Second Opinion

Back scratching: Medicine and drug companies 31.10.2021 4:55 ↓

The relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession is unhealthy and it impacts us all.

Daily aspirin to prevent heart attacks 24.10.2021 4:49 ↓

Why did it take so long to change the recommendations about the preventive effects of aspirin?

The fallacy of Kubler-Ross stages of dying 17.10.2021 4:43 ↓

Grieving is important and complex; there is no one “right way” to do it.

Pregnancy, mental health, and more 10.10.2021 4:56 ↓

Pregnancy poses unique mental health challenges that we need to address urgently.

A new twist for cigarette related disease 03.10.2021 4:54 ↓

Making profits from creating a disease and then making more profit from treating the same disease.

Dairy products and health 26.09.2021 4:40 ↓

A close look at the health benefits of dairy products suggests the recommended 3 glasses of milk a day may not be a healthy choice.

Practicing What You Preach 19.09.2021 4:39 ↓

How is advice to loose weight received from a clinician who is themselves overweight?

Lessons from 9-11 12.09.2021 4:45 ↓

We have learned some important lessons about caring for people from 9-11 we can apply to those impacted by COVID.

Robots in surgery 05.09.2021 4:49 ↓

At this point, surgical robots are not all they are cracked up to be.

Defensive Medicine 29.08.2021 4:58 ↓

Defensive medicine add costs but not value to clinical care.

Using the MRI to evaluate common back pain 22.08.2021 4:49 ↓

While the MRI can be enormously useful for a small number of people with back pain, when overused for common back pain it can lead to some serious problems.

The Legacy of Albert Bandura 15.08.2021 4:47 ↓

Bandura, one of the top five psychologists of all time challenged our approach to learning and changing human behavior.

Treating loneliness 08.08.2021 4:55 ↓

Loneliness is everywhere and seems to be growing more common. The treatment isn’t medication but social connections.

After a diagnosis of lung cancer 01.08.2021 4:24 ↓

Are there benefits of stopping smoking once diagnosed with lung cancer?

Do people have an ethical right to have cosmetic surgery? 25.07.2021 4:41 ↓

Government insurance is provided to people for medically necessary care. But, when care is not necessary should it still be provided as a benefit?

Refugee Mental Health 18.07.2021 4:42 ↓

Refugees are at high risk for all the stress of changing cultures while being without their usual supports. A bit of prevention may ease their integration into American society.

We need more training slots for medical residents 11.07.2021 4:26 ↓

But, in creating new slots we need to grow health care delivery in places where the need is greatest and the trainees will have the greatest impact on improving the community’s health.

The double standard of medical marijuana cards 04.07.2021 4:55 ↓

Federal laws are putting many of our young adults in a bind and creating new disparities in health care.

Live-Streaming Primary Care 27.06.2021 4:40 ↓

Do the advantages of telemedicine suggest it is an innovation that should last past COVID?

Estimating the chance of disease 20.06.2021 4:59 ↓

It turns out that clinicians are not very good at estimating the probability of illness which leads to unnecessary care.

Mistaken approval of Alzheimer’s Drug 13.06.2021 5:00 ↓

Aducanumab is not just a drug that doesn’t seem to work, but it is an enormously expensive drug but provides false hope to desperate families.

Marketing low value products 06.06.2021 4:37 ↓

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, one lesson is that we need to rethink allowing promotions for treatments that are overdone, unnecessary, or not proven effective.

Using incentives to drive health care 30.05.2021 4:21 ↓

For years we have used incentives and disincentives to drive people toward specific behaviors. Is driving toward COVID immunization any different?

Selecting your type of health care provider 23.05.2021 4:36 ↓

Rather than selecting a health care provider based on ability and training, people often rely on demographic data and look for someone they think is like them.

The Promotion of Medical Devices 16.05.2021 4:43 ↓

For years pharmaceutical companies have provide gifts and kickbacks to doctors who prescribed their drugs. Medical device manufacturers are now playing the same game and it’s costing all of us.