Keep staying ahead of the news: Why you should follow Skeptical Scalpel

Last March, I blogged about some stories that national news organizations covered, but I had written about weeks or months before.

In the last few weeks, four more such episodes have occurred.

On December 10, 2013, a CBS article noted that patients who used proton pump inhibitors to control acid reflux were at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency. I wrote about the many side effects, including B12 deficiency, of these drugs back in June of 2012. Links are here: CBS/me

The New York Times ran a piece on December 12, 2013 asking if today's new surgeons were unprepared for practice. I have been writing about this for over three years. My most recent post about this topic was on April 18, 2013. Links are here: NY Times/me

On January 26, 2014, an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof discussed the ethical issues of doctors conducting body cavity searches at the request of police. My post on this same topic, which included all of the same cases, ran on Physician's Weekly on January 6 of this year. Links are here: NY Times/me

Also on 26th of January, the Washington Post published an article on high-ranking military officers who had significant behavior issues. I had written about three of these cases back in November of 2012. Links are here: WashingtonPost/me

Staying ahead of the news: Why you should follow Skeptical Scalpel

During the last three months, seven stories have appeared on major news or medical sites well after I had blogged about them. Here they are.

“Why Failing Med Students Don’t Get Failing Grades” was published in the New York Times on February 28, 2013. I blogged about this subject and why med school is like T-ball (everyone gets a trophy) on October 17, 2012. Links are here: Times/Me

 

On February 24, 2013 an article called “‘Bloodless’ Lung Transplants Offer Hint at Surgery’s Future” appeared in the New York Times. The need to reduce blood transfusions was the subject of a blog on February 4, 2013, 20 days earlier. Times/Me

The Wall Street Journal ran “Study Raises Doubts Over Robotic Surgery” on February 19, 2013 and on February 21, 2013, The Atlantic's version was “Robots taking a record number of human uteri.” They both discussed a paper appearing in JAMA that week on the failure of robotic hysterectomy to show improved outcomes for benign disease. I had published 15 blogs about the shortcomings of robotic surgery prior to that date. WSJ/Atlantic/My blog (Search “robot”)

“Intensive care MDs: More white coats, fewer piercings preferred” was in the Los Angeles Times on February 19, 2013. I explained why I wear a white coat way back in July of 2012. Times/Me

New York Times wrote about declining law school admissions and fewer jobs for lawyers on January 30, 2013. I addressed these issues on January 7, 2013. Times/Me

In the January 23/30, 2013 issue of JAMA, an editorial the problems associated with using 30-day readmissions as a quality indicator. I dealt with this in early October of 2012. JAMA/Me

This one was at least close. Bill Keller's January 27, 2013 opinion piece in the New York Times on why pay-for-performance for doctors won't work was only three days behind my blog on the subject. Times/Me