April 1, 2012 in USA Today. I recently saw a middle-age man in my primary care clinic...
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Patients deserve a medical malpractice early offer
The following column was published on March 25, 2012 in the Nashua Telegraph. Medical malpractice historically has been a contentious issue. Doctors...
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Discussing whether tests actually help patients or cause more harm
The following column was published on April 11, 2012 in CNN. When you visit the doctor, chances are you are given a...
Physician
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How we deliver bad news is critical to how families deal with grief
As a cardiac electrophysiologist, I have had to discuss bad news with patients and families more times than I would like during...
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His father’s suffering had already been too great
He looked dead. The paramedics brought him down the hall toward one of my critical care beds, and for a moment I...
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Diversity provides color to the tapestry of human experience
I was recently appointed the Assistant Director of the Yale Cancer Center with the portfolio of Diversity/Disparities. While I’m not sure I’m...
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Necessary is a word best defined when looking back in time
How do you define a “good” doc? I was reading the patient responses to an article here on KevinMD.com and was saddened...
Patient
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How death can be a beautiful experience
I was honored to be part of a beautiful experience in late January of 2011. It was the death of my mother-in-law...
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What meaningful encouragement can be given to someone who is dying?
Theirs is a lonely journey; to be moving towards the separation and end of all things known and loved. Being with a...
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Health care journalists have tendencies similar to those of doctors
As a patient who was asked to speak at the Association of Health Care Journalists 2012 conference, I felt a bit covert....
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Adaptation can be painful, but it can also be a gift
Nothing will force you to live life on your own terms faster than almost losing it. In 2008, I was on fire....
Policy
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Hospitals around the world aim to remain relevant to patients
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..." So begins a story called A Tale of Two...
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Repairing the tear in health care’s safety net with social media
The nation’s “safety net” hospitals are designed to ensure that uninsured, lower income and indigent populations receive adequate medical care – a...
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Look to technology to reduce health costs
Technology to lower costs rather than accelerate them. Smart phones to increase physician and other providers’ productivity. Fewer primary care physicians but...
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How to save a trillion dollars in health care
It is both conventional wisdom and factual truth that, unimpeded, American healthcare cost inflation will bankrupt the United States economically, educationally, socially,...
Tech
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Doctors, use Google to get more patients in less than 7 minutes
Every month, hundreds of thousands of people look for a doctor on Google. As an amazing practitioner, your site deserves to be...
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The user interface for EHRs should be uniform
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the physician’s office were the tall cabinets filled with manila folders, tabbed with...
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EMR liability needs to go further than just the physician
This example of a disaster waiting to happen, in the form of an error-promoting CPOE, is a poster example of why the...
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AMA: Changes are needed in the stage 2 meaningful use EHR proposal
A guest column by the American Medical Association, exclusive to KevinMD.com. Continuing our efforts to move medicine forward while prioritizing patient care and minimizing...
Social Media
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We need to see the potential harm of social media
Prior to 1794, farms across the world could only pick cotton as fast as humanly possible. In the late 18th century, Eli Whitney...
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Why social media may not be worth it for doctors
Social media in healthcare is all the rage these days. You can’t visit even one physician-oriented website without someone breathlessly advising you...
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Transparency defines social media success for doctors
Want to understand social media? Physicians wanting to learn about social media must learn transparency. We must learn transparency on a personal...
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How Twitter was used in a potential mass casualty scenario
It was my first ER shift in charge of the resuscitation area. Needless to say, my adrenaline and nerves were firing like...
