IGX

What a duck says wrote:My focus on getting a flotation REST tank (aka sensory deprivation) in my office to help with this

Pinky wrote:

What a duck says wrote:My focus on getting a flotation REST tank (aka sensory deprivation) in my office to help with this

I like this idea. I wonder if I can get grant money to pay for it.

Pinky wrote:

What a duck says wrote:My focus on getting a flotation REST tank (aka sensory deprivation) in my office to help with this

I like this idea. I wonder if I can get grant money to pay for it.

seeahill wrote:

Pinky wrote:

What a duck says wrote:My focus on getting a flotation REST tank (aka sensory deprivation) in my office to help with this

I like this idea. I wonder if I can get grant money to pay for it.

For max effect, drop acid before you hop in the tank.

People are taking a closer look not just at cancer screenings, but at all medical tests and procedures, says Steven Woloshin, co-director of the Center for Medicine and the Media at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Concern about "overtesting" and "overtreating" patients is growing because of a rising recognition that these interventions often have risks and serious side effects.

"There is something going on, not just in cancer," Woloshin says. "There is some sort of shift, and it's encouraging. It feels like this is the beginning of a sea change in attitudes towards testing, treating and overdiagnosis."
Doctors are taking a "less is more" approach on several fronts.

Last month, for example, nine physicians' groups launched the "Choosing Wisely" campaign to discourage 45 frequently overused tests and procedures. The groups, which included the American College of Cardiology, noted many common interventions are unnecessary, including stress tests during routine annual exams.

Many of these overused tests involve trying to "help the well stay well by looking for things to be wrong," says H. Gilbert Welch, a physician and author of Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health.

Clinical Guidelines

Screening for Prostate Cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Abstract

Description: Update of the 2008 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation statement on screening for prostate cancer.

Methods: The USPSTF reviewed new evidence on the benefits and harms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)–based screening for prostate cancer, as well as the benefits and harms of treatment of localized prostate cancer.

Recommendation: The USPSTF recommends against PSA-based screening for prostate cancer (grade D recommendation).

This recommendation applies to men in the general U.S. population, regardless of age. This recommendation does not include the use of the PSA test for surveillance after diagnosis or treatment of prostate cancer; the use of the PSA test for this indication is outside the scope of the USPSTF.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) makes recommendations about the effectiveness of specific clinical preventive services for patients without related signs or symptoms.

It bases its recommendations on the evidence of both the benefits and harms of the service, and an assessment of the balance. The USPSTF does not consider the costs of providing a service in this assessment.

The USPSTF recognizes that clinical decisions involve more considerations than evidence alone. Clinicians should understand the evidence but individualize decision making to the specific patient or situation. Similarly, the USPSTF notes that policy and coverage decisions involve considerations in addition to the evidence of clinical benefits and harms.