The University of Chicago Medical Center is under the national microscope, with a recent death in their emergency department’s waiting room, and an alleged, inappropriate transfer of a patient needing surgical care.

Blogging over at MedPage Today, Shadowfax gives a more detailed look at their indiscretions.

With margins are already well above the national average, the hospital has decided to double down on profits, by limiting (more…)

Pregnancy is one of the most complicated things that we endure as human beings. The birth of our children is magical, and is a wonder from start to finish. One of the scariest parts of pregnancy health for most couples is knowing when labor is or is not happening. False labor pains can certainly fool us, and they are a normal part of pregnancy. Here are some things to consider about false labor and real labor:

(more…)

The purging of drug companies from continuing medical education courses continues.

Psychiatrist Daniel Carlat points to what’s happening at the University of Wisconsin, where company-funded CME lectures conveniently left out side effects of the medications that were mentioned.

For instance, in a Pfizer-sponsored course on smoking cessation, not one of Pfizer-marketed Chantix’s many side effects were mentioned.

CME (more…)

Criticizing cancer screening advocates can be a difficult thing to do.

Gary Schwtizer writes about the case of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who is introducing a new bill advocating breast cancer screening to begin earlier than the current suggested age of 40.

Ms. Wasserman Schultz was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 42, and wants “to educate the public, particularly young women and their doctors, about the need (more…)

It seems that residents and medical students are having trouble intubating patients these days.

Apparently, one of the biggest mistakes is positioning the head incorrectly, and the problem is traced back to the television drama ER. When surveyed, most young doctors and medical students cited television as the main source of tips on how to intubate correctly, specifically, ER.

But when researchers actually watched the show, (more…)

Yeast infections are among the most frustrating infections around. A yeast infection is when the vagina has an extra large amount of candida (a fungus) and it results in a vagina that is swollen, red, and itchy at the least. Many men wonder if you can get a yeast infection by having sex with a partner who has a yeast infection. The simple answer to this question is yes, and it is not fun when it does happen for your sexual health. Fortunately, (more…)

Reader Takes is a regular feature where selected op-ed style pieces from the audience at KevinMD.com will be published on the blog.

Posts are between 500 and 600 words in length, and can argue any opinion related to medicine and health care.

Articles that are provocative, well-written, free of grammatical or spelling errors, and generally follow these guidelines are preferred.

Pieces that have not been published elsewhere (more…)

Representatives from drug companies are undergoing some hard times, as physicians increasingly are closing their doors to them, or seeing them only via an appointment.

Subsequently, the number of drug reps is predicted to fall from about 102,000 at its peak in 2007, to 75,000 by 2012.

There are a variety of reasons for this, including the fact that more doctors simply don’t trust the information that’s presented, to medical schools (more…)

While acai is currently a prominent figure in the health food industry, it may not be the most effective weight loss tool. Acai, for those of you that do not know, is a berry which is native to Brazil. It is high in antioxidants and fatty acids, and for these reasons is considered to be a super food as well as an alternative medicine. From a nutritional standpoint, acai is said to contain more antioxidants than both blueberries and grapes. (more…)

I wrote previously that pharmaceutical industry influence should be removed from physician continuing medical education courses.

The American Psychiatric Association is taking that recommendation to heart, announcing that it will end industry-sponsored seminars at its annual meeting.

Good for them.

But, I’d be interested to see how many of these professional organizations can survive the funding cut. For instance, (more…)