This is the second in a series of conversations I had with some open-minded colleagues who also deeply want to seen meaningful change in the U.S. healthcare system. The person I primarily responded to mentioned a chapter in Pursuing the Triple Aim. Here is what I wrote back to him: I...
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According to an article in Health Data Management, the Center for Brain Health at NorthShore University Health System in the Chicago area will use the organization’s electronic health records (Epic) and “advanced analytics” to “get ahead” of the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. Many of the typical health scare tactics are in play...
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Recent news stories touted a 22% drop in cancer death rates that has “spared the lives” of over 1.5 million people over the past two decades. The American Cancer Society (ACS) was attributed as explaining this drop as caused by U.S. smoking habits, extra attention to cancer prevention, improvements in various...
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The New York Times published a great story about the tremendous growth of thyroid cancer diagnoses in South Korea. It’s based on a study authored by H. Gilbert Welch, MD, a professor at Dartmouth Medical School, who has been a voice of restraint in the growth of aggressive American medicine for...
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In a wonderfully strongly-worded piece in the New York Times, Drs. Rita Redberg and Rebecca Smith-Bindman talk about the future physical harms of excessive CT scans now. They state that 1 in 10 Americans undergo a CT scan each year. A study by the National Cancer Institute estimated that CT scans...
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The American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology just published new guidelines for screening and treating cholesterol. In some ways these guidelines are more like the British guidelines. Instead of setting up doctors and patients to fail by calling for certain cholesterol number targets as in the old U.S. guidelines (LDL level...
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Continuing my discussion of the findings in a recently published study on the ways family physicians deliver better care at a lower cost than a multi-ologist model, today I will talk about how family physicians often believe early detection of a disease does not improve the ultimate outcome. This statement will...
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I must say, I’m very proud of the American Academy of Family Physicians for continuing to make statements about over-testing under the Choosing Wisely campaign umbrella. The Academy is more known for making wussy statements and taking wussy actions — the RUC wimp out being the prime example. So I salute...
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A major study was just published in Lancet that addressed the issue of whether or not diabetes screening in primary care improves major health outcomes. This was a 10-year randomized controlled trial!! In other words, this study is the granddaddy of them all in terms of the rigor of its methods....
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Several physicians contribute regularly to BMJ. One of my favorites is a GP in Glasgow named Des Spence. Through their writings, I have gained a glimpse of the challenges faced by GPs in the UK, and the broader culture in which they work. In two of his columns this summer, he...
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