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Atrial fibrillation Doctoring ICD/Pacemaker

New post up at Medscape/Cardiology — Heart Rhythm Society’s Choosing Wisely List is tentative and cursory

The Choosing Wisely campaign began in 2009 when the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation invited medical societies to own their role as “stewards of finite healthcare resources.”  The movement aims to promote care that is supported by evidence, not duplicative, free from harm and truly necessary. That sounds delightful, and I wrote enthusiastically […]

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Doctoring Health Care Health Care Reform Healthy Living

Successful US healthcare reform must consider human nature

Reform of healthcare in the United States is infinitely complex. Millions of words have been written. The noise drowns out the signal. It’s rare therefore that one paragraph could sum up the problem so concisely. It came from Edward Davies, an editor at the British Medical Journal. He was quoting journalist Owen Dwyer who was […]

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Atrial fibrillation Health Care Reform

New Post up on Trials and Fibrillations: My Choosing Wisely list for electrophysiology

In the Choosing Wisely initiative, nine medical groups have contributed their list of five misused and overused tests and treatments. Some of the highest cost-of-care groups are on board–cardiologists, oncologists, radiologists, nephrologists (kidney) and gastroenterologists. Front line doctors, like internists and family doctors, have also weighed in. Coming soon are lists of five from the […]

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Doctoring Health Care Reform Healthy Living

Good sleep and good choices

I like to tell my patients that good health, at its root, comes from just three things: good movement, good food, and good sleep. At least these are the three they can control. Good luck and good genes are beyond our control. On our Easter: The world looks and feels like a different place after […]

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Health Care Health Care Reform

“Choosing Wisely”–A great name for a great plan.

Cycling Wednesday has to be postponed this week. There is indeed a more pressing and relevant health matter that has come to light today. I am talking huge news; a story ripe with optimism and hope. Let me tell you about a possible paradigm-changing idea in the seemingly hopeless matter of controlling runaway healthcare costs—a […]