2010

January 9, 2010Jan 9, 20109

The following op-ed, co-written with Rahul Parikh, was published on December 16th, 2009 in CNN.com. America is closer to meaningful health care reform than at any time in its history. As we have all witnessed, finding a way to both…

The following op-ed, co-written with Rahul Parikh, was published on December 16th, 2009 in CNN.com.

America is closer to meaningful health care reform than at any time in its history. As we have all witnessed, finding a way to both provide every American access to affordable health care while seeking to control health care costs has not been easy.

Many of the proposed solutions have led to sharp disagreements, with contention …

Physician voices

How a psychiatrist can write 100,000 prescriptions a year, and what that means for primary care

Matthew Mintz, MD

January 8, 2010Jan 8, 201013

The Miami Herald is reporting an investigation of a psychiatrist who wrote almost 100,000 prescriptions a year. Sen. Grassley and the feds have halted payment to this Miami psychiatrist who stated that "he prescribes only what is medically necessary" and…

The Miami Herald is reporting an investigation of a psychiatrist who wrote almost 100,000 prescriptions a year. Sen. Grassley and the feds have halted payment to this Miami psychiatrist who stated that “he prescribes only what is medically necessary” and “works long hours, seeing patients for 10 minutes at a time and many of his patients need four or five medications.”

I have no personal knowledge, interaction, acquaintance with psychiatrist Dr. …

Conditions and diseases

How similar is pandemic H1N1 influenza to the seasonal flu?

MedPage Today

January 8, 2010Jan 8, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today by Todd Neale, MedPage Today Staff Writer Pandemic H1N1 influenza behaved much like seasonal and previous pandemic flu viruses in an early, isolated outbreak at a New York City high school, researchers found. Natural history…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Todd Neale, MedPage Today Staff Writer

Pandemic H1N1 influenza behaved much like seasonal and previous pandemic flu viruses in an early, isolated outbreak at a New York City high school, researchers found.

Natural history and transmissibility characteristics were similar in an April outbreak that sickened about 800 students and staff members, according to Justin Lessler, PhD, …

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Conditions and diseases

Linking the USPSTF mammogram guidelines to their virtual colonoscopy recommendations

Mark E. Klein, MD

January 7, 2010Jan 7, 201015

"I think anytime you use science to kind of fundamentally change what people are used to, I think it's a difficult thing to grapple with.” So spoke Ned Calonge, chair of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in…

“I think anytime you use science to kind of fundamentally change what people are used to, I think it’s a difficult thing to grapple with.” So spoke Ned Calonge, chair of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in explaining the reaction to that group’s recommendation to radically alter their previous guidelines for breast cancer screening. Regrettably the incorrect application of science, as in the current case, often …

Physician voices

Doctors owe their patients some fiduciary responsibility

Jeff Brown, MD

January 7, 2010Jan 7, 20103

Originally published in HCPLive.com by Jeff Brown, MD Fiduciary responsibility is the obligation for people entrusted with financial affairs to act in their client's best interest, theoretically being both transparent in their dealings and accountable for them. Typically, this applies…

Originally published in HCPLive.com

by Jeff Brown, MD

Fiduciary responsibility is the obligation for people entrusted with financial affairs to act in their client’s best interest, theoretically being both transparent in their dealings and accountable for them. Typically, this applies to CPAs, lawyers, financial advisers and the like. Would that it were also true for our legislators, but that’s a story for another day. To the point, physicians do not usually think …

Conditions and diseases

How effective is CA 125 and other biomarkers to screen for ovarian cancer?

MedPage Today

January 7, 2010Jan 7, 20103

Originally published in MedPage Today by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent Rising blood levels of several biomarkers show the presence of ovarian cancer -- just not early enough. That's the conclusion of a retrospective longitudinal case-control study of…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent

Rising blood levels of several biomarkers show the presence of ovarian cancer — just not early enough.

That’s the conclusion of a retrospective longitudinal case-control study of levels of half a dozen proteins linked to the disease, according to Garnet Anderson, PhD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in …

Physician voices

The story behind a whistleblower doctor license reinstatement hearing

David K. Cundiff, MD

January 6, 2010Jan 6, 20105

After the LA County + USC Medical Center closed my Pain and Palliative Care Service because of budget cuts in 1995, I spoke out publicly about the dysfunctional financial reimbursement system funding charity care in LA County. For example, when…

For example, when my consultation service controlled the pain and distressing symptoms of over 400 terminally ill cancer and AIDS patients per year and discharged them to home hospice programs, the hospital lost about …

Conditions and diseases

Despite no cure, progress in the treatment of HIV/AIDS

MedPage Today

January 6, 2010Jan 6, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent It's 1984. A 20-year-old homosexual man walks into the clinic complaining of swollen glands. It could well be a death sentence. It is only three years since…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent

It’s 1984. A 20-year-old homosexual man walks into the clinic complaining of swollen glands.

It could well be a death sentence.

It is only three years since the first handful of cases of what would come to be known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were described. Little is known about …

Physician voices

Public hospitals are the unsung jewels of our healthcare system

Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD

January 5, 2010Jan 5, 20104

Public hospitals have a bad rap. They’re viewed by many as hospitals of last resort, and most patients with private insurance do anything to avoid them. As a long-time physician in a public hospital, I’m sensitive to this reputation. I…

Public hospitals have a bad rap. They’re viewed by many as hospitals of last resort, and most patients with private insurance do anything to avoid them.

As a long-time physician in a public hospital, I’m sensitive to this reputation. I wouldn’t work in my hospital if I didn’t feel that it delivered excellent health care. I’m certainly aware that private hospitals have amenities that public hospitals can’t afford, but many of …

Health policy

Will physician and hospital penalties improve patient care?

Alan Berkenwald, MD

January 5, 2010Jan 5, 201010

Originally published in HCPLive.com by Alan Berkenwald, MD In 1904, the Scottish author Sir James Matthew Barrie sent Peter Pan off to Never-Never Land to escape growing up and to enjoy many-many adventures. As children, we all hoped it really…

Originally published in HCPLive.com

by Alan Berkenwald, MD

In 1904, the Scottish author Sir James Matthew Barrie sent Peter Pan off to Never-Never Land to escape growing up and to enjoy many-many adventures. As children, we all hoped it really existed. In truth, many of us fantasized, one day, to make the trip ourselves.

Well, good news for physicians – that day has arrived!

…

Conditions and diseases

How patients are dying from H1N1 infection

MedPage Today

January 5, 2010Jan 5, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent Brazilian researchers have found three distinct patterns of lung damage in patients who died of the H1N1 pandemic flu. They also found evidence of a so-called "cytokine…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent

Brazilian researchers have found three distinct patterns of lung damage in patients who died of the H1N1 pandemic flu.

They also found evidence of a so-called “cytokine storm,” a runaway immune response associated with the lung damage, according to Thais Mauad, MD, PhD, of Sao Paulo University Medical School, …

Conditions and diseases

How can medical guidelines be immune from politics?

Marya Zilberberg, MD, MPH

January 4, 2010Jan 4, 20105

The recent uproar over the new screening mammography recommendations got me thinking about a lot of stuff. One of the lessons cited by some journalists and pundits is on how potentially volatile information should be presented to the public. The USPSTF was excoriated by critics not only for what it said, but how it said it. While the objections over the former can be dismissed as ravings of loud and …

Conditions and diseases

What’s the most popular way to diagnose a pulmonary embolism?

MedPage Today

January 4, 2010Jan 4, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today by Chris Emery, MedPage Today Contributing Writer Emergency physicians and radiologists overwhelmingly choose computed tomography (CT) imaging to diagnose pulmonary embolism, a potentially deadly blockage of lung arteries, a new study found. Ninety percent of…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Chris Emery, MedPage Today Contributing Writer

Emergency physicians and radiologists overwhelmingly choose computed tomography (CT) imaging to diagnose pulmonary embolism, a potentially deadly blockage of lung arteries, a new study found.

Ninety percent of radiologists and 96% of emergency physicians use CT as their first-line choice for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, according to a report …

2010

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