Miles J. Varn, MD

Miles J. Varn is a health care executive.

Why sharing your complete medical history with your clinicians is important

Physician

January 24, 2023

It’s your first visit to a cardiologist because you’ve had occasional episodes of an irregular heartbeat. As you fill out your pre-appointment paperwork, you carefully list the symptoms you’re experiencing and the treatments your primary care physician has recommended before referring you to a specialist. You don’t mention that you recently started taking Lexapro (escitalopram) to treat depression because you’re focused on your heart issue.

But that accidentally omitted information could …

Managing key risk factors may lower your dementia risk

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

November 23, 2022

Close to 6 million adults in the U.S. are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia, according to CDC data. And that number will grow as the U.S. population ages. The number of people with Alzheimer’s and related forms of dementia is projected to increase to approximately 14 million over the next 38 years.

Dementia impacts not only the people who develop this condition but also …

Caregiver? Learn how to support older relatives at doctor’s appointments.

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

November 8, 2022

As a caregiver or support person for an older parent, partner, or relative, you may be involved in helping that person with medical appointments, perhaps even helping them manage care from several different health care providers. There are a number of strategies that can help you be an effective, respectful advocate for your loved one. These strategies also help ensure that your family member gets the care she or he …

Endometriosis is often misdiagnosed. How to get the right diagnosis.

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

September 14, 2022

The six to ten percent of women in the U.S. who are living with endometriosis have to deal with not only the pain and complications the disease causes, but often also with exceptionally long delays before receiving a diagnosis—an average of 8.5 years from first seeking care to diagnosis. One study revealed that more than 75 percent of the women who participated in the study were first …

The building blocks of a cancer risk management strategy

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

July 14, 2022

According to data gathered by the American Cancer Society (ACS), more than 1.9 million new cancers are projected to be diagnosed in 2022. In addition, missed cancer screenings due to the pandemic are expected to potentially increase the number of cancers that are diagnosed at a more advanced stage. But the ACS data also highlight an important fact—approximately 42% of the new cancers projected to be diagnosed …

6 changes that could lower the risk of developing prostate cancer

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

July 7, 2022

After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in people with a prostate. Some risk factors associated with prostate cancer can’t be mitigated. Those factors include older age, a family history of prostate cancer, and race (Black men have double the risk of developing prostate cancer compared to white men).

There are, however, lifestyle changes that men can make that may reduce prostate cancer risk. Diet …

Factors to weigh when choosing substance use disorder treatment

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

May 20, 2022

During the pandemic, the already significant number of people living with substance use disorder increased. According to data gathered by the CDC, in June 2020, 13 percent of Americans surveyed said they had started using substances (not including alcohol and tobacco) or increased their use in response to the stress of the pandemic.

The number of people who died as a result of an overdose …

How to prepare to be an effective caregiver

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

April 17, 2022

At some point, most of us will take on the role of caregiver. You may be caring for your parent or older family member, a spouse or partner, or a close friend. As the population ages, the number of people in the U.S. who are caregivers is growing significantly. Caregiving in the U.S. 2020, a report from The National Alliance for Caregiving, found that the number of …

Strategies to help women advocate for themselves and avoid misdiagnosis

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

March 20, 2022

While everyone faces some risk of experiencing a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, some studies have found that the problem is more common for women. Women are 50 percent more likely than men to receive an incorrect diagnosis when they’re having a heart attack and nearly 30 percent more likely to receive an incorrect diagnosis for stroke. They are also diagnosed with cancer more than two years later …

Is it time to find a new mental health provider?

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

February 25, 2022

The stress and hardship of the ongoing pandemic caused an increase in the number of adults, teens, and children who have sought mental health care recently. More than 23 million American adults received mental health care last year and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Children’s Hospital Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry warned of a mental health crisis among children and adolescents.

Of course, the need …

Beware of errors in your medical record

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

December 31, 2021

Anyone can make a mistake — even your health care provider. And sometimes, those mistakes end up in your medical records. That can cause a variety of issues, including misdiagnosis, medication interactions, missed follow-up testing and care, duplicate testing and billing errors. Fortunately, HIPAA gives you the right to request a copy of your medical records from any health care provider who has treated you so that you can review …

Read more…

Beware of errors in your medical record

3 strategies to lower the risk of fragmented medical care

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

November 12, 2021

After a minor bike accident, you go to the emergency room with a broken wrist. While you’re being triaged, you tell the nurse you take blood thinners because you had deep vein thrombosis a few years ago. The doctor treating you says he’s read your medical records, so you assume he knows what medications you take.

When you tell the doctor about the blood thinner, however, your doctor says that’s not …

How to overcome the roadblocks to getting a medical second opinion

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

October 7, 2021

There are many reasons why you should seek a second opinion. A second opinion can help you:

Make sure your diagnosis is accurate, lowering your risk of misdiagnosis and the harms that can cause.
Ensure that you’re choosing an appropriate, evidence-based treatment that has been shown to achieve better outcomes.
Learn about all appropriate treatment options, both medical and surgical, so you can make an informed decision.

One study conducted by …

Could a pause in screenings increase missed cancer diagnoses?

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

September 19, 2021

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S. in 2020, most hospitals and physician’s offices paused elective and preventive care services to focus on treating large numbers of COVID patients, preserving medical supplies and bed space in hospitals, and reducing the risk of non-COVID patients being exposed to the virus. Cancer screenings were one of the services that were paused. In 2020, this pause resulted in an Read more…

Could a pause in screenings increase missed cancer diagnoses?

4 ways to support someone living with alcohol or substance use disorder

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

August 16, 2021

The pandemic has made the difficult work of recovering from alcohol or substance use disorder even harder. To deal with the heightened anxiety, depression, and stress caused by the pandemic, more people have turned to alcohol and substances. In addition, it’s been harder for people in recovery to stay on track when many in-person treatment options were limited, and they had to rely on online resources and meetings.

The National Center …

Tips to help you overcome your pandemic bad habits

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

July 15, 2021

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S., and states issued stay-at-home orders, many people vowed to use their time at home positively, learning new skills, virtually volunteering, and getting into shape. Now, more than a year into the pandemic, many of those plans to better ourselves have fallen by the wayside, and people have developed less healthy habits in response to sustained stress and uncertainty.

These pandemic bad habits are …

Why people diagnosed with cancer should get a second opinion

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

June 6, 2021

Although people think of medicine as a science—the facts reveal the diagnosis, the diagnosis dictates the treatment—most physicians acknowledge that medicine is as much an art as a science. It’s not like a simple math equation with one undeniably right answer. Even when the diagnosis is clear, there may still be multiple appropriate treatment paths that deliver similar outcomes. And there are many cases where the diagnosis is not definitive, …

The health care documents needed at each stage of life

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

May 7, 2021

If your 85-year-old mother was rushed to the hospital, would you be able to get the information you need about her condition from the doctors treating her? If your college-age son showed signs of severe depression, could you talk to his therapist? What if your spouse or partner was in a car accident? Would you be able to make important medical decisions on his or her behalf?

To ensure you can …

Choosing an experienced surgeon and high-volume hospital can impact your outcome

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

March 20, 2021

If you’ve been diagnosed with a condition and the recommended treatment is surgery, there are proactive steps you can take to lower the risk of post-surgical complications and improve the likelihood of a good outcome. First, before deciding to undergo surgery, which always carries some risk, seek a second opinion from a physician who has experience treating the specific diagnosed condition. In most non-emergency cases, undergoing surgery immediately after diagnosis …

4 steps to help you prepare for a successful virtual second opinion

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

February 15, 2021

If you’ve been diagnosed with a serious, rare, or complex health condition or your doctor has recommended surgery as a treatment option, your next step should be to get a second opinion on both your diagnosis and treatment options. There are several reasons to seek a second opinion. First, it’s important to understand all the treatments that are appropriate for your condition. A second opinion can also lower your risk …

Miles J. Varn, MD

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