by Jeoffry B.Gordon, MD, MPH The recent recommendation of the US Preventive Services Task Force against routine screening mammograms for healthy, low risk women under the age of fifty has demonstrated our broad consensus about the value of breast cancer…
by Jeoffry B.Gordon, MD, MPH
The recent recommendation of the US Preventive Services Task Force against routine screening mammograms for healthy, low risk women under the age of fifty has demonstrated our broad consensus about the value of breast cancer screening. The discussions about new guidance from the American Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology on when to start and how often to do PAP smears illuminate the impact, effectiveness and support …
Originally published in MedPage Today by Emily P. Walker, MedPage Today Washington Correspondent The emotional debate over a federal panel's proposal to end routine mammograms for women in their 40s has reignited controversy over a contentious healthcare reform issue: comparative…
by Emily P. Walker, MedPage Today Washington Correspondent
The emotional debate over a federal panel’s proposal to end routine mammograms for women in their 40s has reignited controversy over a contentious healthcare reform issue: comparative effectiveness research.
Healthcare reform opponents say the new mammogram guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) make their point: If …
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) has just revised their guidelines for Pap smears under some pressure. This resulted from an Annals of Internal Medicine article which documented that only 16.4% of gynecologists followed the College’s prior guidelines.…
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) has just revised their guidelines for Pap smears under some pressure. This resulted from an Annals of Internal Medicine article which documented that only 16.4% of gynecologists followed the College’s prior guidelines. Most did more screenings than indicated, the worst record of the specialties tested. But the ACOG still recommends that nearly all women obtain regular screening at intervals of 1-3 years.
Originally published in MedPage Today by Charles Bankhead, MedPage Today Staff Writer Women can wait longer for their first Pap smear and then repeat the test less frequently, according to recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).…
Women can wait longer for their first Pap smear and then repeat the test less frequently, according to recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
The organization now says women should begin cervical cancer screening with a Pap test at age 21. Subsequent tests should occur at …
Doctors have understood for some time that it was inevitable. The American Cancer Society has acknowledged that cancer screening has been oversold. It seems like every day you read in the newspaper that what was standard medical care yesterday is…
Doctors have understood for some time that it was inevitable. The American Cancer Society has acknowledged that cancer screening has been oversold.
It seems like every day you read in the newspaper that what was standard medical care yesterday is now no longer recommended. Don’t doctors know anything? Well, actually they do. And what seems like paradoxical behavior, no longer recommending aggressive screening for certain cancers, actually represents a more sophisticated …
What if a non-partisan, authoritative entity wrote a robust, evidence-based guideline, but nobody followed it? That is precisely what's happening with the USPSTF's recent revision of their breast cancer screening recommendations. The change most find problematic is their recommendation that…
What if a non-partisan, authoritative entity wrote a robust, evidence-based guideline, but nobody followed it?
That is precisely what’s happening with the USPSTF’s recent revision of their breast cancer screening recommendations. The change most find problematic is their recommendation that women younger than 50 not undergo any breast cancer screening, such as with a mammogram.
Here are their reasons explaining why:
The harms resulting from screening for breast cancer include psychological harms, …
Originally published in MedPage Today by Nancy Walsh, MedPage Today Contributing Writer Opportunities to learn how to perform skin cancer examinations during medical training are inadequate, a survey of residents found. More than half (55.3%) of residents said that they…
Opportunities to learn how to perform skin cancer examinations during medical training are inadequate, a survey of residents found.
More than half (55.3%) of residents said that they had never observed a skin cancer examination, 75.8% said they’d never been taught to perform one, and 57.4% had never practiced doing …
Originally published in MedPage Today by Peggy Peck, MedPage Today Executive Editor Men who opt for minimally invasive prostate surgery -- often with a helping hand from a robot -- are twice as likely to have genitourinary complications as men…
Men who opt for minimally invasive prostate surgery — often with a helping hand from a robot — are twice as likely to have genitourinary complications as men who have a traditional prostatectomy.
That finding is especially troubling because the use of robotic-assisted minimally invasive prostatectomy has increased exponentially in …
Originally published in MedPage Today by Todd Neale, MedPage Today Staff Writer Men might not be getting the information they need to make an educated decision about prostate cancer screening, two new studies suggest. Among 375 men surveyed by telephone,…
Men might not be getting the information they need to make an educated decision about prostate cancer screening, two new studies suggest.
Among 375 men surveyed by telephone, only 69.9% had discussed a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test with their physician before making a decision about screening, according to the …
A recent issue in The Lancet included an article entitled “The Death of Ivan Ilyich and pain relief at the end of life.” This is a thought provoking article focused on the question of whether there is overuse of pharmaceuticals…
A recent issue in The Lancet included an article entitled “The Death of Ivan Ilyich and pain relief at the end of life.” This is a thought provoking article focused on the question of whether there is overuse of pharmaceuticals to treat various forms of suffering in hospice and palliative medicine.
The authors argue that a good death, as seen through their interpretation of The Death of Ivan Ilyich, may include …
Originally published in MedPage Today by Chris Emery, MedPage Today Contributing Writer Prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests may lead to unnecessary treatment of healthy men for prostate cancer, and there is little evidence supporting the common but controversial test for…
Prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests may lead to unnecessary treatment of healthy men for prostate cancer, and there is little evidence supporting the common but controversial test for routine cancer screening, two new studies found.
Measurements of blood concentrations of PSA failed to predict cancer with the accuracy generally …
by an anonymous radiologist I recently read the article and comments on this link from this post, concerning radiologists, from Musings of a Dinosaur. I was disturbed to discover the animosity with which this topic is covered. The tenor of…
by an anonymous radiologist
I recently read the article and comments on this link from this post, concerning radiologists, from Musings of a Dinosaur.
I was disturbed to discover the animosity with which this topic is covered. The tenor of the blog is that radiologists are greedy, self-serving and are out to erode the doctor-patient relationship. The suggestion that radiologists would schedule percutaneous breast biopsies for their financial enhancement is both …
by Nancy Walsh, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Almost 3% of healthy, asymptomatic people who underwent MRI brain scans showed incidental abnormalities in a recent study, leading researchers to express concern about psychological and medical fallout from these increasingly popular screenings.…
Almost 3% of healthy, asymptomatic people who underwent MRI brain scans showed incidental abnormalities in a recent study, leading researchers to express concern about psychological and medical fallout from these increasingly popular screenings.
In meta-analysis of MRI brain scans, the prevalence of neoplastic incidental findings was 0.70% (95% CI 0.47 to 0.98), while the …
Here are words any patient awaiting cancer surgery would be thrilled to hear: "We are canceling your upcoming operation! It turns out that the suspicious changes we saw on your recent biopsy are completely benign." This happy turn of events…
Here are words any patient awaiting cancer surgery would be thrilled to hear: “We are canceling your upcoming operation! It turns out that the suspicious changes we saw on your recent biopsy are completely benign.”
This happy turn of events happened in my life recently, thanks to a second opinion from a type of physician few patients realize plays a critical role in their care: the pathologist.
Orac, a general surgeon who blogs at Respectful Insolence, writes the most comprehensive entry I've seen thus far on Apple's Steve Jobs' liver transplant. For those interested in the medicine behind the transplant, go and read his post in its…
Orac, a general surgeon who blogs at Respectful Insolence, writes the most comprehensive entry I’ve seen thus far on Apple’s Steve Jobs’ liver transplant.
For those interested in the medicine behind the transplant, go and read his post in its entirety. I’d like to highlight some of the potentially questionable ethics surrounding the case.
The following op-ed was published on April 23rd, 2009 in the USA Today. As a primary care doctor, it's heartening to hear President Obama call for "the largest investment ever in preventive care." That means more people, for one, will…
The following op-ed was published on April 23rd, 2009 in the USA Today.
As a primary care doctor, it’s heartening to hear President Obama call for “the largest investment ever in preventive care.” That means more people, for one, will be undergoing tests to screen for various forms of cancer. But this might be one of those cases where what sounds like common sense is actually more …
The following op-ed was published on March 26th, 2009 in the USA Today. As a primary care doctor, I am frequently faced with decisions where the choice is not always clear. Do the latest, more expensive drugs work better than…
The following op-ed was published on March 26th, 2009 in the USA Today.
As a primary care doctor, I am frequently faced with decisions where the choice is not always clear. Do the latest, more expensive drugs work better than the less costly, older medications? Will ordering an MRI help me treat a patient’s lower back pain? Often, the answer to these questions is, “I’m not sure.”
Have you ever wondered why doctors have to perform a digital rectal exam?Well, look no further, as primary care doctor Rob Lamberts gives us the answers discerning readers demand.Simply by looking at the rectum, which by the way, indeed "takes…
Have you ever wondered why doctors have to perform a digital rectal exam?
Well, look no further, as primary care doctor Rob Lamberts gives us the answers discerning readers demand.
Simply by looking at the rectum, which by the way, indeed “takes some getting used to,” can lead to significant diagnostic findings. Furthermore, does tight sphincter tone matter? And should you be worried about the large hands …
For those interested in the medicine behind the transplant, go and read his post in its entirety. I’d like to highlight some of the potentially questionable ethics surrounding the case.
