How many times have you heard this, or maybe even thought it yourself? If you use a little common sense, you will realize that this is a huge conceptual error. It is just plain wrong, but this belief is commonly held because it is continually drummed into us by ads that feed into a huge, very successful, marketing scam. A […]
WHAT IS A NORMAL CHOLESTEROL VALUE?
For some of the most important laboratory tests, the ones most of us worry about the most, the normal values on the lab printout sheet don’t seem to make much sense. I am talking about the cholesterol and Triglyceride numbers, the blood sugar, the Hemoglobin A1c, and the Vitamin D level. Let me try to explain. We all have an […]
CONFLICTING RECOMMENDATIONS: WHO SHOULD YOU BELIELVE?
You see recommendations, usually stated as if they were hard facts, on TV, in the papers, or on the internet. Then, often with months, a new report will hit the media with a totally different set of “official” recommendations from a different “authoritative” organization. All too often, these recommendations conflict with the first set. How can this happen?
COLONOSCOPY AND COLOGUARD
OK. Let’s talk about everybody’s favorite topic, colonoscopy. If you are over 50, it is a good bet that essentially every time you see a doctor, you are asked when your last colonoscopy was, and if you don’t give the right answer, they try to shame you into getting one. I think we need to talk about three things: why […]
WHY DO I HAVE ABNORMAL LABS?
“Doc, I feel fine, but when I looked on the portal, my labs are abnormal. What’s wrong with me?” I hear this several times a week, and even more common are the folks who do not bother to look at the portal, but become very disturbed when they come in to review the labs with me and see highlighted “abnormal” […]
PEOPLE, NOT PATIENTS
One principle I believe in, and frequently preach to any of the professionals who will listen in our office, is that we should never think of the folks that come through the door as patients. They are people. The two are quite different. For that reason, I will do my best to avoid using the term “patient” in these posts. This […]
EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE
EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE
Evidence Based Medicine. This is a term you may have heard more and more in the last couple of years. It has become a mantra among many doctors and most organizations dealing with traditional medical care.
What do they mean by “Evidence Based?”
BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE
BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE OR…. WHO IS LOOKING OUT FOR YOU? Perhaps you are sick. Perhaps you have a more major medical problem, cancer, heart disease, or some other scary condition. Perhaps you just want to stay healthy. The amount of confusing and often conflicting advice can be overwhelming. So, who do you think is looking out for you? Someone […]