Commentaries

Question: A 15-year-old boy develops excruciating testicular pain from torsion of the testis. The family internist urged emergency surgery as recommended by the urologist, but the parents refused. Which of the following accurately describes the issue of consent?

A. Even if the boy nods in assent, this would be invalid consent as he is a minor.

B.... »

Two years from now, millions of previously uninsured Americans will gain health coverage through the Medicaid program. With that in mind, section 2701 of the Affordable Care Act instructs officials in the Health and Human Services Department to design a voluntary quality measurement program focused on the care of new adults coming into the program. On Jan.... »

Unless you’re an academic psychiatrist with a niche interest within the diagnostic nomenclature of psychiatry, chances are you probably haven’t spent much time poking around the website of the DSM-5 Task Force at dsm5.org. In recent months, the publication date for this much-awaited tome has been pushed back to May 2013. In the meantime, the task force... »

I am a malpractice suit survivor. About 15 years ago, along with two other physicians, I emerged from a challenging 7-year journey that ended with a weeklong jury trial and a unanimous verdict in our favor.

One might assume that as a result of this painful chapter in my life, I am very careful to request lab work and consultations that might have even a... »

Have you ever run across a negative or even malicious comment about you or your office on the Web, in full view of the world? You’re certainly not alone.

Chances are the comment was on a doctor-rating site, whose supposedly "objective" evaluations are anything but fair or accurate; one curmudgeon, angry about something that has nothing to do with... »

Historically, hematologists have cared primarily for patients with sickle cell disease, whether as inpatients or outpatients here at Duke University Medical Center. This patient population obviously had grown accustomed to the hematologists’ management styles. However, when the hospitalist service took over their care in November 2009, it took a long time,... »

Health Care Armageddon has finally arrived. Thank you, Washington.

Insurance companies and the government regulators who supervise them have come up with an ingenious scheme. It is really a perfect storm of goodies if you’re an insurance company: high premiums, high deductibles, and high copays, all of which equal nearly infinite profit. Brokers love it,... »