Why medicine will still be plagued by conflicts of interest

Physician
February 28, 2012

A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times published a story entitled I Disclose … Nothing by Elisabeth Rosenthal. The premise of the article dealt with conflicts of interests in several professions, including those in medicine. It got me thinking about whether or not the concept of disclosure can successfully manage conflicts of interest in medicine as much as people expect it to.

The conclusion I …

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Why medicine will still be plagued by conflicts of interest

Can we control health costs without rationing?

Policy
September 8, 2011

Robert Brook, MD, health services researcher extraordinaire, wrote a provocative commentary in JAMA – as he is accustomed to doing – entitled “What If Physicians Actually Had to Control Medical Costs?” In his piece, Brook challenged physicians to take a lead role in addressing the cost dilemma and called on physicians to find alternative strategies to rationing.

No matter how spot on Brook was in his call to physicians to …

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Can we control health costs without rationing?

Unnecessary screening tests for asymptomatic adults

Physician
June 16, 2011

I rarely get sick and have no known disease. I’m fit as a fiddle for an aging male. I jog four times a week and have strong vital signs (blood pressure is 120/70). I have no family history of heart disease.

Besides complying with adult screening recommendations and vaccines, I only see a doctor when I have a persistent cold or sore throat.  I fear going to a doctor because …

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Unnecessary screening tests for asymptomatic adults

Medical professionalism affect how hospitals perform

Physician
March 31, 2011

In my estimation, professionalism has a lot to do with personal values. Thus, when individuals or clinicians are aggregated into groups, their personal values form the base of their organization’s values and culture.

It’s not surprising to this sociological-thinking individual when studies show that the differentiating factors between low- and high–performing institutional and ambulatory clinical practices are an organization’s values, …

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Medical professionalism affect how hospitals perform