From the monthly archives:

March 2006

March 30, 2006

An old-timer bemoans the demise of the physical exam, or hyposkillia:
We need teachers who truly comprehend the value of a good medical history, the rewards of a pertinent physical examination, the power of knowing how to think, and the importance of accountability; teachers who first use the stethoscope, not an echocardiogram, to detect valvular heart [...]

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March 30, 2006

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition goes disease-hunting for its families:
Based on the ABC e-mail, it appears that victims of hate crimes and violent home invasions and families coping with the loss of a child killed by a drunk driver make for good television. And the show would also absolutely love to feature those battling skin cancer, [...]

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March 30, 2006

Here’s a case where OB’s were sued for using an FDA category C medication (propranolol) in a pre-natal death. The problem is, many safe medications don’t have, and never will have, studies demonstrating pregnancy safety - thus leaving them category C. This lawsuit will further limit the medication choices for pregnant women.

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March 30, 2006

No one’s happy with their pay raises in the UK. Hey, just be thankful you’re even getting a raise. It could be much worse.

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March 30, 2006

Would you trust your physician more if you knew how they were paid?

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March 30, 2006

A psychiatrist reveals some things that you may not have known about Mozart.

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March 30, 2006

A patient constantly wonders if she obtained Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease from surgical equipment. The solution to her daily worry? A lawsuit:
“There are no cases in the medical literature of CJD having been transmitted following the routine measures of surgical instrument sterilization that we employed,” said Sauder said.
If any of the patients are infected, it could take [...]

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March 30, 2006

“Anyone who has not taken money from Merck.” That is how Mark Lanier defines a “mainstream” cardiologist.

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March 30, 2006

Nice try - a felon turns himself in hoping to get medical help. But his plan may go awry:
However, his change of heart may be in vain, as law enforcement sources said the case is so old, there may not be any witnesses or evidence left to bring him to trial, meaning it could [...]

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March 30, 2006

The Canadian town of Port Alice does not have a doctor, leading to closure of their ER.

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March 30, 2006

Gullible - doctors can be so easily manipulated:
Emily, 22, got a prescription for Ritalin during her last year of college. She giggles as she recounts exaggerating her symptoms during 15-minute meetings with a “bottom-of-the-barrel” doctor her school provided. (The drugs can only be prescribed by seeing a doctor in person.)
The doctor become suspicious when she [...]

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March 30, 2006

Can it be that the ivory tower realizes that the medicine they practice differs from the real world?
Randomized controlled trials are used to support clinical practice guidelines, but their results may have limited relevance to physicians in the trenches.
(via Medrants)

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March 30, 2006

Newt Gingrich thinks the Medicare drug plan is going really well.

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March 30, 2006

Is Reebok trying to poison the children?
Health Canada is warning parents to get rid of a charm bracelet given out free by Reebok with the purchase of children’s shoes because it contains very high lead levels.
The bracelet has been linked to the lead-poisoning death of a four-year-old boy in Minnesota, who swallowed its heart-shaped charm. [...]

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March 30, 2006

Join the club - insurance companies are destroying the mental health profession:
Mr. Berman said that when he went into private practice in 1990, participating in the provider networks of various health insurance companies, his maximum allowable hourly billing rate was $95, with about half of that paid by the insurance company and the rest by [...]

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