A few changes could improve common medical practice, and save money, too, a group of doctors says. The advice comes from the National Physicians’ Alliance. A group of alliance members came up with “Top Five” lists of ways to improve primary care while reducing costs. The lists covered family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics. All of the advice is based on published evidence. But not everyone follows it now. Two of the lists overlapped. They said no imaging tests should be done for back pain for at least six weeks. They recommended no routine heart tests for low-risk patients without symptoms. They also said to reserve routine bone density tests for women 65 or older. Men should be 70 or older with high fracture risk. One list recommended generic drugs to lower cholesterol.
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What treatments are available for a persistent painful neuropathy in my feet?
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Many children with asthma get antibiotics they don’t need, new research suggests. One study looked at prescriptions for Belgian children. Those with asthma were almost twice as likely to be prescribed an antibiotic as other children. A second study looked at U.S. children with asthma who went to their doctor or an emergency room for care. About 16% got prescriptions for antibiotics they did not need, the study found. Antibiotics fight infections caused by bacteria. They have no proven benefit for asthma. Children with more severe asthma symptoms were the most likely to be given antibiotics. This occurred even if there was no bacterial infection. Experts say antibiotics are prescribed too often when not needed. This can help bacteria to become resistant to the drugs. Then the drugs become useless. The journal Pediatrics published the studies online.
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People with alcohol dependency are more likely to be smokers, and should be encouraged to try to quit smoking as well. Quitting both habits increases the chances of maintaining sobriety.
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I enjoyed your article on diverticular disease and the fiber content of various foods. However, could you make some distinctions between soluble and insoluble fiber? Some fiber makes me feel very bloated.
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According to researchers, women with bipolar disorder were more likely to have their condition negatively affected by premenstrual symptoms.
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A diabetes drug linked with a higher risk of heart attack will be sharply restricted starting November 18. The drug is rosiglitazone (Avandia). Nearly a year ago, a group of experts recommended that the drug be pulled from the market or remain with tighter limits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) imposed some new rules in September. It announced the full new policy this week. Avandia will be pulled from pharmacy shelves. It will be available only through specific mail-order pharmacies. Doctors will have to be certified in order to prescribe it. The drug will be limited to patients who are doing well on it now or can’t control their blood sugar with other drugs. They must be informed of the risks and choose to take Avandia anyway. The policies also apply to Avandamet and Avandaryl. These pills combine rosiglitazone with other diabetes drugs.
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Women are more likely than men to develop major depression, but men are less likely to seek help for depression, and more likely to develop cardiovascular disease or attempt suicide, both of which are connected to depression.
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Dr. Michael Miller, editor in chief of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, explains why parents should make the effort to understand their children’s use of the internet and social media.
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An expert identifies more than a dozen factors that influence our perception of how dangerous a circumstance or situation is.
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