Conditions

Mischaracterizations by the popular media of medical conditions

by Joyce Graff

Medical dramas can play powerful roles in increasing awareness of rare diseases, but it’s critical that the diseases are portrayed accurately. Mischaracterizations by the popular media of medical conditions, particularly rare ones, can be very demeaning to people afflicted with those conditions, and can affect how people look at them in the workplace or at school.

The TV show, Grey’s Anatomy recently broadcast the first …

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Alzheimer’s disease: 5 reasons why awareness matters

by Dennis Fortier

More so than with any other major disease, our near-term progress in the battle against Alzheimer’s will be determined largely by our ability to improve awareness about several aspects of this encroaching threat.

Summarized here are five reasons why greater awareness about Alzheimer’s disease, and a deeper public understanding of risks and prevention strategies, will play a key role in the nation’s ability to triumph against the prospect of …

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10 reasons why doctors over-order tests

by Neel Shah, MD

What are the top reasons doctors over-order tests?

1. How we’re taught
. Doctors are taught to consider whether a procedure is safe and whether it’s likely to work. We’re almost never taught to consider cost — it’s considered taboo.

2. Trying to do our best for the patient
. We’re worried. Often we over-order because of our personal risk aversion.

3. Pre-emptive ordering. For residents, who do much of …

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