Is defensive medicine reaching the NBA?
Cardiologist Dr. Barry Maron of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation told ESPN.com that he will recommend to team doctors that every team replace the standard electrocardiograms (EKGs), which can detect an irregular heartbeat, with echocardiograms, an ultrasound that allows a doctor to study the size of the heart and the strength of the heart muscle.Echocardiograms, which are not invasive and are not in any way perceived as harmful, cost at least three times as much as EKGs.
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{ 8 comments }
Replace EKG’s with echocardiograms. REPLACE?
I am not a cardiologist but, leaving aside the question of cost, manpower, time, etc etc these are not alternative investigations.
Some mistake here, surely.
Kevin, in your mind does any upgrade or change in the protocol of care now constitute the practice of “defensive medicine”?
CJD
CJD,
Any excessive testing without the benefit of consensus evidence (i.e. USPSTF) constitutes defensive medicine.
More comprehensive testing does not necessarily equal better medicine.
Thanks,
Kevin
Considering the amount of money an NBA team has invested in its players, isn’t there a higher standard for excessiveness when they perform tests on them?
CJD
There is protecting your investment, then there is excessiveness in the name of defensive medicine. The Chicago Bulls were unwilling to let Tyson Chandler play due to a possible pre-existing heart condition, then it appears that they traded him to the knicks because they were not willing to let him on the court due to liability concerns related to his heart condition. This emanates from the recent slew of lawsuits against professional sports teams when a player dies, ie Korey Stringer in football.
Seems with 40 -50 million in real estate per team, a small price to pay.
But really how much are you going to detect with echo’s in these guys ….
maybe the odd marfanoid heart?
By getting echos on the present players they are most equivically NOT protecting their investment because if they find an abnormality they have to bench the player, immediately destroying his value. They are avoiding liability if the player drops over dead (loss of value + lawsuit). Now if they demanded echos pre-signing you might have a point.
If I was hiring/buying these Marfanoid cocaine abusers for millions of dollars, i’d demand stress testing, hell, intravascular ultrasound and 1 week Holter monitoring (for heart arrythmias, or irregular beats)before signing any checks!
Don’t like it, don’t play!
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