Germs and Quality Improvement

Medicare has stopped paying for care related to surgical site infections. Further, it fines hospitals whenever too many patients need to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge. How is this affecting care at the physician and patient level? As Karen Sibert writes, some odd things are happening: An edict just came down in one…

I’d rather have HIV than diabetes

This is what a provocative article in the Spectator concludes. A recent large epidemiological study showed that, for those diagnosed with HIV now, life expectancy is similar to someone who does not have the virus. The medical profession now considers HIV a chronic disease; it’s regarded in public health terms in the same category as,…

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…