A patient recently asked me about an article on People Magazine’s website about Deepak Chopra's belief that Michael Jackson had lupus and that this disease was connected to Jackson's childhood abuse. Dr. Chopra cited ‘recent research’ in support of this contention. Here is some of what I wrote my patient: The article from the Mailman School… Continue reading »
It is a terrific idea to compare effectiveness of treatments for the same illness—if “effectiveness” and “same illness” mean the same to the doctors, the patients, and the payers and patients who will benefit or lose according to the rules that follow. It is a terrific idea if the comparison meets the needs of each… Continue reading »
Dr. Barron Lerner in the New York Times ("A life-changing case for doctors in training," March 3, 2009) misinterprets the history of Libby Zion and the Bell Commission, and draws the wrong lessons. The concern about medical resident fatigue dates not from the 1984 case but at least as far back as a 1971 study… Continue reading »
Atul Gawande, the surgeon-writer, is outraged (A Lifesaving Checklist 12/30/07.) Apparently an ongoing medical study, that he endorsed, was stopped because of a bureaucratic rule. The study was trying to this question: Are there fewer hospital infections if doctors follow a checklist, as do airline pilots on take-off (sample: Have you washed your hands? Have… Continue reading »
The New York Times today had an article written by Stephanie Saul entitled THE COVERAGE GAP Avoiding Medicare’s Big Hole. The last three paragraphs discuss the ‘fact’ that many patients are reluctant to discuss the cost of their prescriptions with their doctors. The claim that patients and their doctors do not want to discuss cost… Continue reading »
