The healthcare reform debate has generated much heat but very little light. (And it’s also getting a lot of coverage, so there’s very little else to report about this week.)
I wrote a couple of months ago my opinion of two simple (but unpopular) steps that would make high-quality healthcare affordable to virtually everyone: abolishing the employer tax deduction for health insurance, and slowly phasing out Medicare. The entire national debate is going in the opposite direction, with one party ...
More
Important Influenza Inoculation Information
Our office just received our first batch of influenza vaccines, so it’s time for the annual flu shot post.
The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against novel H1N1 (swine) flu. Availability of the swine flu vaccine is still at least a couple of months away, and I’ll write about it in more detail when it becomes available.
This year the CDC is recommending flu vaccination for the following people:
More
- Children aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday,
- Women ...
Weight Lifting Helps Breast Cancer Survivors with Lymphedema
One of my goals for these posts is to use individual studies to point out the broader trends they suggest. This week I want to focus on our increasing understanding of the value of exercise after illness or injury. A generation ago a heart attack meant weeks of bed rest in the hospital followed by strict instructions from the doctor to take it easy. The weakened heart couldn’t take much exertion, we thought. Now after a heart attack patients are told to start exercising as soon as they’re ou...
More
Vertebroplasties: Not Very Valuable
Osteoporosis, the demineralization and weakening of bones, is common in older patients. A potentially incapacitating consequence of osteoporosis is a vertebral fracture, in which one of the vertebrae in the spine collapses and breaks under the weight it’s carrying. Like other broken bones, this is frequently very painful. Sometimes the fractured vertebra heals and the pain resolves after some time, but other times the pain can be incapacitating and prolonged.
A few years ago a procedure call...
More