"The thought of Medicare wasting vital resources on performance-enhancing drugs is unconscionable, especially at a time when the focus should be on providing for truly needy seniors."
Not everyone is happy with the news that Medicare is now covering Viagra.
In Gallup's annual survey on the honesty and ethics of various professionals, lawyers ranked near the bottom, along with advertisers and car salesmen.
Tort reform is working in West Virginia
"According to figures from the West Virginia Board of Medicine, the number of medical malpractice lawsuits and settlements dropped from 411 in 2001 to just 177 last year.
In 2001, lawsuit verdicts and settlements totaled $62 million. Last year, that figure had dropped to just over $25 million."
Texas-based hotel chain La Quinta Corp. has told a Kansas abortion clinic it cannot perform medical services in its rooms
"The hotel firm took the action after the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue last month called for a national boycott of La Quinta because of its relationship with a Wichita clinic run by Dr. Richard Tiller.
Operation Rescue said Tiller was placing patients in a La Quinta hotel in Wichita ...
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The doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient
Here's a story that illustrates this old saying.
Eric and Bonnie Kaplan, physically ravaged by botulism, slowly are improving in an arduous rehabilitation that will take months or even years
They are the Florida couple who were given tainted botulism.
How tularemia slipped through the cracks at BU
More investigative work on a story that was mentioned here last month.
Seems like some members of the St. Louis Rams were infected with methicillin-resistant Staph Aureus in 2003:
Eight MRSA-related skin abscesses occurred in five members of the St. Louis Rams football team, report Dr. Sophia V. Kazakova, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and her associates. Due to their large size, the abscesses needed to be lanced to facilitate drainage.
In each ...
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Why you won't see this medication anytime soon
"Merck & Co. Inc.'s painkiller Arcoxia offers a "marginal" advantage in gastrointestinal safety but appears "worse than" other pain drugs as well as a placebo in terms of deaths and serious cardiovascular problems, U.S. regulatory staff said in documents released on Friday."
Merck had hoped that Arcoxia would be their next generation COX-2 medication. I don't think ...
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"Laymen believe that the emergency room is always ready and doctors are always on call to help. This is no longer true."
The malpractice crisis is the same across the pond in Hawaii. And also in South Africa.
"Wear Red Day" to Fight Cardiovascular Disease
"A recent survey shows that only 13% of women consider cardiovascular disease their greatest health risk. In reality, it's the #1 killer of American women."
More information can be found here.
Pharmaceutical ad watch - Glaxo receives a wrist slap
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned GlaxoSmithKline Plc on Thursday about misleading advertisements touting its hypertension drug called Coreg.
The company presented the marketing information at a conference last June, using posters that omitted risk information and overstated how well the drug worked, the FDA said in a letter posted on its Web site."
Coreg is actually a ...
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I would like to welcome A4 Health Systems as a sponsored link, joining AdvancedMD. They provide the HealthMatics EMR, which coincidentally my practice has been using for the past 4 months. So far, no regrets. Their implementation has been relatively smooth and the product has proven to be highly flexible to suit a variety of practice styles.
The 8-hour physical exam
Newsweek writes about concierge practices. Here are some of the "perks":
For a $5,000 annual fee, Blanchard provides Perenic with a yearly three-hour physical, same-day appointments and his personal cell number. Blanchard also calls on Perenic at work to monitor his blood pressure . . .
. . . The Cooper Clinic in Dallas, whose tab is $3,000 for an eight-hour physical exam, has ...
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Prilosec OTC is now touting its price in their DTC ads.
So, is 68 cents a day a good deal? Let's compare with the prescription PPIs.
For a 30-day supply (from drugstore.com):
Prilosec OTC $20 (68 cents x 30 tabs)
Nexium 20mg $120.99
Protonix 40mg $103.99
Prevacid 15mg $124.44
In most health plans, the co-pay for the prescription PPIs are third tier ($25 ...
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Medical bills and illnesses are a major cause of roughly half of this country's personal bankruptcies
Another symptom of our sick health care system.
The Pope was recently hospitalized for laryngeal spasms secondary to influenza. Influenza is a virus that many take for granted as a "simple flu", but actually is quite deadly - especially in the elderly and the very young.
Pneumonia is the most common complication from influenza. Those over the age of 65, in nursing homes, and have concurrent heart disease, lung disease or diabetes are at higher risk ...
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"The R.O.A.D. to happiness lies in radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, and dermatology."
A quote taken from a wonderful article from US News and World Report detailing the realities of medicine in the 21st century (via SoloDoc).
"A comprehensive and extremely useful roadmap for doctors."
-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
Learn More...
Past 6 Months
Dear lawmakers: This is what it’s like to be a doctor today
Matthew Moeller, MD | PhysicianA gun owner responds to Sandy Hook
Edwin Leap, MD | PhysicianIs Chris Christie too obese to run for president?
Jeffrey Parks, MD | PhysicianPrimary care doctors may no longer be needed
Doug Olson, MD | PhysicianWalgreens moves into primary care, and it’s our own damn fault
Kevin Pho, MD | Kevin's TakeWhy I’m skeptical of the growing number of disability beneficiaries
David Mokotoff, MD | Physician