Pharmacists are integral members of the health care team in the US. The profession is composed of highly-educated, well-trained health-care providers. Pharmacists promote themselves as “drug experts” for good reason: the four-years of education required to obtain the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)... Read more →

A recent study from Harvard Medical School found that restrictive drug programs might cause schizophrenia patients to stop taking their meds. Nearly 80% of patients without antipsychotic medication will have a serious recurrence of their illness within a year. The study focused on Medicare beneficiaries... Read more →

In this time of financial strain on physicians and the government reimbursement system we once again need to address the question — should doctors unionize? Recently, a group of physician picketed Capitol Hill to denounce continue reimbursement cuts. This results in a temporary stay of a planned... Read more →

Millions of older adults suffer from significant memory loss, despite the lack of a diagnosis of dementia-causing disease. This memory loss can lead to a significant decline in quality of life and often remains undiagnosed and untreated. Recently, however, scientists have begun to study the role of glucose... Read more →

As research has moved away from the realm of universities and into the private sector, more physicians are being paid by drug companies to enroll and monitor patients during clinical trials. Private corporations have been the largest sponsors of pharmaceutical research in both Canada and the United Sates... Read more →

Tonight my son ate a sweet potato. And a few pieces of pasta. And a sauteed mushroom. And some watermelon. And a few kidney and Garbanzo beans. Oh and a few bites of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. It was a good eating day. Some (read between the lines: most) days sitting down to eat looks more like... Read more →

In this series of posts we are examining the ethics behind medicine. This includes the entire ethical spectrum of behavior by doctors, patients, nurses, and the entire medical system. Here we present another case scenario about a patient. A 36 year old man presents to his plastic surgeon for cosmetic... Read more →

A BMJ editorial, Food additives and hyperactivity, discusses the recent attention that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has been giving to the possible link between food additives and childhood hyperactivity. Apparently the EFSA had to re-evaluate studies regarding this possible connection after... Read more →

The current US healthcare system is broken. Few would argue this point. Rising costs, decreasing reimbursements, more lawsuits, insurance hikes, and an aging population are just some of the difficulties that face both physicians and patients today, and the situation doesn’t seem to be improving. One... Read more →

Welcome to the thirty-fifth edition of Brain Blogging. In this round, we cover the power of brain tumors in self identification, unconventional uses for classic anti-psychotics, the chemical nature of anger, and debate whether stress is real, and if so, how to deal with it. If you were left out, just... Read more →

In recent years, there’s been a resurgence of interest in placebos. Not the kind that are used to minimize bias in clinical trials, but the kind that doctors knowingly give to patients. In a recent survey of more than 200 doctors practicing in academic medical centers, 45% reported that they had... Read more →