Comments on: Beware who’s behind the guidelines

By: asnet

asnet — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:48:00 +0000

Any possible crimes of urologists and cardiologists are more than fairly balanced by the sins of groups like the "preventive services" task force, an arm of the US Department of Health & Human Services. A list of its members can be found buried deep within the website of the Agency for Health Research & Quality (AHRQ): http://info.ahrq.gov/

Its members are dominated by so-called "primary care" MDs and shills for the HMO sector. They do not include a single cardiologist, oncologist, pulmonary medicine specialist or endocrinologist competent to compile guidelines on heart disease, cancer, COPD, diabetes and all the other common causes of chronic illness and death in the US.

Watch out for phony guidelines, wherever they come from, including the federal government in the Bush Administration.

By: ERMurse

ERMurse — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:50:00 +0000

My only question is how are you going to get those ADHD kids to sit still so you can get a good EKG tracing for the Peds Cardiologist to read. Perhaps give them a sedative first but before that there is probably some diagnostic test in a guideline somewhere to make sure they are healthy enough to receive the sedative.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:13:00 +0000

Another example would be Eli Lilly’s hand in the whole “surviving sepsis” campaign. A proxy for their worthless expensive Xigris drug.

Or Genentech’s hand in the AHA as proxy to promote tpa for stroke.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:55:00 +0000

The AHA will next be recommendeing echo stress tests and angiograms on all ADHD kids.

Can’t be too careful you know. Its for the children.

By: Supremacy Claus

Supremacy Claus — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:18:00 +0000

I strongly urge all doctors sued for malpractice to always sue the relevant guideline makers, the authors as individuals, and their academic employers for failure to supervise them and for negligent hiring.

1) The idea of cookbook medicine is wrongful on its face.

2) Guidelines reflect the medicine of 7 years ago, without providing adequate warning of such obsolescence.

3) Guideline makers have a duty to do no harm. They know they will be used as spears 90% of the time and as shield for defendant 10% of the time.

Deter these enemies of clinical care.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:16:00 +0000

It’s the same way with fire safety guidelines (firefighters just trying to protect their turf and make more money) or companies that provide instructions with their products (firms like Apple or Betty Crocker have a vested interest in making sure you know how to use your iPod or make a cake). You can’t trust anyone these days!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:21:00 +0000

So, why are so many physicians in lock step on proper cholesterol levels when the latest panel had serious conflicts of interest (i.e. 8 out of 9 had financial ties to the drug companies)?