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Robots Taking Over the Surgical World?
ByadminIn a recent Atlantic post, James Hamblin reports on the increasing frequency with which surgeons perform hysterectomies with the assistance of robots. Here is a picture from that post: To be clear: robotic surgery doesn’t mean a robot performs the operation. Instead, the surgeon uses a laparoscope, usually, and the surgeon controls the tools at…
Reducing End-Of-Life Costs. It’s Not A Futile Pursuit.
BypeterIn my most recent post, I describe several psychologic and economic phenomena impeding our ability to rein in the cost of end-of-life care. In brief, people with nothing to lose, who don’t trust doctors recommending they receive hospice care, and who face few economic consequences for receiving expensive care – they aren’t likely to put the…
ACA Boosts Shared Decision Making
ByadminMedicine, today, is supposed to be “patient-centered.” But sometimes the patients feel a little off balance. What can they do when everyone seems to be trying to push aggressive, expensive treatments on them? One solution — or a partial solution — is known as shared decision making, in which patients are given specific tools, such…
Are You Getting Too Much Medical Care?
ByadminThis summer I had the pleasure of speaking with a very intelligent journalist, who was working on an article about overtreatment in medical care. That article has just come out, and I thought I would give you a sample of it here: A few months ago, I went to my gynecologist looking for help with a…
Doctor, First Tell Me What It Costs
ByadminIf an antibiotic would cure your infection, your doctor would probably still warn you about the chance of sun sensitivity before prescribing the pill. But even when the costs of a medical intervention might force patients to choose between paying the bill or keeping up with their mortgages, American physicians rarely discuss that serious side effect with…
Coverage That Kills – Breast Cancer Care Is Undermined By High Deductible Health Plans
Byadmin2Here is an awful thing about high deductible health plans: They delay breast cancer diagnosis and get in the way of proper breast cancer care.
