Clinical Conversations

September 16th, 2011

Podcast 130: If you’re a clinician concerned about health costs, wash your hands — don’t just wring them

Health Affairs has a study in which a few simple, but rigorously followed patient-care procedures in a pediatric ICU dropped infection rates, mortality, lengths of hospital stay, and total costs. Sound too good to be true? Well, it wasn’t exactly easy, but the results were real and measurable. Listen in and see whether this could […]

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September 10th, 2010

Podcast 100: Practical informed consent

We’re not talking about philosophy here, but practical clinical approaches to making sure your patients understand what they’re agreeing to, and have the information to ask the right questions before they sign that form. It’s podcast 100. I’m always looking for ways to make this useful, and if you have any reactions, please drop a line […]

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February 27th, 2010

Podcast 76: On saying “No” to patients’ requests.

A conversation with the authors of an Archives of Internal Medicine study that examines the best tactics for saying “No” to inappropriate requests. Contact me at 1-617-440-4374 or at jelia@jwatch.org. Interview-related links: Archives of Internal Medicine abstract Atul Gawande’s New Yorker article News-related links: The rosiglitazone (Avandia) controversy Advisory on thiazolidinediones Physicians’ work hours 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine Influenza-vaccination expansion […]

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November 12th, 2009

Podcast 64: A conversation regarding on-pump versus off-pump CABG with Frederick Grover.

Avoiding use of the heart-lung machine during coronary artery bypass grafting was supposed to lower neurocognitive problems and other complications after the procedure. A large randomized trial finds otherwise. We’ve got a conversation with one of the investigators, Frederick Grover. To contact us, call 1-617-440-4374. You can write to me at jelia@jwatch.org. This week’s links: News links: Primary […]

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