Medicaid’s Effect on Mortality

Does Medicaid coverage decrease mortality?  According to a recent study in NEJM, the answer is yes. “Mortality declined significantly (by 19.6 deaths per 100,000, for a relative reduction of 6.1%; P=0.001). Reductions were greatest among nonwhites and older adults, with smaller but significant reductions among whites and no effect among persons under the age of…

American Views on HIV/AIDS

A survey by the Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation revealed the following regarding Americans opinions on HIV and AIDS: 45 percent say they would be “very comfortable” in having their child having an HIV+ teacher, up from 36 percent in 2011. 79 percent say that everyone with HIV in the U.S. should get treatment…

Hepatitis C Around the World

The global burden of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is distressing. “[A]n estimated 130–170 million persons (2%–3% of the world’s population) are living with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection [1]. This infection, particularly in its chronic form, is associated with sizable morbidity and mortality. More than 350 000 deaths are attributed to HCV infection each…

Hospice Care and Lung Cancer Survival

Metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer, the leading cause of death from cancer worldwide, is a debilitating disease that results in a high burden of symptoms and poor quality of life; the estimated prognosis after the diagnosis has been established is less than 1 year. Due to the high mortality rates of metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer, palliative…

How Effective is Arthroscopic Knee Surgery?

For patients with osteoarthritis, the answer is not at all. A paper in the New England Journal of Medicine examined 180 patients 75 years old or younger, that had osteoarthritis of the knee, and reported at least moderate knee pain on average despite medical treatment.  The researchers randomized this individuals into three groups: Surgery Group #1 (Lavage): The…

Are you depressed?

That is the question that that clinicians often have to ask.  Depression certainly operates along a scale and it is often difficult to quantify either i) if a person is depressed or ii) how depressed they are. One option to assess patient depression is the PHQ-9.  The assessment asks patients nine questions regarding their mental…

Why do doctors adopt an innovation?

You’re a researcher.  You just came up with a new medical treatment that is far superior to the previous treatment.  How do you get physicians to adopt your method/technology? Most researchers believe that providing the physician with evidence of the new treatment superiority is the number one factor driving adoption.  In a presentation at this…