Post Author: Juliet K. Mavromatis, MD

Applying the new cholesterol guidelines to real life patients

Conditions
February 5, 2014

Cardiovascular disease — including coronary atherosclerosis and cerebrovascular disease — remains the number one cause of mortality in the United States. One out of three people in this country will die of cardiovascular causes.  Although I can’t say that the other top causes of mortality are particularly attractive — cancer, chronic lung disease, accidents and dementia — premature cardiovascular death can certainly be very devastating and it makes sense to do …

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Drugs that are not FDA approved: Is there a time to prescribe them?

Meds
September 3, 2013

Here’s an interesting clinical dilemma brought to my attention by another physician.

She was asked to refill a prescription for a drug called domperidone to help a patient with lactation. Domperidone is not FDA approved in the United States for any indication. However, in Europe and in Canada it is approved as a promotility agent for patients with a condition called gastroparesis, which causes the stomach to empty very slowly and results in …

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How to know whether alternative medicine is safe

Meds
July 14, 2013

Recently a patient of mine brought in a bottle given to her by her acupuncturist. She had turned to acupuncture with my encouragement after traditional medicine fell short at addressing her chronic pain. Indeed, there is data to support the efficacy of acupuncture in the management of chronic pain. I was encouraged to hear that this treatment, often labeled as “alternative,” seemed to be helping her substantially.

However, my patient’s questions …

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When should drivers retire from driving?

Conditions
May 3, 2013

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When should drivers retire from driving? This question is always difficult to answer.  In our suburban car culture driving allows seniors to maintain their independence and prevents social isolation. However, at what point does it become unsafe for the elderly to drive and what are the risks?

One month ago my fit and about 80-year-old in-laws were involved in a serious car accident. A young …

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Are generic drugs as safe and effective as name brand drugs?

Meds
February 26, 2013

Use of generic drugs has the potential to reduce annual consumer spending on prescriptions by billions.  A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and discussed in the New York Times’ Economix blog in 2012 looked at Medicare Part D expenditures and correlated them with drug prescribing patterns. The regions of the United States with the highest Medicare expenditures were those where …

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Will improved mental healthcare be enough to curb gun violence?

Physician
February 1, 2013

For the past month I’ve been trying to formulate a blog that could capture my thoughts about mental illness and the prevention of violence. At this point my ideas are still not crystallized, but perhaps writing this will help. A few days before Christmas I received a phone call from a former patient’s mother.  She called while I was at the mall with my family doing some last minute shopping—I …

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Why upcoding isn’t necessarily fraud

Physician
October 19, 2012

Over the past several decades medical costs in the United States have escalated rapidly, exceeding the pace of inflation and threatening bankrupt to Medicare.   As we heard in last week’s presidential debate, different solutions have been proposed on how to slow Medicare’s growth and reduce cost.  President Obama highlighted his administration’s success in tackling fraud and waste within the system. This strategy appears to be supported across party lines.  On …

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How much should doctors reveal about themselves to patients?

Physician
August 28, 2012

How much should doctors reveal about themselves to patients?

Whether or not “self-disclosure” is an effective communication strategy in the doctor-patient relationship has been debated.  In fact, some studies have demonstrated that doctors who talk about themselves more are rated more poorly by patients than those who are more private. This topic has been of interest to me and I have written about it in my blog:  Doctor, Patient, Friend:  Blurring the …

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Let’s not get rid of the annual physical

Physician
July 23, 2012

Recently a physician reporter for the New York Times, Elisabeth Rosenthal, argued in the cover article of the Sunday Review that routine physicals are in many ways pointless, and perhaps even dangerous.

In the article, entitled “Let’s Not Get Physicals,” Dr. Rosenthal goes on to point out that many routine tests performed during physicals — EKG’s, pap smears and blood work, are unnecessary. In my opinion, Dr. Rosenthal’s front page …

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Doctors see little of the money patients pay towards health insurance

Physician
July 3, 2012

I was recently struck by two conversations that I had with acquaintances about recent experiences that they had had with their primary care physicians.  The first occurred at my local pool. A fellow swimmer asked me if I took new Medicare patients.  She bemoaned that she was abandoned — her beloved physician of over 20 years had sent out a letter announcing that she would no longer accept Medicare patients. My …

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The problem of conflicting professional medical guidelines

Physician
June 5, 2012

Guidelines for care increasingly help guide medical decision-making. If you’ve followed top health news over the past several years you’ve read conflicting statements about the utility of various medical procedures and tests. As a general internist I’ve devoured these reports with particular interest trying to wade through bias to formulate views that I believe will be of most benefit to my patients.

Recently I put together a talk about recommendations for …

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The risks of exercise injury can increase health care utilization

Conditions
November 15, 2011

The health benefits of exercise are well-established.  A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that one’s fitness level, as measured a person’s one mile run speed, compared to other cardiovascular risk factors, was the best single predictor of heart attack risk and life span. Studies have shown that regular exercise reduces one’s risk of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.  Exercise has been shown to …

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When specialists try to practice primary care

Physician
August 5, 2011

Recently a good friend asked me to recommend an excellent primary care physician in New York City. When no one immediately came to mind, I asked a couple of doctor-friends who trained in New York. One friend, a cardiologist, gave me two names—one was a rheumatologist, who also practices general medicine, and the other an infectious disease doctor by training. My initial reaction to my cardiologist friend’s suggestion that …

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What patients need to know about finding and treating osteoporosis

Conditions
May 13, 2011

Osteoporosis is a condition that is sure to become increasingly diagnosed as our population ages.

Osteoporosis is significant because it is associated with an increased risk of bone fracture, including fracture of the hip and vertebra, which are the cause of significant morbidity, mortality, loss of independence and medical expense in the elderly. In current clinical practice, osteoporosis is diagnosed on the basis …

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Lack of sexual interest is the most common sexual complaint in women

Conditions
February 28, 2011

Lack of sexual interest is the most common sexual complaint in women.

The latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), which defines psychiatric disorders, defines Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) as ‘‘persistently or recurrently deficient (or absent) sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity’’ that causes ‘‘marked distress or interpersonal difficulty.’’ Epidemiologic surveys have suggested that from 25 to 50 percent of women report prolonged periods …

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Lessons learned from asthma therapy

Conditions
December 31, 2010

As a kid I had allergies and asthma.

Because of this, for several years, my mother wrote a note excusing me from the 600 meter run in elementary school. My father took me to weekly allergy shots. At times I had eczema on my forearms and eyes, and according to my allergist, whose notes I later read, I had moderate allergic shiners (also known as dark circles under my eyes). My …

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Questions about the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

Conditions
November 8, 2010

Alzheimer’s disease made headlines recently, first with news about a new biomarker test that is able to diagnose the disease with increased accuracy, then with a follow-up story detailing the collaborative model of data-sharing that contributed to the success of recent research.

As I read the news with interest I couldn’t help but feel that in our current climate, the manner in which it was reported was …

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How you can avoid skin cancer risk

Conditions
September 22, 2010

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer diagnosed in the United States.

There are three major types: basal cell, squamous cell and melanoma. Of those, basal cell and squamous cell are most common, accounting for about 3.5 million cases in the United States per year. Although, these types typically do not metastasize, they can be quite disfiguring, particularly after resection when they occur on the face. On a population …

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PCMH and retainer fee medicine are primary care solutions

Physician
August 19, 2010

For years now we’ve been hearing about the trials and tribulations that have evolved in the practice of primary care medicine.

However, the discussion has intensified in recent months with passage of national health reform. Recent publications highlight the problems. A paper in the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Richard Baron entitled, What Keeps Us So Busy in Primary Care? discusses the time spent by primary care …

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How doctors can discuss advance directives with patients

Patient
July 17, 2010

A recent blog post and series of responses on KevinMD.com aroused my interest.

Dr. Kevin Pho posed the question: Why are doctors so reluctant to discuss end-of-life care? Responders, including patients, doctors, nurses, and even a veterinarian highlighted the stress inherent in this discussion for patients and for medical professionals alike.

To me, the real issue is not whether the discussion should occur, because clearly it should, but when and how? …

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