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AF ablation Doctoring General Ablation General Cardiology

AF Ablation is Overused in the US

A colleague recently asked me if atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation was overused. Yes it is. AF ablation has become the wild west of electrophysiology. There is essentially no scrutiny of this invasive, expensive and risky procedure. I also include here the add-on “maze-like” procedures done during heart surgery for other conditions. I believe they too […]

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Doctoring Health Care Health Care Reform Knowledge

Right Care Action Week — Let’s make the invisible visible

Seven out of eight patients in his clinic one afternoon had unnecessary care. This from Dr. Atul Gawande, who may be the most respected physician in the world. And he works at Harvard. Overuse wastes resources. Overuse causes harm. Overuse fosters underuse. We must make it visible. The public needs to know. Here you go: […]