Reducing the Risks of Relief — The CDC Opioid-Prescribing GuidelineThomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., and Debra Houry, M.D., M.P.H. Deaths from prescription-opioid overdose have increased dramatically in the United States, quadrupling in the past 15 years. Efforts to improve pain management resulted in quadrupled rates of opioid prescribing, which propelled a tightly correlated epidemic of…

Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Repeal and Replacement Summary Bipartisan legislation passed by Congress contains significant reforms to the Medicare physician reimbursement system. The Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate formula (SGR) is a budget cap that was passed into law in 1997 as an attempt to control federal spending on physician services. Since 2003, Congress has routinely…

First new antibiotic in 30 years discovered in major breakthrough By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor The discovery of Teixobactin could pave the way for a new generation of antibiotics because of the way it was discovered. The first new antibiotic to be discovered in nearly 30 years has been hailed as a ‘paradigm shift’ in the fight…

The Secret Lives of Doctors STARLA FITCH, MD | PHYSICIAN | Recently, when my parents came for a visit, our conversations led me to realize something important: I have been a doctor for more than 20 years, and yet my parents have no idea what my daily life is like. It then occurred to me…

In first federal guidelines on circumcision, the benefits are said to outweigh the risks. http://rt.com/usa/210863-cdc-circumcision-guidelines-comment/ ​The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that years’ of research and mounds of medical evidence suggests the benefits of male circumcision outweigh the risks. The CDC stopped short of fully advocating for circumcision in all circumstances this…