Article archive / January 1, 2014
Originally published: . Volume 5, No. 5. Source pages: 15.
Medscape summaried the some of the most important medical news from the year in their review for 2013. Below are some of the highlights.
• Overtesting and Overtreating Medical societies noted 90 common but often unnecessary tests and procedures, and many of these are ordered for asymptomatic patients. Medscape authors pointed to the results of a national summit where authorities agreed to the top five overused treatments that harm patients. These are “antibiotics for the common cold, blood transfusions, ear tubes for children, early-scheduled births, and cardiac stents.”
• DSM-5 Released Medscape authors noted that the DSM-5 was released with some “searing controversy,” after 10 years of development. They quoted the chair of the DSM-IV task force as saying to use the new manual “Cautiously, if at all.”
• Obesity declared a disease Physicians at the American Medical Association 2013 Annual Meeting voted overwhelmingly to label obesity a disease, noted Medscape authors. “The decision could have implications for provider reimbursement, public policy, patient stigma, and International Classification of Diseases coding.”
• New dietary guidelines for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease were developed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. These include minimizing saturated fats and trans fats, eating more vegetables, legumes, fruits and whole grains, eating one ounce of nuts or seeds daily for vitamin E, getting enough B12, watch out for iron, copper, and aluminium, and engage in aerobic exercise 40 minutes 3 times a week.
• The Sunshine Act, part of the ACA, requires drug makers to disclose gifts to doctors.
See Medscape for complete article.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.