Medical Practice
Most UK patients now unable to see their preferred GP
July 17th, 2019 Most patients in the UK who want to see their own GP can no longer get an appointment with them. The Daily Telegraph reports that this is according to figures suggesting the days of the family doctor are over. The statistics show record numbers of...
Medical 'selfies' can improve the doctor-patient relationship
July 3rd, 2019 Patients taking medical “selfies” and sharing them with their doctor empowers and reassures healthcare consumers, and can improve doctor-patient relationships, a two-part study led by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane,...
UK medical schools fail to provide adequate training on eating disorders
June 26th, 2019 A study of all Britain's medical schools has revealed that medical students receive less than two hours of training on eating disorders over four to six years of undergraduate study, which experts and the UK’s eating disorder charity Beat warn is...
Tele-medicine preferred to in-person appointments — US study
May 22nd, 2019 Nine out of 10 people who had a virtual visit with a doctor said it was more convenient than other ways of getting care, and it addressed their medical needs, found a Kaiser Permanente study. Only four in 10 said they would prefer an in-person...
GPs seeing twice as many patients as safe-limit — UK survey
May 15th, 2019 GPs in the UK are seeing up to 60 patients a day, double the number they consider safe, as services struggle with staff shortages and a rising demand for care. The Guardian reports that the findings of a survey of family doctors prompted a warning...
'I’m afraid I have some bad news...'
May 15th, 2019 Both researchers and medical schools have tried to figure out how doctors should communicate with patients to deliver hard-to-swallow information. There is little evidence that they are getting it right. “I’m afraid I have some bad...
Anti-vaxxers target doctors on social media and rating websites
May 15th, 2019 More doctors are being attacked online for recommending parents vaccinate their children as part of a coordinated effort by anti-vaccine groups. Fictitious patient reviews are just one tactic. Dr Monique Tello was attending a medical conference...
US opioid prescription guidelines 'wrongly implemented'
May 1st, 2019 The authors of influential US guidelines for opioid prescriptions for chronic pain say that doctors and others in the health care system had wrongly implemented their recommendations and cut off patients who should have received pain...
Large UK study finds statins fail to lower cholesterol in over half of patients
April 17th, 2019 Experts have warned a more tailored approach is needed to the prescribing of statins, following a study suggesting they are ineffective at lowering cholesterol to target levels in more than half of patients. The research by primary care experts...Women in ob/gyn earn less money than men in US
While women outnumber men in the US as obstetrics and gynaecology (ob/gyn) practitioners, they still make significantly less money and the pay gap extends to sub-specialties like reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI), according to...
The legal permutations of being a Good Samaritan
March 13th, 2019 SA doctors have a constitutional duty of care, writes Dr Tony Behrman, consultant for the Medical Protection Society. But unlike some countries where if they provide emergency aid, Good Samaritan legislation protects doctors from subsequent...Over 40% of GPs intend to quit within five years: UK survey
A University of Warwick survey of GPs in the UK has revealed that over 40% intend to leave general practice within the next five years, an increase of nearly a third since 2014. The survey of 929 GPs conducted by the University of Warwick has...
Video of Australian chiropractor's 'very disturbing' treatment of 2-week-old baby
February 27th, 2019 An Australian chiropractor has sparked criticism after a video of him performing controversial spinal treatments on a two-week-old baby was posted online, reports 2gb. The footage shows Dr Andrew Arnold lifting the baby upside down and...
Expert panel strongly recommends against almost all shoulder pain surgery
February 13th, 2019 Surgery should not be performed in almost all patients with a common cause of shoulder pain known as subacromial pain syndrome or SAPS (also called shoulder impingement or rotator cuff disease), say a panel of international experts. Their strong...Complementary medicine use often not disclosed to medical providers
Research reveals that 1 in 3 complementary medicine (CM) users do not disclose their use of these medicines to their medical providers, posing significant direct and indirect risks of adverse effects and harm due to unsafe concurrent use of CM and...