A byproduct of the anti-vaccination movement is chickenpox parties.
"My 7-year-old daughter has been to six of these parties. Unfortunately, we have not caught the pox yet, but I'm keeping my eye out for more parties," says a concerned parent.
Some believe that ...
February 2009
All Stories
Will the government delay comprehensive health reform?
With the economy worsening, health reform appears to be taking a back seat.
Or is it?
Bob Doherty sounds the alarm, citing the contentious opposition to reauthorizing SCHIP, which once enjoyed bipartisan support.
Several outlets are also reporting that prominent politicians, including Pete Stark and Max Baucus, have privately admitted that comprehensive health reform will be pushed back until 2010.
MedPage Today somewhat concurs ...
Max Baucus on single payer: "I’m not going to waste my time"
I find it interesting that single payer supporters are so inflexible in their vision of what health reform should be like.
Progressive blogger Ezra Klein says that the opponents of single payer supporters actually are moderate Democrats, rather than the right. "Their enemies are on the left," writes Mr. Klein. "Their targets tend not to be those blocking reform, but those promoting the wrong type of reform."
Why Americans fear radical health care reform
Despite faring poorly in metrics that compares the American health care system with other countries, the public may fear the unknown that radical change brings.
Prominent economist Uwe Reinhardt (via The Health Care Blog) provides some insight in a recent interview.
There is little question that the United States provides the best specialist-based care in the world. As Mr. Reinhardt says, "people imagine having ...
Should patients be treated as customers, and if so, are they always right?
More patients are being referred to as consumers, and some don't agree with the connotation.
"That puts a bigger emphasis on how much profit the patient can make a company, which can lead to less-than-optimal decisions on behalf of the patient later on," says diabetes blogger Manny Hernandez.
However, patients are now encouraged to advocate on their own behalf, and entities like high deductible health plans and health ...
Will integrated systems become a reality in American health care?
Many of the country's large-scale health systems, like Kaiser Permanente, the Mayo Clinic or the VA, operate at a greater cost-efficiency when compared to a traditional practice.
Currently, however, they are an exception to the norm. Most doctors are affiliated with small-group practices, with little interaction between each other. That is one reason why care is so fragmented, with only a minority of doctors using electronic medical ...
Should Darvon be withdrawn? The implications of banning propoxyphene
The FDA advisory committee voted to ban Darvon, generically known as propoxyphene, in the United States.
MedPage Today reports on the 14-12 vote, which was prompted by numerous fatal overdoses, and non-fatal complications, as well as questioning its efficacy.
Anti-pharmaceutical crusader Sidney Wolfe made his presence felt, as he presented data claiming that in 2007, according to data gathered from emergency departments, "503 deaths were 'related' ...
Is there really a physician shortage?
Or is it a declining number of doctors refusing the accept certain insurances, or subject themselves to the abuses of the health system?
Emergency physician WhiteCoat cites a number of stories where patients are not receiving timely access to care.
In one, which I alluded to last week, parents unable to find pediatricians in California willing to accept Medi-Cal. As he wryly observes, "the fact [is] ...
Do doctors who use social media prescribe more medications?
Doctors are increasingly using social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, and Sermo.
A recent study showed that 60 percent of doctors use, or are about to use, various Web 2.0 applications. That's no surprise.
The unexpected finding was that physicians who reported they used social media prescribed 24 more medications each week when compared to their peers who reported that they did not.
So that begs ...
Tom Daschle withdraws, and how that will impact health care reform
There's no shortage of informed opinions on the Tom Daschle debacle, and how this will affect the chances of successful health care reform.
I don't pretend to be a political pundit, so instead, here is a collection of selected insights from news sites and health policy blogs that I regularly read.
First off, the NY Times says it will likely halt the momentum for health reform, and ...
Is depression more prevalent in medical students?
It appears so.
Chris Rangel points to a study showing that 21.2 percent of medical students (that's more than 1 in 5), suffer from depression, compared to 10 percent in the general population.
Depression seems to hit its peak during the second year of medical school, and then gradually improves. In general, the rates of depression for students were generally higher than in residency.
Indeed, ...
Remove a kidney through the vagina? Is natural orifice surgery the future?
For the first time, a living donor had her kidney removed through her vagina.
She was left with three small scars, with one hidden in her navel. There's hope that the procedure, which reduces recovery time and is generally more tolerable than the traditional laparoscopic method, can encourage more people to donate.
Gynecologist Amy Tuteur takes a closer look at the procedure, and likens it ...
A shot of adrenaline, for asthma?
Cheap, generic albuterol inhalers for asthma are being phased out in favor of more expensive, more environmentally friendly, inhalers.
Patients, however, are bearing the brunt of the cost, with what used to cost less than $10 now costing several times more.
This country doctor relates a story of one his patients who injected himself with epinephrine for his asthma attacks. "When his asthma kicked ...
Do you know the name of your hospital doctor?
And if you don't, does it really matter?
Bob Wachter discusses a recent study concluding that very few could actually name their hospitalist one month after an admission.
Ideally, "patients need to have a personal connection to their physicians, particularly at times of great need and uncertainty," writes Dr. Wachter.
I agree, but the health system has incentives geared towards giving more disjointed, fractionated care. ...
Can medical school expansion revitalize physician training?
We are in the midst of a golden age of medical education, with schools expanding at an unprecedented level.
MedPage Today reports from a recent summit of medical educators, where they concluded that, with nine medical schools set to open and the majority of the remaining 126 schools planning to expand class size, this is an "unparalleled opportunity" to reform physician training.
That time can't come soon ...
Does masturbation really cause prostate cancer?
A small study garnered significant media attention last week, with headlines blaring an association between masturbation and prostate cancer.
Before anyone gets really worried, obstetrician-gynecologist Amy Tuteur takes a closer look at the data, and is not impressed.
The retrospective, case-control study actually didn't reveal any significant initial findings, so the authors kept manipulating the variables until they saw a possible association.
Dr. Tuteur believes that ...
How was Nadya Suleman impregnated with octuplets? Is IVF, the mother, or her doctors to blame?
Many have been asking me to comment on the recent octuplet case in the news.
I have to admit, this is out of my field, so I'll point to a few other physicians who have been talking about the case.
When it was first reported, it was speculated that Ms. Suleman used fertility medications indiscriminately, and then had intercourse. Gynecologist Amy Tuteur suspected illicit use of ...
Doctors asking patients to pay more of their bill up front
As health care costs rise, more patients are switching to high-deductible insurance plans.
When that deductible hasn't been met, doctors are becoming more aggressive in asking for their payment up front.
This move entirely makes sense, since like other businesses, physician practices are also wading through the difficult economic times.
According to the LA Times, 13 percent of a practice's revenue comes from patients, and by becoming ...
Family murder-suicides, or, what drives a man to kill his own wife and children?
The economy is leading to a disturbing rise in family murder-suicide cases, with two high-profile cases in January.
And that's just the beginning, according to sociologists.
"The economic situation also portends a significant increase in other forms of family violence, including spousal and child abuse, child neglect and other forms of dysfunctional behavior like substance abuse," says sociology professor Sampson Blair at the University of Buffalo.
A ...
Kevin Pho, MD
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Why Priscilla Chan may become the country’s most influential doctor
Who has the potential to be the most influential physician of our generation? It's Priscilla Chan, who not only recently graduated from...
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Confused about prostate cancer screening? Make a shared decision
In a widely anticipated move, the USPSTF officially recommended against prostate cancer screening in healthy men. Case closed, right? Hardly. The prostate...
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When it comes to doctors and social media, hospitals fail miserably
When it comes to medicine and social media, much of the attention is negative. Doctors losing their hospital privileges because of Facebook....
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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...
Physician
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Why test recalls should not be considered cheating
I was appalled recently by the coverage of radiology “test recalls” by CNN, amplified by Dr. Gary Becker of the American Board...
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Why physicians are susceptible to hardball tactics
I was invited to a medical staff leadership conference sponsored by our hospital. A company specializing in training physician leaders ran the...
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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...
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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What should America’s health care vision be?
America has this paradox of excellent biomedical science, innovative drug manufacturers and entrepreneurial device developers along with outstanding providers but at the...
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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...
Tech
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When patient care becomes secondary to filling out the medical record
The policeman was two cars in front of me. I meandered down the road cautiously adjusting my speed a few ticks above...
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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...
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...
