The online discussion since the last issue reveals: “[I]n health care, less is often more…about 20% to 30% of all health care spending in the United States goes for over treatment—much of it dangerous.”1
The high-touch aspects of the patient-centered medical home may be more important than the high-tech aspects, but properly done, high-tech can enable valued and valuable high-touch relationships.2
“Secrets” for lowering hospital rates and the cost of health care.3
Growing support for retail clinics collaborating with primary care to increase access and convenience.4
Questions about the use of C-reactive protein testing to guide antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections.5
Opportunities to improve recognition and early intervention for child maltreatment with nuanced evaluation and follow-up of children’s gastrointestinal symptoms.6
Prospects for informed decision making around colorectal cancer screening.7
The challenges of being patient-centered and enhancing useful patient questions.8
The captivating complexity of cooperative behavior and learning communities.9 Valuing knowledge that consists both of readily transferable facts and knowledge that is situated, hard to codify, and often intuitive.10
A journal club that suggests caution in using steroids for treatment of acute pharyngitis,11 and an interesting discussion12 of the nearly simultaneous publication of systematic reviews on this topic in the Annals13 and the BMJ.14
The specialty nature of the disciplines of family medicine and general practice.15
These brief quotations and synopses are just the tip of the iceberg for rich discussions. Follow the hotlinks in the references to dive below the surface. Please consider joining the discussion at http://www.AnnFamMed.org.
- © 2010 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.