NYTimes Book Review: How Doctors and Patients Do Harm
If you would like to go to whole interview with this doctor, click on the title. I excerpt only a small portion. How Doctors and Patients Do Harm How Doctors and Patients Do HarmBy TARA PARKER-POPE Christopher T. Martin Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. Just how broken is the…
Read MoreGenentech Tries New Tack on Shelved Breast Cancer Drug Avastin
Genentech Tries New Tack on Shelved Breast Cancer Drug Avastin This is an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about “a new kind of study” Genentech is going to try with it’s discredited drug, Avastin. They will be looking for a DNA profile of patients who have responded to the drug. I bring this to…
Read MoreHealth Screenings, One More Take from the Field
Cancer Screening: Opinions from the Field I’m sure everyone is sick of this topic, but I thought I would share the take of two physicians who have had a careful look at the recent recommendations. I’ve redacted heavily and just left the main conclusions. For info on my practice, please click here. April 16, 2012…
Read MoreDoctor Panels Recommending Fewer Tests for Patients
As a follow up to yesterday’s post about patients opting for less treatment, this article reports on the latest guidelines from 9 specialty boards, recommending fewer tests, and urging patients to refuse them if offered (!) This blog may become obsolete! Ojala, as we would say in Spain. Looking through the list, there seems to…
Read MoreDo Patients Want More Care or Less?
As readers of this blog know, I promote the point of view that sometimes in Medicine, Less is More. The title of my blog is “First, Do No Harm.” So this article from the NYTimes illustrating how not only patients, but physicians also are starting to see the benefit in opting to do nothing. I…
Read MoreOpioid Use for Abdominal Pain, A Bad Idea
In an article from Anesthesiology News “Opioid Use for Abdominal Pain Sees Recent Spike” they point out that from 1997 to 2008, opioid prescriptions for chronic abdominal pain more than doubled in the U.S. (study from Clinical Grastroenterology and Hepatology (2011;9:1078-1085). This points to an increasing problem I see in my clinic, that opioids are…
Read MoreWhen Less Treatment is More
An article worth reading in its entirety discussing the new guidelines for breast cancer treatment. We’ve discussed breast cancer treatment a few times, for example, here and here. A few excerpts will follow. In the case of cancer, I can’t help but wonder if our language is too clumsy. Perhaps a small “cancer” would be…
Read MoreFewer Papsmears Needed
I offer this up as part of an emerging trend in the prevention world. It seems that there is a dawning realization that more treatment, more intervention, does not always lead to better outcomes. It might shock many patients to realize that, for example, HPV (human papilloma virus) is eliminated in most cases by the…
Read MoreDo Statins Make It Tough to Exercise?: More Statin Problems
To be tossed into the “First Do No Harm” file. I don’t know what to make of the rat study, but it still amazes me that statins are the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. I’ve discussed some of the problems with statins, diabetes risk here, cognition problems here, and here. Link to the…
Read MoreStatins good for you? Think again. FDA issues warning
Long overdue. People have been complaining about the statins for years, finally the FDA takes action. Good for them. I discussed the irrational boosterism about statins here, their link to diabetes here. More on my practice here.Maybe one more for the “Follow the Money”, and “First Do No Harm” files. February 28, 2012Safety Alerts Cite…
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