Second Opinion

A new test offers some benefits, but also some risks, to finding out if you are at high risk for Alzheimer’s - a disease for which there are currently no good treatments available. 

In many ways social, economic, and medical the cards are stacked against some people getting a transplantation.

Why is a drug that can be so useful to a group of patients not allowed in the hospital?

This decision to leave the WHO is among the most irresponsible the president has made and will negatively impact not only American lives but people in every corner of the world.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders are a relatively new step that can be taken to protect the public from those who are felt to be of risk to themselves or others.

For some elderly taking several blood pressure medications can be risky.  Do they need to take multiple medicines?  Doctor have been hesitant to stop blood pressure medications because they fear they might harm their patients.  The OPTIMISE trial results provides some reassurance. 

Practice guidelines use evidence to help doctors and patients make decisions about care. But, if the guidelines are biased so too are the decisions.

Why do we listen to expert medical groups when they have conflicts of interests that involve pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers?

With regard to racism, medicine is part of the problem and needs to quickly become part of the solution.

Off label prescribing as grown into an enormous problem, and it risks putting people’s health at risk.

Could it be that our subconscious biases lead us to make assumptions that are not based on the facts?

Doctors have a moral, ethical and legal duty to inform patients of their medical results.  But, do patients have a right to NOT be told crucial medical information?

Florence Nightingale is known as a champion of  nursing  but she did much more….

The long journey for Remdesivir starting with a deadly cat disease

Medical journalists need to slow down and do their homework before reporting on new research.  Covering medicine is not a race, but a slow evolving process.    

In many of those countries stigma around the disease plays an important role.  Today we look at Tunisia and the role stigma plays in managing COVID.

Thinking about COVID-19 may different around the world

With each epidemic there are important lessons to be learned.  When we do not learn from these lessons, the next time around we are bound to make the same errors.

In some ways we have only ourselves to blames for our changing planet and its relationships with diseases.

For generations we’ve know that when we are watched, or think we are being watched, our behavior changes.  How can we use this to improve health?

The Affordability Care Act (aka Obama Care) turns ten this month.  Despite a decade of challenges and opposition from some, the bill remains broadly popular and has improved our health in many ways.  Without it, many who get sick from COVID would have been left without access to health care or with enormous bills.

No drug, no matter how good, should escape regular scrutiny in terms of whether it is still needed and do the benefits outweigh the risks.

Physicians, nurses, and others at UCD are faced with a time-honored dilemma do they assume some risk to themselves to provide care to the public?

Without more research we could be under-utilizing the benefits of cannabis or over using the drug and causing additional problems.  There’s only one way to find out, and that’s with well conducted research.

Full disclosure of hospital charges and POOMS (patient oriented outcomes that matter to us) will help drive the system toward higher quality care and lower costs.