False Alarms and Unrealistic Expectations in Preventive Care
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | March 28, 2013 | Kenny Lin
Shortly after we moved to Washington, DC, my wife and I purchased a basic home security system, the kind with a programmable keypad, multiple door alarms and a motion sensor. All things considered, it's hard to argue that the benefits of this preventive measure have outweighed its cumulative harms.

Too Much Medical Care: Do We Know It When We See It?
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | March 11, 2013 | Kenny Lin
If I didn't object to receiving what I recognized as too much medical care, it should not be a surprise that, according to one study, many inappropriate tests and treatments are being provided more often, not less.

Screening Decisions Are Better Informed When Risk Information Is Personalized
HBNS STORY | February 28, 2013
Patients’ ability to make genuinely informed choices about undergoing disease screening increases when the risk information that they receive is related to their own personal risk, rather than average risks, according to the results of a Cochrane systematic review.

Half of At-Risk Older Adults Aren’t Getting Routine HIV Screening
HBNS STORY | January 29, 2013
Almost half of older adults visiting a public health clinic where HIV/AIDS was prevalent were not screened for the disease in the past 12 months, finds a study in The Gerontologist.

Talking About Medical Tests
PREPARED PATIENT RESOURCE | Communicate With Your Doctors
Regardless of the reason for a medical test, make sure you know the answers to these important questions.

Talking About Medical Tests With Your Health Care Team
PREPARED PATIENT ARTICLE
Whether you're healthy or ill, there are a variety of medical tests your health care team might recommend for you.

Decision Aids Sway More to Get Screened for Colon Cancer
HBNS STORY | November 6, 2012
People who are given tools to help them decide whether to have a colorectal cancer screening test are more are likely to request the procedure, finds a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Even With Personalized Assessments, Many Underestimate Disease Risks
HBNS STORY | September 11, 2012
People with a family history of certain diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, often underestimate their risk for developing them, even after completing a risk assessment and receiving personalized prevention messages, finds a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Fast Food Medicine: A Missed Opportunity for Shared Decision Making
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | July 13, 2012 | Sarah Jorgenson
Though I may want 'fast food health care' when I'm healthy, I don't want it if I'm sick or have the potential to be sick. People want to have the opportunity for a dining-in experience, not just fast food.

Selling Screening Tests
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | May 8, 2012 | Trudy Lieberman
A few weeks ago, a letter arrived from the Life Line Screening company enticing me to come in for a 'simple, potentially lifesaving screening' to assess my risk for strokes and other vascular diseases.

Three Fears May Discourage Colorectal Cancer Screening
HBNS STORY | April 30, 2012
New research about why people forego colorectal cancer (CRC) screening suggests that three fears play a significant role; fear of embarrassment, fear of getting AIDS and fear of pain may make some seniors skip the potentially lifesaving tests.

Guest Blog: What Does it Mean if Primary Care Doctors Get the Answers Wrong About Screening Stats?
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | March 22, 2012 | Elaine Schattner
Recently the Annals of Internal Med'­icine pub'­lished a new report on how doctors (don't) under'­stand cancer screening stats. This unusual paper reveals that some primary care physi'­cians ' a majority of those who com'­pleted a survey ' don't really get the numbers on cancer inci'­dence, 5-''year sur'­vival and mortality.

Doctors in U.S. Overuse Pap Smears
HBNS STORY | March 20, 2012
A new study finds U.S. physicians are performing Pap smears far more often than needed to prevent cervical cancer.

Will We "Just Say No" to Screening Tests?
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | March 7, 2012 | Jessie Gruman
Will we 'you and me and our parents and neighbors' be a significant force in quelling the tide of over-testing for the early detection of disease?

For Diabetics Not on Insulin, Self-Monitoring Blood Sugar Has No Benefit
HBNS STORY | January 19, 2012
For type 2 diabetics who are not on insulin, monitoring their blood sugar does little to control blood sugar levels over time and may not be worth the effort or expense, according to a new evidence review in The Cochrane Library.

Recommended Services Not Always Given During Patients’ Annual Exams
HBNS STORY | January 17, 2012
New research finds that patients may not always receive all of the screening tests and counseling services that are due during their medical checkups, according to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Mammogram Rates Lower for Mexican Women in U.S.
HBNS STORY | December 20, 2011
Mexican women in the United States are less likely to get mammograms than white women, black women and other Latinas, according to a new study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Racial Disparities in Colon Cancer Screening Persist Despite Insurance, Access
HBNS STORY | December 12, 2011
Public health researchers have long attributed the disparity in colonoscopy rates between whites and minorities to a lack of health insurance or access to doctors. Now, a new study in the journal Health Services Research suggests the reasons for the differences are more complex.

Routine Follow-up Mammography Benefits Breast Cancer Survivors
HBNS STORY | September 28, 2011
After breast cancer surgery, a follow-up regimen that includes regular mammograms offers a survival benefit over a follow-up regimen that does not include mammograms, according to a new systematic review.

Health News: Proceed With Caution
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | September 15, 2011 | Conversation Continues
Recent posts at Health News Review highlight how the over-simplification of medical journalism leads to misinformed, over-treated patients.

Guest Blog: We Interrupt This State Fair for a Little Prostate Cancer Screening
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | September 7, 2011 | Gary Schwitzer
There are a few things a man should think about seriously before rolling up his sleeve for the supposedly "simple" blood test. 'But here, prostate cancer screening is hawked in the same setting as the modern-day carnies pitching their slice-'em-and-dice-'em devices and inventions you only see at the state fair - "only at this price today!"

Nine Out of 10 of Us Like Health-Related Numbers
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | September 7, 2011 | Jessie Gruman
It is not just when we are seriously ill that numbers dominate our experience with health care. Advances in technology have made it possible to quantify ' and thus monitor ' a seemingly infinite number of physiological and psychological health-related states.

Guest Blog: NBC Urges Women >40 to Ask About CRP Test
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | August 19, 2011 | Gary Schwitzer
After seeing the NBC Nightly News last night, a physician urged me to write about what he saw: a story about a "simple blood test that could save women's lives." Readers - and maybe especially TV viewers - beware whenever you hear a story about "a simple blood test."

Young Adults, Teens Prefer Rapid HIV Testing
HBNS STORY | May 17, 2011
Teens and young adults prefer rapid HIV testing that can deliver results in less than an hour, but some still worry about whether their tests will be confidential.

When Doctors Own or Lease MRI, Back Scans and Surgery More Likely
HBNS STORY | April 26, 2011
When doctors can self-refer for MRI, patients are more apt to receive scans – and even surgery – for low back pain.

Guest Blog: Overdiagnosis
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | February 3, 2011 | Harriet Hall
Dr. H. Gilbert Welch has written a new book Over-diagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health, with co-authors Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin. It identifies a serious problem, debunks medical misconceptions and contains words of wisdom. We are healthier, but we are increasingly being told we are sick. We are labeled with diagnoses that may not mean anything to our health. People used to go to the doctor when they were sick, and diagnoses were based on symptoms. Today diagnoses are increasingly made on the basis of detected abnormalities in people who have no symptoms and might never have developed them.

More Questions About Medical Tests
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | January 12, 2011 | Conversation Continues

CT Scans
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | January 7, 2011 | Inside Health Care
Our latest Prepared Patient, Medical Testing: You Need Answers, offers guidance on how to talk to your doctor about medical tests and what to consider before and after the test. Here are related thoughts from other blogs-Dr. John Schumann of GlassHospital, Dr. Michael Kirsch of MD Whistleblower, and Anna Sayburn on Consumer Reports Health Blog. Recent feature articles on medical tests from The Wall Street Journal & the ACPHospitalist are also included.

Why Medical Testing Is Never a Simple Decision
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | December 20, 2010 | Marya Zilberberg
A women goes from healthy to heart transplant patient in just a few weeks. Could this have been avoided? True positives, false positives, false negatives, true negatives'how can we understand and use our test results to make good treatment decisions?

Prepared Patient: Medical Testing: You Need Answers
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | December 20, 2010 | Health Behavior News Service
Deborah Lewis got a shock when her pain management clinic called about a recent MRI test: They told me I needed to see an oncologist right away, that I had tumors on my spine. An oncologist did a lot of tests even though he said the MRI report didn't indicate anywhere that I had tumors or cancer. In fact, Lewis just had benign tumors common to her chronic medical condition. After a lot of wasted money, time and a whole lot of fear, we learned to question all test results,' she says.

Programs Help More Blacks Get Needed Colorectal Cancer Screening
HBNS STORY | October 29, 2010
African-Americans are less likely than whites to be screened for colorectal cancer, and the disparity almost certainly contributes to higher mortality. A new review of studies identifies effective strategies for improving the situation, but suggests that work remains to be done.

Free Aneurysm Screenings: Not All K-Mart Blue Light Specials Are Bargains
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | October 28, 2010 | Gary Schwitzer
K-Mart, Medtronic, and a bunch of specialty medical groups are sponsoring a campaign called "Find the AAAnswers" - the AAA standing for abdominal aortic aneurysms.

More People Get Health Screenings When Deductibles Are Waived
HBNS STORY | October 15, 2010

Large Gap in Diabetes, Obesity Screening Among U.S. Health Clinics
HBNS STORY | June 22, 2010

The Perils of Consenting Adults
PREPARED PATIENT BLOG | June 1, 2010 | Jessie Gruman
Most of us like it when our health care decisions are simple and straightforward -- when the potential benefit of one option far outweighs the benefits and risks of the other. Should I smoke? No. Should I get a mammogram? Yes. However, advances in screening, preventive measures, diagnostic technologies and treatments have rendered our preference for the certainty of the simple choice obsolete.