First, this piece is not a how-to guide for getting into medical school.
But I use this ploy for good, and not for evil. Through conversations with a number of non-medical colleagues, I’ve been forced to think a bit more about premedical and medical education. A letter from a reader (which is presented in a highly altered version below) made me decide to more thoroughly and …
Making the decision to go to medical school
Here’s the scenario: on the 2nd of the month, a patient with diabetes on metformin and high blood pressure on benazepril sees her family physician for a routine follow up.
The patient’s blood pressure is elevated and the decision is made to add carvedilol to help get the blood pressure to goal. The patient’s metformin and benazepril “drop” (are renewed) at the pharmacy on the 18th of every month, a date …
Help patients synchronize their prescription drugs
She was like … Superwoman. A strapping medical visionary probably in her forties. Gray long coat falling below the knees. She strode confidently down the hallway towards the elevator, a father hurrying beside her with his young lanky daughter cradled in his arms. The girl’s head nuzzled into her father’s shoulder. She was old enough to walk by herself…but clearly she was sick. Unable.
Undoubtedly they were headed from the medical …
Why patients are leaving our practices
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 …
Alzheimer’s disease: 5 reasons why awareness matters
Folks across the country are paying hard cash for total body scans, abdominal aortic aneurysm testing, CAT coronary artery scans and carotid artery evaluations to prevent disease or find important lesions early. It’s a seductive argument, and it’s a scam.
Ordinary patients don’t understand about pre-test probability and positive and negative predictive values. Indeed, all physicians were taught to consider Bayesian theory when ordering diagnostic tests. This is very tough concept for …
Why total body scans are a scam
by Winston F. Mitchell
I’m a 53 year-old male with no history of hypertension, no cholesterol problems and glucose count normal.
I was overweight but still in great physical shape. But over a period of weeks, walking to work, I started experiencing a shortness of breath. Finally I went to my doctor, he informed me he was going to admit me to the hospital immediately because a …
10 things you need to know before surgery and during the hospital stay
As a medical provider, while seeing a husband and wife, or a couple, regardless of gender, one comes across several situations that may be considered difficult to handle and that require a good deal of tact and confidentiality.
This is the case with seeing a husband and wife or (couple), together, for an examination. Ultimately, it depends on the rapport that the couple shares. If they …
A physician seeing the husband and wife together
The commonly prescribed breast cancer drug, Arimidex, was released as a generic in June 2010. The generic name is anastrozole. I called several local pharmacies last week to find out how much this medicine would cost for a one-month supply. I found some very surprising results:
Costco: $27
Walgreens (with Saver Card): $325 (without Card): $380
CVS: $361
Walmart: $347
Target: $340
These are not typos. Costco is selling a one-month supply of generic Arimidex for $27, …
Arimidex price markup at major pharmacy chains
This month of my intern year, I am covering night float for the private hospital. Compared to the massive county hospital teeming with laboring patients, churning at all hours of the day and night, the private practice pace is meant to be a luxury for interns seeking respite. And for the most part, life has been pretty nice.
This week however, has been nothing less than hell. One night, I was …
Medical resident superstition and black clouds
by Timothy Dempsey and Pamela Savitz
Last month, the National Football League inducted seven of its all-time great players into its Hall of Fame in a ceremony filled with nostalgia and memories of legendary careers long-finished.
While this was going on, there was another type of induction ceremony taking place around the country. Yet, these celebrations lacked recollections of past achievements by retired legends finally receiving …
The White Coat Ceremony and its effect on medical students
If you wake up every morning needing to hack up lots of thick mucous or have throat pain, hoarseness, or a chronic cough, you’re not alone. You may think it’s the beginning of a cold, but a cold doesn’t continue for weeks to months without progressing into full-blown viral symptoms.
Instead, these symptoms are the beginnings of the most common throat problem sleep apnea sufferers face. And as I explain below, …
Common throat problems that sleep apnea sufferers face
A rising second year medical student read some of my posts and wrote me a kind note asking if I would write something for students. I taught students and ran surgical clerkships at community teaching hospitals for my entire career until about 19 months ago.
I also was prompted to address this subject after reading a recent New York Times story about a new admissions policy at Mt. Sinai …
Advice for a second year medical student
What does your breast type say about your cancer risk? Quite a bit, actually.
Whether you have large, small or lumpy breasts, self-awareness is very important. Getting to know how your breasts look and feel can help you recognize possible red flags.
Large vs. small breasts
When it comes to cancer risk, size really doesn’t matter. But, size can affect your mammogram and clinical breast exam.
For example, women with large breasts may need …
Breast cancer and understanding your breast type
by Joanna Fief
About two years ago in the wee hours of the morning, I found myself in a local emergency room with severe stomach pain, incessant vomiting and dehydration. It wasn’t pretty, and I was desperate for something – anything – to ease my pain and stop my vomiting.
Gratefully, within minutes of receiving an IV with medications for pain and nausea, my symptoms subsided. After a couple of blood tests …
Tips for questioning costs in today’s health care system
by Arnon Krongrad, MD
The noose was loose on its neck. At first I worried, but then I relaxed. This was a bottle of pomegranate juice, the antioxidant superpower. As the billboard implied, it could cheat death. Perhaps if I consumed pomegranate juice, I could cheat death.
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission charged POM Wonderful, LLC, makers of pomegranate products, with deceptive advertising. …
Finasteride, fruit, and the matter of prostate health
NPR has a great blog on their website called Shots about current events in health care. Recently, Scott Hensley, the main blogger there, posted a recent article on treatment of prostate cancer from the Archives of Internal Medicine.
If you look at the article, you may notice a very small subheading above the article’s title. It reads “Less is More.”
Very telling.
The thrust of the article and the …
Watchful waiting is underutilized for most men with prostate cancer
I was recently scanning an online forum about pediatric health concerns. (What can I say? I sometimes need inspiration.) One thread within the forum was significantly longer than any other. Parent after parent posted about how they had noticed a knot on their infant or toddler. This concern parallels what I see in practice. An unexplained knot on the head is a common reason parents bring their child to be …
When parents should be concerned about a lump on their child
One of my docs was telling us about a patient’s experience at another practice. Apparently, the parent was at her wits end with her crying baby. She called the on call doctor to ask for advice and the doctor told the patient, “your baby has colic’s; turn on the vacuum and stop calling.”
It turned out the baby had some gastric condition (not colic) and needed treatment. The patient ended up …
Why doctors have poor customer service
Interesting article recently from Health Affairs about the clinical equivalence between the care provided by anesthesiologists and CRNAs. The article concludes by advocating that CRNAs be given permission to practice anesthesiology without physician supervision. It’s more cost effective. And there is no compromise to the quality of care delivered to patients.
We recommend CMS return to its original intention of allowing nurse anesthetists to work independently of surgeon or …
Should CRNAs practice anesthesiology without physician supervision?
Peter Orszag wants doctors to work weekends.
The former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget wrote as much in this past weekend’s New York Times:
Doctors, like most people, don’t love to work weekends, and they probably don’t enjoy being evaluated against their peers. But their industry can no longer afford to protect them from the inevitable. Imagine a drugstore open only five days a week, or …
Doctors should work weekends, and how reformers alienate physicians
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