Are you ever worried that you (or a loved one) have mental problems that require professional attention? If not, then maybe you should be. Consider the following list of symptoms: – Do you binge out on forbidden foods [Häagen-Dazs, Cheetos] more than a couple of times a month? – Were you extremely sad and depressed for a month or two after your mother died, or even longer? – Does your seven-year-old have frequent temper tantrums? – Do you get cranky before your period? – Are you forgetting more things than you used to? More related to this story If you answered yes to any of these questions, beware. Taken from the top, these behaviours could be symptoms of: Binge Eating Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Disruptive ... Continue reading →
Can you really have too much of a good thing when it comes to medical tests? Apparently, and our nation's tendency to overuse them may be harming patients and sending health care costs soaring, according to a new initiative by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). This notion created a big buzz in the healthcare industry yesterday after nine physician specialty groups—like the American College of Radiology and the American Academy of Family Physicians—each revealed their lists of the top five overused tests or procedures in their fields. The resulting list of 45 tests has been made public as part of ABIM's Choosing Wisely campaign, an effort to boost communication between patients and physicians, and scale back on unneeded medicine in the process. Could ... Continue reading →
ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2012) What experts and the public have already long suspected is now supported by representative data collected by researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and University of Basel: ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is over-diagnosed. The study showed that child and adolescent psychotherapists and psychiatrists tend to give a diagnosis based on heuristics, unclear rules of thumb, rather than adhering to recognized diagnostic criteria. Boys in particular are substantially more often misdiagnosed compared to girls. These are the most important results of a study conducted by Prof. Dr. Silvia Schneider and Prof. Dr. Jürgen Margraf (both from RUB) and Dr. Katrin Bruchmüller (University of Basel) as reported in the periodical Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Daniel has ADHD, Danielle doesn't The ... Continue reading →
"Too much testing is being done that isn't needed, that doesn't work," says John Santa, M.D., who directs health ratings for Consumer Reports. Here are seven of the most popular, most overused tests and treatments for people over age 50 that the AARP Bulletin has selected from the Choosing Wisely campaign. For the complete list go to choosingwisely.org. 1. EKG and other heart screening tests for low-risk people without symptoms. American Academy of Family Physicians These can be lifesaving for those experiencing chest pain or other symptoms of heart disease. But a 2010 Consumer Reports survey found that 44 percent of people with no signs or symptoms of heart disease had an EKG, an exercise stress test or an ultrasound. For several years, cardiology guidelines ... Continue reading →
As part of our ongoing effort to raise awareness of health services research and increase its application in policy and practice, AcademyHealth is pleased to announce a new partnership with the researchers and authors over at The Incidental Economist. Starting today, we’ll be featuring regular contributions by Austin Frakt, Ph.D., and Aaron Carroll, M.D., M.S., on the subjects of health care costs, delivery system transformation, and public and population health – areas AcademyHealth has identified as a priority in the current policy environment. As regular contributors, they’ll be discussing current events with an eye toward how new and existing research informs the issues. We’re proud to be part of the discussion Drs. Frakt and Carroll have started on their wildly successful blog, and look forward ... Continue reading →
May 14 2012 Trying to keep up with health care ethics (mis)adventures Posted by Gary Schwitzer in Health care/research ethics No Comments Read Bill Heisel’s column, “Journalists Bag a Big One: The American Pain Foundation.” Excerpt: The American Pain Foundation – an industry funded promoter of painkillers masquerading as a patient advocacy organization – closed its doors last week after it became the target of a U.S. Senate panel inquiry. The action by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and the surprisingly quick collapse of the foundation were prompted by two journalistic investigations. Also see Carl Elliott’s column, “Making a Name for Yourself in the Ethics Business.” Excerpt: Let’s start with a quiz. Can you tell which of these awards is real? A) The Exxon Valdez ... Continue reading →
