KevinMD.com

February 16, 2010Feb 16, 201010

I just returned from vacation to find email messages from three patients inquiring about their recent test results. The first email was from a young man who had fainted and underwent Holter monitoring, a test that checks for abnormal heart…

I just returned from vacation to find email messages from three patients inquiring about their recent test results.

The first email was from a young man who had fainted and underwent Holter monitoring, a test that checks for abnormal heart rhythms. The second was from a woman I recently started on cholesterol-modifying therapy who wanted to know whether her recent blood work showed a satisfactory improvement in her cholesterol. The third …

Health policy

Why is President Obama ignoring the doctors when it comes to health reform?

Ernesto Gutierrez, MD

February 15, 2010Feb 15, 201017

There is a lot of discussion about what Obama did right and wrong in managing the politics of passing health insurance reform. What strikes me as the most obvious is the failure to engage physicians. Sure there was support from the AMA, ACP, and AAFP, but the support was lukewarm at best. The position letters sent out to society members outlining their support seemed forced and mandatory. Physicians …

Conditions and diseases

Why The Biggest Loser uses CT scans to help contestants lose weight

MedPage Today

February 15, 2010Feb 15, 20103

Originally published in MedPage Today by Cole Petrochko The train wreck has become an integral part of reality TV programming, and that's terrible. As much as I've learned on the internet about the "Snooki Punch" fiasco from MTV's Jersey Shore,…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Cole Petrochko

The train wreck has become an integral part of reality TV programming, and that’s terrible. As much as I’ve learned on the internet about the “Snooki Punch” fiasco from MTV’s Jersey Shore, there’s little to watching a household of adults thrown together under a wacky premise turn into overgrown, throat-seeking children under lights and a camera, except on the one-season CBS show Kid …

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Health policy

What should free health care to members of Congress be called?

MedPage Today

February 14, 2010Feb 14, 20107

Originally published in MedPage Today by Charles Bankhead Recently, I learned that members of Congress have their very own medical clinic. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Being a member of Congress is a tough job, filled with stress…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Charles Bankhead

Recently, I learned that members of Congress have their very own medical clinic. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Being a member of Congress is a tough job, filled with stress and posturing and righteous indignation. I know that if I had to decide whether to spend tax money on a Bridge to Nowhere or a pet airport that has flights to …

Drugs and prescribing

How alternative and herbal medications can have dangerous side effects

MedPage Today

February 13, 2010Feb 13, 201011

Originally published in MedPage Today by John Gever, MedPage Today Senior Editor Herbal medicines are not always the harmless nostrums that many patients and even some physicians think, but may actually contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, researchers warned in…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by John Gever, MedPage Today Senior Editor

Herbal medicines are not always the harmless nostrums that many patients and even some physicians think, but may actually contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, researchers warned in a review covering 44 years of research into the subject.

Many such products, including aloe vera, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, and green tea, can …

Conditions and diseases

How overly aggressive cancer awareness can backfire

Kenneth Lin, MD

February 12, 2010Feb 12, 201011

The American Cancer Society has designated this weekend "Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend," as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer program that will feature well-dressed basketball coaches wearing "sneakers instead of dress shoes with their usual game attire during…

The American Cancer Society has designated this weekend “Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend,” as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer program that will feature well-dressed basketball coaches wearing “sneakers instead of dress shoes with their usual game attire during weekend games to demonstrate their support for the Society and the fight against cancer.” The idea is to encourage people to exercise and eat a healthy diet to reduce their …

Patient voices

Thoughts from a doctor attending a patient funeral

Dr. Charles

February 12, 2010Feb 12, 2010

On the way to the funeral you wonder how you’ll be received by the grieving. Although you are confident that your care for the deceased was sincere, professional, and adept, you still question if others will so assume. There is…

You manage a bitter smile as you recall stories the patient shared in unguarded moments, behind the door of a …

Conditions and diseases

Neuroscience explains why changing addictive behavior is so difficult

MedPage Today

February 12, 2010Feb 12, 20102

Originally published in MedPage Today by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer By the end of January, many New Year's resolutions have been tossed out with the leftover holiday cookies. That's because change is hard -- and neuroscientists are learning…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer

By the end of January, many New Year’s resolutions have been tossed out with the leftover holiday cookies. That’s because change is hard — and neuroscientists are learning why.

Advances in neuroimaging have enabled researchers to peer inside the brains of addicts and patients with addictive behaviors. They can see in …

Health policy

AMA: Why patients should care about fixing the Medicare physician payment cut

American Medical Association & J. James Rohack, MD

February 11, 2010Feb 11, 201018

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American Medical Association. by J. James Rohack, MD Prominently displayed at the top of the AMA’s Web site this week is a “countdown clock” to this year’s…

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American Medical Association.

by J. James Rohack, MD

Prominently displayed at the top of the AMA’s Web site this week is a “countdown clock” to this year’s 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut, which will hurt physicians ability to care for all Medicare and TRICARE patients. As of this posting, there are …

Physician voices

Doctors are responsible for a minority of medical mistakes in radiation therapy

Amy Tuteur, MD

February 11, 2010Feb 11, 201027

The New York Times recently featured a disturbing expose of serious medical errors associated with the newest forms of high tech radiation treatment, entitled, Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm. The piece is an example of excellent…

The New York Times recently featured a disturbing expose of serious medical errors associated with the newest forms of high tech radiation treatment, entitled, Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm. The piece is an example of excellent medical journalism, compelling stories of two individuals who sustained truly horrifying injuries as the result of treatment errors framed a detailed investigation of similar errors that have occurred in New …

Conditions and diseases

Doctors have an ethical obligation to treat complications from a transplant operation performed abroad

MedPage Today

February 11, 2010Feb 11, 20104

Originally published in MedPage Today by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer Patients who travel to foreign countries for organ transplants may return with more problems than they left with -- and physicians here have a moral responsibility to treat…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer

Patients who travel to foreign countries for organ transplants may return with more problems than they left with — and physicians here have a moral responsibility to treat them, researchers asserted in a transplant journal.

“Medical tourism” has been on the rise as demand for organs outpaces supply and U.S. …

Conditions and diseases

When doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with a patient

Alex Lickerman, MD

February 10, 2010Feb 10, 20107

Part one of a series. The first patient I ever saw as a first year resident came in with a litany of complaints, not one of which I remember today except for one---he had headaches. The reason I remember he…

Part one of a series.

The first patient I ever saw as a first year resident came in with a litany of complaints, not one of which I remember today except for one—he had headaches. The reason I remember he had headaches isn’t because I spent so much time discussing them but rather the opposite: at the time I knew next to nothing about headaches and somehow managed to end the …

Physician voices

How will the earthquake affect the future of the Haitian American community?

Erin Marcus, MD

February 10, 2010Feb 10, 2010

Marleine Bastien is the founder and executive director of Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami--Haitian Women of Miami--www.fanm.org, which advocates for the rights of Haitian women. She is also a congressional candidate for U.S. House District 17, representing Little Haiti and other…

Marleine Bastien is the founder and executive director of Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami–Haitian Women of Miami–www.fanm.org, which advocates for the rights of Haitian women. She is also a congressional candidate for U.S. House District 17, representing Little Haiti and other neighborhoods in Miami. Erin N. Marcus spoke with Bastien on Jan. 22 about the Haiti earthquake.

What has FANM been doing since the earthquake?

As soon as we heard about it, …

Conditions and diseases

Similarities between H1N1 flu pandemic conspiracies and the Y2K bug

MedPage Today

February 10, 2010Feb 10, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today by Mike Himowitz When I read Michael Smith’s account of European politicians taking WHO to the woodshed for allegedly conspiring with vaccine makers to overinflate the danger from H1N1 pandemic flu, I was reminded of…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Mike Himowitz

When I read Michael Smith’s account of European politicians taking WHO to the woodshed for allegedly conspiring with vaccine makers to overinflate the danger from H1N1 pandemic flu, I was reminded of a similar — and equally silly — argument that occurred exactly a decade ago.

In the early days of 2000, you …

Drugs and prescribing

Not enough patients receive vaccines and what doctors can do about it

Shantanu Nundy, MD

February 9, 2010Feb 9, 20106

Imagine a world where consumers all knew about the latest developments in preventive health. Earlier this month the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) released the 2010 immunization schedules. Revised annually, the immunization schedules are what doctors in the U.S.…

Imagine a world where consumers all knew about the latest developments in preventive health.

Earlier this month the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) released the 2010 immunization schedules. Revised annually, the immunization schedules are what doctors in the U.S. use to decide who should be immunized against what diseases. Far from esoteric, the schedules pertain to every single person living in the United States. If the H1N1 pandemic and subsequent …

Health policy

Increasing copays will increase costs for health insurance companies in the long run

MedPage Today

February 9, 2010Feb 9, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today by Todd Neale, MedPage Today Staff Writer Raising seniors' copayments for ambulatory care to offset increasing healthcare costs may backfire on insurers, researchers asserted. Seniors enrolled in Medicare plans that increased copayments had significantly fewer…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Todd Neale, MedPage Today Staff Writer

Raising seniors’ copayments for ambulatory care to offset increasing healthcare costs may backfire on insurers, researchers asserted.

Seniors enrolled in Medicare plans that increased copayments had significantly fewer outpatient visits but spent more time in the hospital than patients in plans that left copayments untouched, according to Amal Trivedi, MD, …

Conditions and diseases

The power of a doctor’s choice of words in explaining CPR

Alex Smith, MD

February 8, 2010Feb 8, 20105

Words have power. Language has power. The words we use may comfort or shock, allay or provoke, sooth or batter. Words often imply layers of meaning that are not explicitly articulated, yet rest beneath the surface: “I worry that time…

Words have power. Language has power.

The words we use may comfort or shock, allay or provoke, sooth or batter. Words often imply layers of meaning that are not explicitly articulated, yet rest beneath the surface:

“I worry that time is short for you” (You are dying) (I care about you)

“I wish we could have done more” (Nothing would have changed her death) (I am on your side)

“I hope with you that …

Real physician voices, twice a week

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