When a patient requests an unfamiliar treatment, the physician should not hesitate to research it before giving a categorical reply about its safety or efficacy.
To prevent patients from avoiding care when they cannot afford it, providers should collaborate with them to eliminate unnecessary testing, reduce the frequency of follow-up visits where possible, and make manageable payment plans.
Believing that unnecessary use of resources is a significant contributor to rising health care costs, the ABIM Foundation launched the Choosing Wisely campaign, in which physicians and patients work together to develop treatment plans that are effective for the patient but are also efficient and promote the sustainable use of limited resources.
David S. Gierada, MD and Lawrence M. Kotner, Jr., MD
Despite strong supportive evidence on and professional society endorsement of CT screening for lung cancer, there is minimal demand from patients or physicians.
Comparative effectiveness research (CER) may become an important factor in Medicare coverage decisions, and the new health care law may make it more easily available to the public to help in medical decision making.
Jessie Kimbrough-Sugick, MD, MPH, Jessica Holzer, MA, and Eric B. Bass, MD, MPH
Researchers who approach community partners with an agenda already in hand are missing the point of the community-based participatory research enterprise: developing priorities for study together.
An evidence-based, patient-centered approach is the best way to convince colleagues accustomed to older practice methods of the value of instituting cost-effective screening practices.
Nontherapeutic infant male circumcision is not medically or ethically justifiable and should be deferred until the person is able to decide for himself.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(8):815-824. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708.
The guidelines for patients’ eligibility for bariatric surgery have not changed since 1991, although recent data suggest there may be indications for broadening application of the surgery.