Think Twice Before Taking Tamiflu For Seasonal Influenza
The CDC recommendations for antiviral medications remained unchanged. They provided no rationale for dismissing the results of randomized trials that cast doubt on their efficacy.
View ArticleProject C.A.R.E.S. Offers An Innovative Solution
How to make a family medicine career more appealing and sustainable is a big project with a long-term horizon. But what can we do right now to reduce patients' waiting times while we wait for our...
View ArticlePsychological Effects of Cancer Screening
Several years ago, a few colleagues and I performed a systematic evidence review to help update the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's recommendations on screening for prostate cancer. One of our...
View ArticleThe Way We Provide End Of Life Care Requires Resuscitation
Most of us will die in hospitals, receiving "heroic" interventions that we don't want and won't do us a bit of good anyway.
View ArticleEverything But The Kitchen Sink In Public Health
Two stories I've read in the past month offer good examples of throwing "everything but the kitchen sink" at public health problems that defy straightforward solutions.
View ArticleOveruse in Health Care: Can -ologists Help Themselves?
In 20 examples of high-quality, high-profile studies that provided evidence for medical reversals, nearly half of official -ologist society responses defended the practice, an effect that was more...
View ArticleCan Medical Scribes Make Doctors and Patients Happier?
One of the authors reported that his increased efficiency and net revenue more than made up for cost of training and paying for an additional medical assistant functioning as a scribe.
View ArticleWhen Should Cancer Screening Be Discontinued?
Dr. Kenny Lin provides guidance on when to consider stopping cancer screenings in elderly patients.
View ArticleThe Case for Palliative Care in Heart Failure
Heart failure provides a good example of a non-cancer condition that benefits from palliative care, especially in its advanced stages.
View ArticleDoes Convenience Care Trump Continuity of Care?
Retail clinics offer convenience, your PCP offers continuity. Dr. Kenny Lin wonders if we can have both.
View ArticleShould Medical Guidelines Include Dissenting Opinions?
Would the airing of minority views within medical guidelines provide useful perspectives for patients, clinicians, or policymakers, or are conflicting guidelines from different organizations already...
View ArticleWhat You Should Know About the HPV Vaccine
Although HPV vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective at reducing infection with the virus that causes cervical and oropharyngeal cancers, vaccination rates in the US are so low they have been...
View ArticleThe Disgusting Politics of the Zika Epidemic
Family doc, Kenny Lin, explores the many ways politics are preventing a robust response to Zika virus in the U.S.
View ArticleWords Matter When Treating People with Addiction
When we label someone with an addiction a "substance abuser," we send the message that the condition is less treatable and that the person is somehow to blame. Words matter.
View ArticleStatins and the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
Family physician Kenny Lin discusses the new USPSTF recommendations for statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular events.
View ArticleYes, Health Policy Agendas Can Be Bipartisan
A bipartisan group of state health policy leaders (Reforming States Group) recently released a letter to the incoming Administration that proposes a modest federal-state policy agenda designed to...
View ArticleIt’s Time to Think of Voting as a Vital Sign
A family doc says, "If you are a primary care doc or clinician who works with the underserved, start asking people if they are registered to vote, then help them to do it." #VotingIsAVitalSign
View ArticleHHS Nominee Needs a Refresher Course on the Basics of Cancer Screening
HHS nominee and physician, Tom Price, signed a letter sent to prior HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, making it clear he doesn't understand the basics of cancer epidemiology. Kenny Lin, MD thinks he...
View ArticleUpdate on the Ranking of Effective Clinical Preventive Services
Childhood vaccinations, tobacco screening in adults, and counseling kids not to start smoking top the list of effective clinical preventive services.
View ArticleIt May Not Be Low T, But It Is High Reward
How testosterone direct-to-consumer advertising helps pharma rake in the dough.
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