Dartmouth Medicine Spring 2002
Dear Reporter, Editor, or News Director:
Inside the Spring 2002 issue of Dartmouth Medicine (to request a printed copy, call 603-653-0772 or e-mail dartmed@Dartmouth.edu), read about:
Saving billions of dollars for Medicare: A project based at Dartmouth may help Medicare save up to $40 billion a year by eliminating the overuse of care of dubious value, the misuse of care that well-informed patients might choose not to have, and the underuse of care proven to be effective. The Mayo Clinic has signed on as one of the first demonstration sites. See page 3.
Garbage in the limelight: The waste-disposal practices and recycling programs at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are so effective that the institution was one of just half a dozen hospitals nationwide chosen by the Environmental Protection Agency to star in an educational video about hospital waste-handling practices. See page 5.
A case of simpler and cheaper being better: A Dartmouth radiologist recently published a study showing that a less-invasive treatment that costs half as much as traditional surgery does just as good a job of alleviating the symptoms of peripheral arterial disease. Not only that, but patients get out of the hospital and recover much quicker, too. See page 7.
Bad news about tanning beds: A team of Dartmouth researchers has determined that people who use tanning beds are at increased risk of developing skin cancer. See page 8.
The low-down on drug ads: Pharmaceutical companies spend $1.8 billion a year on direct-to-consumer ads for prescription drugs. But, says a recent Dartmouth study, the ads can be misleading--67% use emotional appeals and 90% describe the drug's benefits in vague, qualitative terms rather than with data (though half the ads used data to describe infrequent side effects). And no ads mention cost. The researchers have a recommendation to improve the situation, however. See page 9.
Why teenagers start smoking: The Dartmouth researchers who have made the news with previous studies linking teenage smoking to the wearing of tobacco-logo-emblazoned apparel have some new work showing that the kinds of movies kids watch and the smoking behavior of their favorite movie stars are also factors to contend with. See page 12.
A look at medical school as a "return on investment": A pair of psychiatrists on the Dartmouth faculty have compared the internal rate of return and net present value of a medical education compared to going to business school or law school. They found that doctors rate at the bottom--and primary-care doctors at the very bottom. See page 23.
A new tack against a common parasite: Microbiologist David Bzik has discovered a gene that offers a new way to attack Toxoplasma gondii and other parasites--maybe even malaria. See page 40.
If you'd like to pursue any of these stories, you can contact:
- Hali Wickner, communications director for Dartmouth Medical School, at 603/650-1520.
- The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Office of Public Affairs, at 603/653-1910.
Or feel free to give me a call; my direct line is 603/650-4058.
Dana Cook Grossman
Editor