The PMD Critical List: Lawmakers Pose a 'Growing Threat' to Doctor Independence

A new report highlights a troubling trend: Lawmakers are increasingly passing laws aimed at impacting the way physicians interact with patients, sometimes with little regard to medical and scientific evidencet. That story and more in this week’s PMD Critical List.

• Politics in the Exam Room: A Growing Threat (National Partnership for Women and Families)

According to a detailed new report, numerous politically motivated laws nationwide are influencing the way that doctors interact with patients. “Lawmakers increasingly intrude into the realm of medical practice, often to satisfy political agendas without regard to established, evidence-based guidelines for care.”

• More People Than Ever Want to Be Doctors (NBC News)

Who says the medical profession is in decline? “More people than ever want to be doctors, a new [Association of American Medical Colleges] survey shows. Medical school enrollment is up 25% this year over 2002, with more blacks and Hispanics applying and being accepted.”

• Obama’s EMR Mandate is a Disaster (New York Post)

A hard-hitting essay about federal electronic medical records rules. “The [American Medical Association], which foolishly backed Obamacare, is now balking at top-down government intrusion into its profession. Better late than never.”

• Cheese is as Addictive as Drugs (Los Angeles Times)

A new University of Michigan study finds that “cheese crack is a real thing. And so is your addiction.” Because the “more processed and fatty the food, the more it was associated with addictive eating behaviors.”

• Antidepressants May Be Over-Prescribed (Breitbart News)

A new Journal of Clinical Psychiatry study shows that more than two-thirds of patients using anti-depressants don’t meet the criteria for depressive disorder. US women are particularly susceptible—at least 25% are now on psychiatric medication.

• 8 Things Doctors Tell Patients About Abortion (US News & World Report)

“There's so much hype about it, you'd think it's sort of like brain surgery,” explains a top OB/GYN and medical school chair. In reality, she says, most abortions are “pretty minor” procedures.

• The Financial Health of Physicians Under 40 (Becker’s Hospital Review)

Doctors in this age group “can be 10 years financially behind their peers in other professions at their career start,” according to a new AMA study. Key points: 50% are paying off education debt reaching $200,000+, 75% are married, and 67% are homeowners.

• The Answer to High Drug Prices Is More Drugs, Faster (The Wall Street Journal)

Tom Coburn, a physician and former US Senator, makes the case that “accelerating the number of safe and effective products reaching patients is the best way to both manage prices and promote better health. Diseases are the enemy. Not the companies fighting to cure them.”

• Doctors Warn About Kids, Cars and Halloween (PR Newswire)

A timely report from the American College of Emergency Physicians warning that in the US “twice as many children are hit and killed by cars on Halloween day than any other day of the year.”

• Doctors Take to the Streets to Learn From Patients (The Boston Globe)

A curious report on non-scientific “listening booths”—a project sponsored by a local nonprofit working to transform healthcare. The Lown Institute sought impromptu input from those who know best: patients.