What are we getting for our national $100 billion investment in electronic medical records (EMRs), or $200 billion, or $300 billion – who knows what the final cost will be? In the primary care ambulatory world, not very much. It’s not that EMRs are useless, they just don’t help very much....
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Doctors love to talk about tort reform – states passing laws to put limits on awards such as non-economic damages for harms such as pain and suffering, and on the legal process of suing a doctor for malpractice. They speak of defensive medicine – the practice of ordering extra tests, treatments,...
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I received my Costco Connection magazine in the mail recently and noticed that it contained an article on prostate cancer. The subtitle was “Why your best shot at beating it is early detection.” I knew I was in for a rough ride. The article started with a common story-telling technique. It...
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My local newspaper is struggling with the growth of web-based news — as are so many papers nationwide — and shrinking as a result, but it still has its own health beat reporter. I’ve never met this reporter and the tone of her articles implies she is a nice and well-meaning...
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