Taking action on medication overload!
March 30-31 was a milestone in the Lown Medication Overload project, when 30 working group members came to Boston to discuss strategies for reducing medication overload. Here's what we talked about! More
Does the benefit of off-label Gabapentinoid use outweigh the harms?
Gabapentinoids like Neurontin and Lyrica are often prescribed for off-label uses. But does the evidence support this treatment? More
The other side of high drug costs
High drug prices have been a hot topic in politics recently, but there's another reason that our country spends so much on drug costs, write Shannon Brownlee and Judith Garber in Stat News. More
More clarity and evidence needed in cardiology guidelines
In two pieces published recently in JAMA, researchers identify important issues in cardiology guidelines, including the lack of clarity in summary statements and a worsening evidence base. More
Why you should be a “medical conservative”
What does it mean to be a "medical conservative"? These doctors explain why it's important to be skeptical about new medical advances until unbiased and high-quality evidence shows a clear benefit. More
Top ten ways to prevent overuse and underuse in children’s health
In the newest edition of the American Family Physician, members of the Right Care Alliance Children's Health Council present their final list of top "Do's and Don'ts" for preventing both overuse and underuse in pediatrics. More
Managing blood pressure starts with listening
For conditions like mild hypertension, that depend a lot of patient behavior outside the clinic, adherence rates are typically very low. The newest piece in the Right Care Series gives physicians tips on how they can improve patient engagement. More
Tradeoffs in cancer screening: Where do we draw the line?
In a new commentary, Dr. Vinay Prasad and colleagues use a thought experiment to explain why cancer screening programs have to consider the harms as well as the benefits. More
Moral injury: A systemic issue in medicine
When the majority of health professionals are experiencing feelings of exhaustion, detachment, and depression, could this possibly be problem that individuals can solve? Absolutely not. More
Communities of color have less access to trauma care, study finds
A new study finds that trauma care is less accessible to residents of black-majority census tracts in certain cities, demonstrating another consequence of structural violence. More
Preventing harm from unnecessary antihypertensives in the hospital
When a patient in the hospital has elevated blood pressure, but no other symptoms related to a hypertensive emergency, what should be the course of action? More
Do you know how much your doctor receives from industry?
Two years after the Open Payments tool was launched, the vast majority of patients still don't know whether their doctor receives money from industry. Why? More
Can telehealth improve value in primary care?
A new primary care model to encourage telehealth visits could be a step in the right direction, but also raises questions about provider burden. More
The unspoken rules of politics and medicine
In health care as well as politics, expectations of unethical behavior are often driven by unspoken rules, rather than explicit instructions. More
How much is medical care “worth”? The tricky question of value
Should we be worried about projected increases in health care spending? Or is it just the price we pay for better health? More
The Top Ten pediatric overuse articles from 2017
The pediatric field has been slower to recognize the problem of overuse, in part because there is less evidence available on overused services. A new review seeks to highlight studies that are filling these gaps in the research. More
Outcome misreporting goes ignored by top medical journals
In the COMPare trial, researchers set out to find out how prevalent outcome reporting errors are in major journals, and how these journals respond to criticism. The results were not pretty... More
Esketamine nears FDA approval, prompting both excitement and concern
As the powerful depression drug esketamine nearly FDA approval, some researchers are concerned that the approval would be lowering the bar for clinical evidence. More
Conflicts of interest cloud stroke intervention guidelines
Do financial conflicts play a role in explaining the differences in recommendations for acute stroke interventions between specialty societies? More
American families spent more on hospital care than federal taxes in 2018
They say that nothing is certain but death and taxes. Maybe we should add "high health care costs" to that list of certainties... More