January 2003

C-reactive protein

January 29, 2003

Ignore the headline, read the article – New Test Urged for Heart Disease Screening Could Help Doctors Target Those Needing Treatment, Panel Says The italicized part is more accurate. I have read the recommendations the related articles which appear in yesterday’s Circulation (I will link to those later in this rant). First, I will quote [...]

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The insurers on malpractice

January 28, 2003

A reader sent me this link. The graph attempts to compare two key trends underlying the medical malpractice controversy: premiums per doctor (DPW/MD) and paid losses per doctor (DLP/MD). Both of these variables are expressed in constant medical dollars. Did Investments Affect Medical Malpractice Premiums? Some samples of this detailed analysis. In 64 different regressions [...]

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Now Florida and Mississippi

January 28, 2003

Doctors in Fla., Miss. Protest Insurance Rates I will just direct you to the article. I have one thought, partially taken from a comment left yesterday. Thinking over night, I hope that I make this clear. If a business has increased overhead, it passes those costs over to consumers. They raise prices (within the context [...]

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Sorting out the pyramids

January 28, 2003

I have written recently about Willett’s alternate pyramid. Sally Squires (Washington Post) has done a very nice job comparing the two pyramids. Take the Pyramid, Please If you’ve been following the recent debate over that well-known dietary icon — the U.S. Food Guide Pyramid — and the alternative Healthy Eating pyramid touted by Harvard School [...]

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Another view of malpractice

January 27, 2003

A loyal reader sends this link – Malpractice crisis: It doesn’t take a brain surgeon So who’s right? Both sides are, and that’s what’s so darn irritating about this tit-for-tat political dance in which neither side is willing to concede to the other that there’s room for improvement. How can they? Bush and his Republicans [...]

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Spironalactone and CHF

January 27, 2003

The RALES study showed a survival benefit from low dose spironalactone in CHF patients. The entry criteria for RALES included presenting with Class IV CHF sometime in the past 6 months. Many of us have observed that physicians are using spironalactone more aggressively than the study supported. A recent article in the Journal of the [...]

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Bush and malpractice

January 27, 2003

Bush turns up the heat on liability reform. President Bush in January renewed his push for Congress to pass legislation aimed at making medical liability insurance more affordable and available for physicians. This time, he emphasized how the “broken” system is hurting patient care. The president first unveiled his tort reform plan last summer. It [...]

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Not so fast

January 26, 2003

Health care professionals are making their opinion of smallpox vaccination clear. Slim turnout for first smallpox shots The risk of a smallpox attack is unknown, and the chance that any given person will be exposed is small, an advisory panel for the Institute of Medicine said recently in urging the government to go slower with [...]

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Understanding exercise benefits

January 26, 2003

I know, I know – I am obsessed. Readers expect almost daily ranting on exercise. This article satisfies my addiction for today. Study: Exercise like a drug in heart disease. Exercise can act like a drug on the blood vessels, reducing the risk of heart disease by literally getting the blood flowing, U.S. researchers said [...]

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Wrap-up on the McDonald’s suit

January 26, 2003

As I wrote earlier this week, the judge threw out the McDonald’s obesity lawsuit. Your Honor, We Call Our Next Witness: McFrankenstein. For those who are interested in the details of the opinion, this article provides sufficient depth. As I noted previously, the judge did leave the door partially open. viagra free viagra buy viagra [...]

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