The headline of a recent New York Times article was cause for public alarm: “Half of Doctors Routinely Prescribe Placebos.” A casual glance might have given the impression that doctors dispense sugar pills half the time, but this would be a misreading of the reported finding. The article followed a research report that appeared in […]
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Lately I’ve been pondering one of my professional roles, that of gatekeeper. Among my other duties, I help patients access things they already know they want, but cannot get without my help. Often this boils down to writing a “doctor’s note”: documentation to excuse a work or school absence, qualify for a discount transit pass, […] In my last post, I wrote about how the pharmaceutical industry funds half of the continuing medical education (CME) of doctors, and the risk this may pose for bias in what doctors learn. The influence of industry money on health education goes far beyond this, though. In 2004 I learned first-hand how insidious this influence […] Sometimes potential patients ask whether I am a psychopharmacologist. Often they are not sure what the word means, but have been advised to seek one by a doctor, family member, or friend. A psychopharmacologist is a psychiatrist who specializes in medication management. It is a self-applied label, as there is no special credential or license […] Yesterday I was called by a psychotherapist who had referred a few of her clients to me in the past (she provided the therapy while I prescribed medication for the same people). This call was not about a typical referral, though. The therapist sought a medication evaluation for herself. Most of the medical field accepts […] |
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