The Abramson Center for the Future of Health

February 18, 2008

Would you pay $10 to detect or avoid cancer? Commenting on the New England Journal of Medicine's January 24, 2008 article, "Effect of Cost Sharing on Screening Mammography in Medicare Health Plans", Dr. Dacso discusses a study done by the Brown University Medical School that found some interesting and surprising results as to how little value we place in preventative care when it comes to making decisions around managing our health. Is the remedy to offer these services for free? Listen as Dr. Dacso weighs in on this question.

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The Abramson Center for the Future of Health

November 15, 2007

Sometimes discovering what doesn't work is just as important as discovering what does. In this episode Dr. Dacso discusses the bias of publication of positive results. Articles cited in this podcast: Cardiac-Resynchronization Therapy in Heart Failure with Narrow QRS Complexes and Publication bias against negative results from clinical trials: three of the seven deadly sins

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The Abramson Center for the Future of Health

October 22, 2007

With sensational headlines like Experts: Drug-resistant staph deaths may surpass AIDS toll and, Bacteria that killed Virginia teen found in other schools it's easy to feel overwhelmed and a bit helpless in the face of such daunting news. However, the simple truth is that doctors have been dealing with these drug resistant "superbugs" throughout history [New York Times, 1946: Drop in Efficacy of 2 Drugs Noted]. Drug resistant bacteria may be an unpleasant reality in medicine but we can all take solace in the simple fact that hand washing is enough to mitigate the spread of MRSA and other diseases [Science, 2004: "Hand washing lessens MRSA risk"].

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The Abramson Center for the Future of Health

September 21, 2007

Medical hypotheses are often generated from observational studies. These studies collect vast amounts of data across large populations in an attempt to identify underlying correlations. However correlation does not imply causation and sometimes these circumstantial relationships are dispelled when subjected to more rigorous clinical trials. In this episode Dr. Dacso discusses a report from the Journal of the American Medical Association which suggests there is insufficient evidence to support B vitamins as prevention for vascular disease. [Abstract]

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The Abramson Center for the Future of Health

August 28, 2007

When it is possible for anyone to logon and read their e-mail while away from home, why is it impossible to have the same kind of access to your personal medical information? Despite the huge advances in information exchange personal Electronic Medical Records have not yet become the norm. In this episode Dr. Dacso and Bob Teague, MD the CEO of Practice IT discuss why EMRs have yet to be adopted by physicians.

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The Abramson Center for the Future of Health

August 22, 2007

Ads for prescription drugs have permeated the media since the FDA issued a three page draft guidance document in August of 1997 that opened the doors to direct-to-consumer advertising. Since then spending on advertising has sky-rocketed from $11.4 billion in 1996 to $29.9 in 2005. Despite the criticisms that have been levied against the pervasive advertising some contend that the increase in information has let to more informed patients. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine titled "A Decade of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs" [Abstract] explores this very issue and served as inspiration for this episode.

The Abramson Center for the Future of Health

August 10, 2007

Practice makes perfect even in medicine. In this episode Dr. Dacso discusses the importance of clinical experience to the practice of medicine. The current standard of residency training allows new doctors to treat patients under tight controls and strict supervision. However a new paradigm of medical education is on the horizon which will incorporate sophisticated medical simulators to augment the training of medical students.

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