"When many cures are offered for a disease, it means the disease is not curable" -Anton Chekhov
''Once you tell people there's a cure for something, the more likely they are to pressure doctors to prescribe it.'' -Robert Ehrlich, drug advertising executive.
"Opinions are like sphincters, everyone has one." - Chris Rangel
CAT Scan Scams: I spent thirty minutes I didn't have today trying to explain to a patient why these heart calcium scans are worthless. I've got another patient I've been trying to reach by phone who sent me a copy of his results, abnormal of course, and I haven't yet figured out what to do with him. Mr. McKenna, the man in the article, had doctors with the same problem. In the end, he regretted having the test:
“I made a mistake. I should never have responded to this advertising,” McKenna says. Insurance won’t pay because his own doctor didn’t order the initial calcium test, he adds: “I feel that this is a scam.”
posted by Sydney on
5/13/2002 10:09:00 PM
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