JAMA–Why guideline making requires reform
A recent article by Sniderman and Furberg, “Why Guideline Making Requires Reform” is a remarkably…
Author | LymeDisease.org
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Stimulating distrust?
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law a stimulus program that includes $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research. The Partnership to Improve Patient Care, a coalition of patient groups, physicians and pharmaceuticals, warned that the research might be inappropriately used to “limit treatment options for patients.” A health care e-list that I’m on has become an active war zone on this issue. (Full disclosure—I am a combatant.)
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TOUCHED BY LYME: Ticks in the snow
The photo to the left is an engorged Ixodes Pacificus, otherwise known as the western black-legged tick, notorious carrier of Lyme disease, sitting on snow one November day in Shingletown, California. The picture was snapped by professional photographer Michelle Mahood, moments after plucking the insect from her dog, who had been frolicking in the snow. It’s Michelle’s answer to all those medical professionals who perpetuate the delusion that ticks are never a problem in winter.
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Gostin JAMA article–Politics as usual?
How is it that one week JAMA publishes an article by Sniderman and Furberg, "Why Guidelines Require Reform", on the urgent need to for guideline reform and the next week they publish a piece by Kraemer and Gostin, "Science, Politics and Values", that could have been written by a PR firm for the IDSA, berating the Connecticut Attorney General for trying to accomplish just that?
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TOUCHED BY LYME: Wisdom of the Lyme Crowd
As a Lyme support group leader, the first piece of advice I give anyone dealing with tick-borne infections is to join at least one on-line support group, such as CaliforniaLyme. The reason? In the topsy-turvy world of Lyme disease, people who have traveled this difficult road before you are a priceless resource.
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Chronic Lyme Disease and the “Axis of Evil”
A recent publication authored by Feder and correspondence to that publication defined the 'Axis of Evil' in this controversy as physicians who treat patients with needlessly prolonged courses of antibiotics, 'specialty laboratories' that perform 'inaccurate' Lyme testing and the internet, which promotes 'Lyme hysteria'. Dr. Stricker and I published a counter article taking on each of the three elements of the "Axis of Evil", one by one (Future Microbiology, Volume 3, Number 6, December 2008 , pp. 621-624(4)). While this version of the article is available on Pub Med, the full version (which contains footnotes) is available for purchase by the publisher Future Science .
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TOUCHED BY LYME: Disbelieving Lyme disease
A mom I know whose whole family has struggled with Lyme disease for over 20 years called me after my recent posting about teenagers with Lyme and said: “More than anything, teenagers with Lyme need you to believe them. So many people—doctors, teachers, school friends—don’t believe these kids are really sick. You have to stay squarely in their corner. You may be the only one.”
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Q&A: IDSA Public Input Period
On February 2, 2009, the IDSA announced the opening of the 60-day public input period. The period expires at 5 pm on April 3, 2009. While many issues remain to be sorted out, this posting presents some of the currents Q&A issues that patients are raising.
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Protesting the panel: Putting pen to paper
In another post, I pointed out problems with the composition of the IDSA panel—namely, that the IDSA panel is biased toward the IDSA perspective because physicians who treat chronic Lyme were entirely excluded and some of the panel members have known biases. A number of patients have contacted me who want to do something. This post will let you know who, what, and where you can write to have the best chance of getting your voice heard.
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Rejects! NY Times Rejects Another Letter from Johnson/Stricker
Over the years in the trenches, Dr. Stricker and I have written a number of letters jointly or individual to the New York Times. Not a one has been published. And, we are not the only ones–leading some patients to question what it is the NY Times has against Lyme patients. It's enough to make one wonder about fair and impartial journalism. A number of patients groups have written the NY Times Ombudsman to protest its uniformly one sided view of Lyme disease. Clearly, the topic of Lyme is timely, controversial and newsworthy. Yet only one side seems to merit the cost of ink by the NY Times.
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