PeterEliasMD

Problems worthy

of attack

Prove their worth

by hitting back. 

(Problems by Piet Hein) 

He came in to discuss testing because he wanted medications as treatment for adult attention deficit disorder (ADD). 

Worry is like a rocking chair…

This started out as my Ten Rules for Patients (to parallel my Ten Rules for the Primary Care Physician) but I just didn’t feel comfortable making rules for patients.

Clinicians like making the diagnosis of strep (streptococcal) throat (and patients hate being told they have a viral sore throat) for the same reasons: a belief in the ability of antibiotics to shorten the illness and prevent serious complications That’s what we doctors were taught, and that’s what we’ve taught our patients. How justified is this belief?  Well, there are problems.

Sometimes the answer comes from an unexpected place, and only after we stop looking.

I understand the concept of the hospitalist and I’ve seen the data. There is no doubt about their value. But...