Over the past decade or so, there have been at least 20 prescription drugs removed from the market, including several cases of high-profile blockbuster drugs that were found to be harmful only after millions of patients had taken them. Vioxx, the pain reliever sold by Merck is one example; taken by an estimated 20 million Americans, it increased the risk of heart attack and stroke in some patients. The company ...
Naomi Freundlich
Implications of Nebraska’s ill-conceived fetal pain law
Danielle and Robb Deaver are living proof of the awful reality of Nebraska’s ill-conceived “fetal pain” law. The law, which took effect last October and is the only one of its kind in America, prohibits abortions in the state after the 20th week of pregnancy. It is based on the discredited notion that a fetus may feel pain at that stage of development. Physicians who break the law face ...
The government reversal on end of life planning
After all the ridiculous fear-mongering about "death panels," Congress dropped a proposal to encourage end-of-life planning from the health reform legislation passed last March.But the administration had in fact quietly included reimbursing doctors for end-of-life counseling along with a host of new Medicare regulations. The provision, which authorizes payment for “voluntary advance care planning,” went into ...
Physician barriers to EMR acceptance
Recently, I had my first visit with my new primary care doctor.I picked him based on recommendations (plus he’s one of the few that accepts my insurance), and also because he seemed to be an eager adopter of electronic medical records (EMR). On his website, there was a portal for making appointments on-line, asking questions of the doctor and staff by e-mail and once a registered patient, I could also ...
Are Alzheimer’s disease screening tests ready for the public?
In April, an independent panel established by the National Institutes of Health came to the disheartening conclusion that currently, there is nothing to prevent or delay the progress of Alzheimer’s disease in those of us who are destined to join the 5 million Americans currently suffering from this dreaded ailment.The panel found that: “Although numerous interventions have been suggested to delay Alzheimer’s disease, the evidence is inadequate to conclude that ...
Why abstinence only sex education is a waste of money
Since 1992, the federal government has spent close to $1 billion on abstinence-only sex education, despite growing evidence that these ideology-based programs are ineffective in delaying the onset of sexual activity, preventing teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually-transmitted disease among teens.Meanwhile, comprehensive sex education—the kind where teens are given information about both abstinence and contraceptives—has received virtually no federal funding.That’s why it was so encouraging when President Obama released ...
