Miles J. Varn, MD

Miles J. Varn is a health care executive.

Prostate cancer treatment: strategies for managing side effects

Conditions

January 29, 2021

After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the U.S., with one in eight men at risk of being diagnosed with this cancer during his lifetime. If you or a man you care about is undergoing prostate cancer treatment, you may be living with treatment-related side effects. These can vary depending on the type of treatment, including hormone therapy, radiation, surgery, immunotherapy, cryotherapy, and …

How to avoid 5 common mistakes that can lead to large medical bills

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

January 12, 2021

Even if you have a great health insurance plan, you may be faced with large unexpected medical bills that can significantly impact your finances and may lead to medical debt. High deductible plans, the rising cost of care, and high-cost treatments for conditions ranging from cancer to COVID-19 can put almost anyone at risk for medical bills that put strain on their budget. In fact, about a third of adults …

What to consider before becoming a medical power of attorney

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

December 14, 2020

If a family member or friend asked you to serve as his/her medical power of attorney, what would your answer be? Many people agree to assume this role without a second thought, but you should take some time to understand what your responsibilities as a medical power of attorney would be, why the person has chosen you to do this, and what potential complications and conflicts may arise. With that …

5 questions to ask before you have back surgery

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

November 14, 2020

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people see their physician and one of the most common causes of missed days at work. Approximately 60% to 80% of adults experience low back pain during their lives, and for 10% of them, the pain lasts for more than three months. And although nearly 500,000 Americans have surgery for back pain each year, in most cases, …

5 situations when you should get a second opinion

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

October 10, 2020

A second opinion can be a powerful tool. It can help lower your risk of experiencing a medical error or misdiagnosis, allow you to explore all treatment options and their benefits and risks, connect you with physicians who have experience and success treating people with your diagnosis, and provide peace of that mind that your diagnosis and treatment plan are appropriate.

Research from the Mayo Clinic highlights the value of second …

What to consider when choosing an online mental health provider

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

September 12, 2020

The stresses of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are taking a significant toll on not only physical health but also mental health and wellbeing. A recent study published on JAMA Network Open found that symptoms of depression were three times more prevalent among the U.S. adults surveyed during the pandemic than before it. Those with lower income, less money in savings, and exposure to more sources of …

6 strategies to help you return to exercise routines safely

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

August 28, 2020

If you’ve always been an avid gym-goer, the COVID-19 pandemic may have significantly disrupted your fitness routine as gyms, health clubs and exercise classes were unavailable for months. Getting active again is not only good for your physical health, but it’s also beneficial for mental health and can help you manage the symptoms of depression and anxiety, which a larger than ever number of people report experiencing during the pandemic.

But …

Living with extended family? Try these tips for better mental health.

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

July 13, 2020

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the structure of many people’s households has changed dramatically. Young adults who were away at college had to return home when schools closed, and many will still be at home this fall as schools continue to limit on-campus classes. Some people chose to move in with family after job loss strained their finances. And some families chose to temporarily move older relatives out …

Questions you should ask before elective surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

June 14, 2020

Many states are beginning to reopen, and hospitals are once again scheduling elective surgeries. The question on many patients’ minds is, “Should I undergo elective surgery right now?” Although 31 percent of people have chosen to delay care and 50 percent of people over 65 have decided to wait to receive care during COVID-19, according to a Kaiser Health News roundup, making this decision will depend …

What can patients do to lower the risk of errors in their electronic medical records?

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

May 17, 2020

In a perfect world, an electronic medical record would aggregate a patient’s medical information from all health care providers into a single, comprehensive record that could be easily accessed by any provider with the patient’s permission. This information could reduce the risk of medical errors, duplicate testing, and inappropriate treatment and the associated cost of these mistakes. It could also be lifesaving in the event of a medical emergency that …

Genetic testing: Could there be unintended consequences?

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

April 12, 2020

Both clinical and direct-to-consumer genetic testing have become significantly less costly and more common, providing people with access to a wealth of information about everything from their ethnicity and family lineage to their risk for certain diseases and how they will respond to medications such as blood thinners and antidepressants.

But before you decide to take the plunge into your gene pool, there are a number of issues you should carefully …

Mental health and college students: What parents can do to support their children

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

March 27, 2020

The percentage of U.S. college students who are living with mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance, and alcohol misuse, and self-harm are significant. Approximately 39% of college students experience a significant mental health issue. The 2018-2019 Healthy Minds study found that:

36% of the random sample of students from colleges and universities across the U.S. who answered the study’s web-based questionnaire had experienced mild, moderate or major …
Read more…

Mental health and college students: What parents can do to support their children

When an aging parent says no to much needed help

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

February 27, 2020

The first signs are often subtle — missed appointments, unpaid bills, or a once immaculate home that now has an unmowed lawn and dirty dishes on the counter. It’s easy for adult children of aging parents to miss these first signs that their parents need help with tasks they once handled easily on their own. In fact, many older people take great pains to cover up these problems and insist …

How to manage the side effects of prostate cancer treatment

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

January 21, 2020

Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer diagnosed in men in the U.S. According to statistics gathered by the American Cancer Society, approximately 191,930 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in this country in 2020, with one in nine men at risk of being diagnosed with this cancer during his lifetime. While advanced or aggressive disease can lead to death from prostate cancer, most men …

Navigating the holidays when you’re a caregiver for a loved one living with dementia

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

December 14, 2019

The holidays bring friends and family together for celebrations and the chance to reconnect with people we may not see regularly during the rest of the year. But for people who are the caregivers for a parent, spouse, partner, or other family member who is living with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, the holidays can be more complicated.

Beyond the stress of continuing to provide care during an especially …

Vaping-related illness highlights the complexities of diagnosing rare conditions

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

November 6, 2019

When patients started showing up in doctors’ offices and emergency departments with coughs, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, chills and weight loss, physicians’ first instincts were that the cause of these symptoms were common illnesses such as pneumonia or flu. But treatments that are usually highly effective for these diseases weren’t helping patients as expected. Many became seriously ill quite quickly and required care …

Overcoming the challenges prosperity can bring to teens and young adults

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

September 19, 2019

They received a call that their 19-year-old son had been transported to the local hospital, extremely agitated and intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level of .245. What they learned over the next few days was that this wasn’t the first time their son had been drinking heavily on a weeknight. He confessed that the pressure of keeping up with his classes, sports commitments, and making new friends often left him …

What to consider before undergoing stem cell treatment or banking stem cells

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

August 30, 2019

It can be difficult to tease out the evidence-based science amidst the claims of successful adult stem cell-based treatments for a range of health problems from joint pain to Parkinson’s disease, macular degeneration, and spinal cord injury. Even a number of well-respected medical centers now offer patients regenerative medicine treatments that use the patient’s own fat or bone marrow cells or extracts created from platelets in their blood. …

Miles J. Varn, MD

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