Sharpening a medical debate about the costs and benefits of cancer screening, a new report estimates that the U.S. spends $4 billion a year on unnecessary medical costs due to mammograms that generate false alarms, and on treatment of certain breast tumors unlikely to cause problems. Mei-Sing Ong, research associate in biomedical informatics, and Kenneth Mandl, professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, coauthored the study.
If all doctors followed new cholesterol guidelines aimed at children, almost half a million Americans aged 17 to 21 would be prescribed a cholesterol-lowering statin drug, a new study predicts. Holly Gooding, instructor in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, led the research.
Clinical pharmacists are part of a burgeoning number of recent medical interventions that aim to increase access to medical care. Across the country, patients can see a nurse or a pharmacist at new retail clinics, urgent-care clinics and kiosks. Ateev Mehrotra, associate professor of health care policy, is quoted.
An updated review of 11 popular commercial diets found that only Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers show evidence for effective long-term weight loss. Christina Wee, associate professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is quoted.
Spotting a narcissist in a crowd might be a fun pastime, but if you’re a researcher or a hiring manager, your job may actually depend on it. Although there’s been a lot of research and public interest in the narcissistic personality, it’s been less clear how narcissists may actually differ from the average Joe conversationally. Craig Malkin, instructor in psychology at Cambridge Health Alliance, is quoted.
The top golfers in the world are like orchestra leaders conducting a symphony of nutritionists monitoring their food intake, trainers tailoring their workout regimens, coaches calibrating their swings, analysts crunching their statistics and psychologists decluttering their minds. The goal is to be in perfect harmony during the majors. But if the players’ circadian rhythms are off, it is akin to trying to create beautiful music with a percussion section that is a beat slow. Charles Czeisler, Frank Baldino, Jr., Ph.D. Professor of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
Within three years, the Obama administration wants quality of care to be considered in allocating $9 of every $10 Medicare pays directly to providers to treat the elderly and disabled. One part of that effort is well underway: revising hospital payments based on excess readmissions, patient satisfaction and other quality measures. Expanding this approach to physicians is touchier, as many are suspicious of the government judging them and reluctant to share performance metrics that Medicare requests. Alyna Chien, assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
Hospitals are treating the kind of suffering imposed by their medical professionals, not by disease or its treatment, as seriously as infections and falls. Lauge Sokol-Hessner, instructor in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is quoted.
A small study offers a mixed view on whether video games may make kids more aggressive. Claire McCarthy, assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
