As covered in the New York Times, this week the Food and Drug Administration relaxed the guidelines for taking mifepristone (Mifiprex, formerly RU-486), a pill that induces abortion, reviving one of the most contentious issues of the abortion debate. The change brings the directions for taking the drug, mifepristone, in line with what has become standard medical practice in most states: reducing the dosageContinue reading “More evidence-concordant FDA guidelines increase access to mifepristone”
Author Archives: Marion Sills
Sitting is killing us, again
As an addendum to my last post related to the health hazards of excess sitting, a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine added more evidence that excessive sitting is a risk factor for mortality. Using survey data from 54 countries, the researchers analyzed the association between time spent sitting more than three hours a day and mortality. They found thatContinue reading “Sitting is killing us, again”
Sitting is the new smoking
Alternatives to the traditional desk chair have become popular as increasing evidence shows that prolonged sitting increases heart failure risk and disability risk and shortens life expectancy. A review found that sitting time was independently associated with poor health outcomes regardless of physical activity. Alternatives to sitting have become a new industry: A new Cochrane review of 20 studies of sitting-alternatives showedContinue reading “Sitting is the new smoking”
Do we need Robin Hood to improve our access to medical research?
A graduate student from Kazakhstan named Alexandra Elbakyan went into hiding after illegally providing free online access to just about every scientific paper ever published, on topics ranging from acoustics to zymology. Paraphrasing part of the United Nations Charter, Ms. Elbakyan said, “Everyone has the right to freely share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” Her file-sharing website is here: Sci-Hub. A New YorkContinue reading “Do we need Robin Hood to improve our access to medical research?”
The difference between the parties’ health care proposals boils down to how they distribute risk
In a Health Affairs blog post today, two Urban Institute scholars–economist Linda Blumberg and policy fellow John Holahan–state that the fundamental difference between the two parties’ health care proposals is how they propose to share health care expenditures between those currently healthy and those with costly health care needs. The health policies of the two political parties and theirContinue reading “The difference between the parties’ health care proposals boils down to how they distribute risk”
Talking with children about political bullies
Columns on “talking to your children about XXX” appear after mass shootings, natural disasters and other disturbing news events. This election cycle’s extreme levels of bullying have inspired columns on talking with your children about Trump. These include The Parent-Child Discussion That So Many Dread: Donald Trump (New York Times) Telling our kids not toContinue reading “Talking with children about political bullies”
Emergency Department Return Visits as a Quality Metric
A recent JAMA publication lead-authored by Dr. Amber Sabbatini examined the scientific soundness of emergency department (ED) return visits as a measure of the ED’s quality of care. Emergency department return visits have been considered for wider adoption as a quality metric, especially for those patients who are hospitalized during the return ED visit. The “quality”Continue reading “Emergency Department Return Visits as a Quality Metric”
Twenty year trends in female first authorship in medical journals
A study in the British Medical Journal examined the sex of first authors in six of the highest impact medical journals (Annals of Internal Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, The BMJ, JAMA, The Lancet, and the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)) and found that the proportion of research article first authors who are women rose from 27% in 1994 to 37% in 2014.Continue reading “Twenty year trends in female first authorship in medical journals”
Avoid peanut allergy by early introduction of peanuts
A study released today in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that giving infants small amounts of peanut butter in their first year of life substantially reduced the prevalence of peanut allergy when compared to infants who avoided peanuts for their first year. The investigators found that the safeguard lasted for a year after the children stoppedContinue reading “Avoid peanut allergy by early introduction of peanuts”
Robots vs. doctors?
Although I agree with the basic premise of this week’s Washington Post article “The Robot Doctor Will See You Now“–namely, that computers can augment medical care–the article misses the art-science balance so central to physician’s practice. He states: If you’ve ever gone to a doctor with an odd set of symptoms and realized that your doctor has no clue what theyContinue reading “Robots vs. doctors?”
Marion R. Sills, MD, MPH 