One of the things that annoys me the most about pharmaceutical marketing is the ersatz support communities. In civic organizing, this kind of thing is called “astroturf” – as in, fake grassroots organizations. For Crohn’s disease alone, there are at least three:
www.livingwithcrohnsdisease.com – owned by Centocor, maker of Remicade.
www.crohnsonline.com – owned by Abbott, maker of [...]
Thu, November 20 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
In an article that verges on alarmist, the AP discovers that patients are being left in hallways after ER visits. [My first read of that article was a little off, so I've revised the rest of the post accordingly.]
The problem is that patients are filling up ERs and not being admitted to the hospital proper. [...]
Tue, October 28 2008 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
Several years ago I volunteered for a clinical trial at the NIH, testing a drug to treat Crohn’s disease. The doctor running that study, Peter Mannon, published the results in a NEJM article. As it happens, I’m the “Patient 2″ described in the article (on pages 2076-2077 in the PDF). That single dose of medicine [...]
Mon, October 27 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
Peter’s comments on my post about the social obligation of doctors reminded me of a story I had forgotten.
A year or so before I started college, I developed a bad case of thrush – i.e. oral candidiasis, a fungal infestation of the mouth. I had thick white fuzz all over the back of my tongue, [...]
Thu, October 23 2008 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
From Maggie Mahar, in part one of a two-parter about health care costs:
The culprit behind long-term health care inflation, the study reveals, is not a “who” but a what: “advancing medical technologies” combined with low productivity.
She’s talking about a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. One of their conclusions is that “Technology – not [...]
Wed, October 22 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
Kevin, MD posts reposts on the problem of unnecessary medical testing – apparently a major driver in the cost of health care. He argues that doctors order extra tests to cover themselves against a malpractice suit, and this is expensive. Obviously, the problem is lawyers.
Doctors – being human – make mistakes. Unfortunately, these mistakes kill [...]
Mon, September 29 2008 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
A novel crime against decency by Duncan Cross
