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Medical Practice
Patients who see same doctor over time have lower death rates
A ground-breaking study has concluded that patients who see the same doctor over time have lower death rates. The study, a collaboration between St...
Software 'performs better than humans' in Royal College's GP exam
Its commercial artificial intelligence diagnostics software performs better than humans in the Royal College of General Practitioner’s exam that must be passed to become...
Women struggling to have proper conversations with male doctors
Women struggle to get their needs met by doctors because the profession is “overwhelmingly male”, a health minister in the UK has suggested. Jackie...
The importance to patients of what doctors wear — largest study
Physicians may want to dig a little deeper into their closets or grab their white coats on the way out of the operating room,...
SA's silence over high stress and burnout among medical professionals
South Africa may be slowly changing the way it speaks about suicide but mental health issues among medical professionals rarely make the headlines. Two...
Pharmaceutical perks have significant impact on prescribing rates
A US study shows the significant impact that even a meal or two paid for by a pharmaceutical company can have on opioid prescribing...
Older surgeons have lower patient mortality rates
Researchers from University of California – Los Angeles, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the VA Healthcare System Boston,...
Patients happiest with doctors in less busy practices
Doctors who see fewer patients may get better online reviews than physicians who have higher-volume practices, a study of US urologists suggests, reports Reuters Health.
Researchers...
Clerical burden a huge driver of burnout in medicine
A relentlessly increasing clerical burden is one of the biggest drivers of burnout in medicine, write two practitioners in the New England Journal of...
SA'S family physicians make significant contribution to district health system
Though few in number, South Africa's family physicians make a significant contribution to health care in the country by helping strengthen the country's district...
Why are there still so few women doctors?
“When my friend was in her fourth year of medical school, she and her boyfriend sat down with their dean to discuss their residency...
40 days is average for cancer diagnosis in England
The average time for a patient in England to be diagnosed with cancer is 40 days, rather than the target 28 days, a study suggests.
Health...
Technology is leaving some doctors out in the cold
The bizarre case of Dr Anna Konopka, a popular rural doctor in the US, who claims to have been barred from practice because she...
UK doctors put demanding patients at risk with complaint avoidance techniques
Patients in the UK are being put at risk because doctors are giving them drugs they do not need and sending them for unnecessary...
'The doctor will see you now… Briefly!'
Primary care consultations last less than 5 minutes for half the world's population, but range from 48 seconds in Bangladesh to 22.5 minutes in...
Healthcare professionals keep the flu cycle rolling…
Some four in 10 of healthcare professionals (HCPs) work while experiencing influenza-like illness (ILI), according to the findings of a US survey. As in...
If the cap fits: Study into effectiveness of OR headgear
One of the first studies testing the effectiveness of different operating room (OR) head coverings in preventing airborne contamination has found that surgeon's caps...
Eating placenta a potentially harmful fad that 'should be discouraged'
Post-partum placenta ingestion is potentially harmful with no documented benefit, so physicians should discourage the practice, according to a research review in the American Journal...
A plastic traffic cone masquerades as bronchial carcinoma
A toy traffic cone has been found in the lung of a man 40 years after he inhaled it. The Guardian reports, however, that...
Hospitals should re-assess pre-surgery food and fluid intakes – Free State study
Most patients start fasting too early preoperatively, consequently withholding food and oral fluids for longer than recommended, a University of Free State study found....
GPs prescribe costly 'rubbish' homeopathic treatments
More than 700 GPs in the UK are prescribing millions of pounds worth of useless homeopathic and herbal treatments, an Oxford University study has revealed....
GPs prescribing anticoagulants for AF against official safety advice
British GPs are at times prescribing anticoagulants to patients with atrial fibrillation against official safety advice. The study was carried out by researchers at...
Helping doctors face the uncomfortable task of discussing death
Faced with the uncomfortable task of discussing death, the overwhelming majority of doctors avoid the topic, reports Stat News. In response, US advocates for improving...
New countrywide training initiative to combat lifestyle diseases
A new approach to patient care has been launched, developed at Stellenbosch University and spearheaded by Pharma Dynamics. The training initiative, aimed at reducing chronic lifestyle diseases,...
It's not about the money for SA doctors… It's about poor working conditions and safety
It's not money but poor working condition that's is the main reason doctors leave South Africa’s public health sector. And when it comes to...
Standardised assessment to monitor prescribing skills
A new study describes a standardised assessment that ensures that students who graduate from UK medical schools have achieved a minimum standard of knowledge...
Higher mortality rates with older/busier physicians
Within the same hospital, patients treated by older physicians had higher mortality than patients cared for by younger physicians, except those physicians treating high...
Experts make the case for ending routine blood tests
The practice of ordering routine blood tests (“routine bloods”) for patients attending hospital regardless of clinical need is wasteful and potentially damaging, argue experts.
Alastair...
SA trainee doctors inadequately prepared to prescribe antibiotics
Trainee SA doctors are inadequately prepared to prescribe antibiotics‚ found a survey at the universities of the Witwatersrand, Free State and Cape Town.
The Times...
Close to half GPs in UK plan to quit
About two in five GPs in the south-west of England are planning to quit, exposing a potential doctors’ crisis in the National Health Service...
Lack of strong scientific evidence in most off-label antidepressant prescriptions
Most off-label antidepressant prescriptions lack strong scientific evidence, finds a study by Jenna Wong at the department of epidemiology, biostatistics, and occupational health, McGill...
OpenNotes programme continues to pick up steam in US
The OpenNotes programme that encourages providers to share their visit notes with patients is continuing to pick up steam, Dr Homer Chin, said at...
SA's obs-gynae crisis: Innovative risk solutions needed
The 'real crisis' of an imminent collapse of obs-gynae practices needs to be tackled with innovative, new sustainable solutions warns the SA Health Department.
The...
Using the same GP over time means fewer avoidable hospital admissions
Older patients who see the same general practitioner over time experience fewer avoidable admissions to hospital for certain conditions, a large study in England...
Rudeness by kids' family results in medical errors
Being rude to medical teams may cause 'devastating effects on medical performance', found University of Florida research.
Medical teams in a neonatal intensive care unit...
Fake medical journals, filled with bad science, are spreading
Recent years have seen the appearance of journals from mainstream publishers that are based entirely on pseudoscience. Forbes calls out the likes of BMJ,...
GPs shade alternative health care providers
Researchers at Imperial College London found that alternative providers of primary care in the UK's National Health Service do not perform as well as traditional GP practices. Alternative providers, including private companies and voluntary organisations, have been contracted to offer primary care in the NHS since 2004
Transplant surgeons burning out
A US study found that despite saving thousands of lives yearly, nearly half of organ transplant surgeons report a low sense of personal accomplishment and 40% feel emotionally exhausted.
US doctors giving in to anti-vax requests
Doctors commonly get requests from parents to delay young children's vaccinations – and despite their better judgement, they often give in, a US study finds.
The white coat maketh the doctor
An 14-country review of 30 studies on physician attire found that patients generally prefer their physicians dress on the formal side, with doctors of either gender in suits or a white coat more likely to inspire trust and confidence.