A colleague in private practice, Dr. S of Plano, TX, sent me the following note he gave me permission to share: Since the beginning of 2011, we’ve observed a disturbing trend among our patients’ new insurance plans. At least two major payors (Aetna and Cigna) are now offering $0 or reduced...
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A study in the New England Journal of Medicine several months ago presented findings on a new medicine to prevent a deep vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot in one of the larger veins of the leg. These clots are usually more of an annoyance than dangerous, though the worst...
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An article in Health Affairs documented well what all of us know in front-line medicine: patients who don’t feel well go the emergeny room. The study looked at data from a national survey and found that a minority of patients see their primary physicians (42%) for first-contact care, with visits to...
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This means your children and grandchildren are now saddled with even more of the financial burden of the excesses of this generation. It came as no surprise that Medicare approved the  new prostate cancer drug Provenge. It had to. The laws governing Medicare say it has to cover all therapies that...
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