How to Tell Someone That She Is Dying

Many people consider the randomized control trial the gold standard for assessing medical interventions. The US government has been a major funder of such trials, as illustrated in this picture which shows that the government funds just about as many RCTs as private industry: Despite so much US funding for RCTs, the location of such…

Is medical marijuana legal in your state? That probably means less narcotic use and abuse: Something to keep in mind as we fight our opiate epidemic.

Here is the opening of an article I recently published in JAMA, available now online, in which I raise concerns about misguided congressional efforts to promote the use of high-value healthcare services, without doing anything to reduce the use of low value ones. Health care systems around the world are under pressure to restrain health…

Here is an article in the Duke University student newspaper, summarizing a public forum I led last night. Really nice summary—almost makes me sound coherent! In the midst of an ongoing debate about the future of the nation’s health care system, Duke professor Peter Ubel discussed the limitations of the current system and encouraged bipartisan solutions at a…