Before ordering a genetic test, get to know GINA

Conditions
November 27, 2018

Health care providers and even consumers who order their own genetic testing should really get to know GINA. Who or what is GINA? Is it some new virtual voice-activated personal assistant? Is she a new Italian superstar? Neither choice is correct. GINA stands for the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, a U.S. federal law that was put in place to protect consumers from discrimination based on their genetic testing. GINA celebrates …

Read more…

Before ordering a genetic test, get to know GINA

Big data equals big challenges for prostate cancer

Conditions
September 24, 2016

The term “big data” is a favorite mantra of health care today. Big data sets are starting to drive much of what is done in medicine including directing research, drug development, clinical pathways, insurance coverage and public opinion. The official definition of “big data” in health care is subject to interpretation by different sources. One dictionary defines big data as “data of a very large size, typically to the extent …

Read more…

Big data equals big challenges for prostate cancer

Is robotic assisted prostatectomy worth the added expense?

Conditions
November 17, 2015

Since the introduction of the robotically assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) in 2000, the long-term prostate cancer control has been uncertain. We now have the first long-term cancer control study that compared the results of the earliest RALP with historical open radical retropubic prostatectomy (ORP) outcomes. Diaz and associates from a recognized RALP center of excellence concluded that RALP has similar long term cancer control compared to open …

Read more…

Is robotic assisted prostatectomy worth the added expense?