Friday, April 23, 2004

WATCH OUT FOR THOSE STENTS - THE ADVERTISING WORKS BETTER THAN THE PRODUCT! F.D.A. Seeks Reports of Stent Problems. The Food and Drug Administration says it has heard of serious medical complications in some cases involving the use of a stent that came on the market last month. By Gina Kolata. 9:57:27 PM    comment [] JUST AS WE'VE ALWAYS KNOWN .....  HERE'S WHY THE BAD NEWS ABOUT 'APPROVED' DRUGS TAKES  YEARS TO BE DISCOVERED..... Damaging Drug Study? Bury It. Pharmaceutical companies may have been hiding data that shows some antidepressants might actually hurt depressed kids rather than helping them, according to a new study. By Kristen Philipkoski.  9:54:31 PM    comment [] ALL NET USERS OWE A BIG THANKS TO JOHN McCAIN... HERE'S WHY.... Senate Revives Ban on Taxing Internet (AP).  Sen. John McCain worked Friday to revive a bill banning taxes on Internet connections, a measure that bogged down last year amid worries that state and local governments could lose billions in tax revenue.  9:51:04 PM    comment [] MELATONIN May Cut Hypertension Risk New research uncovers yet one more potential non-drug treatment for hypertension - it's tied to the fact that there us a noticeable early morning peak in cardiovascular incidents (heart attacks). Read on. http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-auto/healthnews/blpr/517008.html 9:33:48 PM    comment [] WHY SO FEW AUTOPSIES? Seems like a gruesome question with no relevance to real life - but there is a point here. It's a documented fact that autopsies - which were once routine - are now a rarity. According to a recent New York Times report, it's likely that less than 5% of all deaths are followed by an autopsy in this day and age. Why does that matter? Not only because autopsies are one of the most important ways in which doctors learn things about medicine, but also because it's a way of uncovering the real reason someone died. Without an autopsy, all too often the official 'casue of death' is DEAD wrong!  Some doctors may argue that MRIs and other high-tech imaging technologies eliminate the need for formal autopsies in many cases. But according to some studies, autopsies reveal missed or incorrect diagnoses in ONE OUT OF FOUR hospital deaths. So why the reducteion in autopsies? The biggest reason autopsies are rarely performed nowadays is the  potential for legal liability. If autopsies were routine, their findings would call into glaring dsplay the frequency of misdiagnoses (or mistreatment) on the part of hospitals and emergency medicine providers. They'd expose the mistakes modern medicine makes which sometimes end up harming or killing us. It's clearly a medical industry ploy to avoid expensive malpractice lawsuits. I'm not in favor of more lawuits - however medical care for everyone will improve if doctors and hospitals are forced to contend with (and learn from) their diagnostic and treatment mistakes. So they won't repeat them on you or someone you love.  9:27:39 PM    comment []

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