Screening for Bipolar: Have You Ever Been “Unusually Happy” for More than a Week?
A new questionnaire funded by AbbVie conflates antidepressant side effects with bipolar disorder and isn't actually a "screening" tool. More
A Trauma Survivor Explains the Harms of Screening
After choosing to disclose past trauma or sexual abuse on screening forms, patients are often left wondering if it was a mistake to disclose. More
Overdiagnosis and overtreatment – the experts aren’t immune either
The US health system pushes treatment over prevention. This approach has many flaws, one of the most unfortunate and costly being overdiagnosis and overtreatment. More
Patterns and Determinants of Low-Value Preoperative Testing in Michigan
This cohort study examines use of preoperative testing before 3 low-risk ambulatory surgical procedures across diverse practice settings in Michigan. More
Variability and Costs of Low-Value Preoperative Testing for Cataract Surgery Within the Veterans Health Administration
This cohort study of Veterans Health Administration records examines the prevalence of low-value preoperative tests for eye cataract operations and associations with patient demographic characteristics, procedure type, and facility size. More
Why USPSTF Still Finds Insufficient Evidence to Support Screening for Vitamin D Deficiency
Over the past 7 years, many randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have evaluated vitamin D supplementation for improving primary or secondary outcomes of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, depression, bone health, and falls, necessitating a reevaluation of whether screening for vitamin D insufficiency might be worthwhile. More
Assessment of a Risk-Based Approach for Triaging Mammography Examinations During Periods of Reduced Capacity
This cohort study assesses strategies to triage patients for mammogram cancer screening during times of reduced capacity. More
Researchers study impact of pandemic cancer screening pause
Millions of colonoscopies, mammograms, lung scans, Pap tests and other cancer screenings were suspended for several months last spring in the United States and elsewhere as COVID-19 swamped medical care. Now researchers are studying the impact, looking to see how many cancers were missed and whether tumors found since then are more advanced. More
Recommendations From Breast Cancer Centers for Frequent Screening Mammography in Younger Women May Do More Harm Than Good
To reduce the incidence, morbidity, and mortality associated with breast cancer, accessible and affordable screening, diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance strategies that balance harms and benefits are needed. More
‘A natural experiment’: Pandemic-driven drop in cancer screening may aid research on overdiagnosis
The government will fund reseach asking whether cancer patients "really do worse because of being diagnosed later" during the pandemic. More
Screening for Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Stenosis in Adult Patients
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has reaffirmed its 2014 recommendation3 against screening for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis in the general adult population (D recommendation) based on an assessment of no benefit and possible harm. More
Are We Screening Too Much for Skin Cancer? It’s Complicated.
A new paper calls for a halt to skin cancer screenings in the general population. Some physicians vehemently disagree. More
Cancer Screening Tests and Cancer Diagnoses During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This cohort study describes the number of patients undergoing cancer screening tests and of ensuing cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic in 1 health care system in the northeastern United States. More
Colonoscopy Alternative Comes Home
An at-home test for colon cancer is as reliable as the traditional screening, health experts say, and more agreeable. More
How COVID-19 Highlights the Uncertainty of Medical Testing
Widespread COVID testing has revealed uncomfortable truths about medical tests: A test result is rarely a definitive answer, but instead a single clue. More
Inequality ‘baked into’ virus testing access as cases surge
As numbers of infections cases climb in the United States and the country faces what health experts say will be a dark winter due to the uncontrolled spread of the virus, the demand for testing becomes greater. More
Rapid Testing Is Less Accurate Than the Government Wants to Admit
Rapid antigen testing is a mess. The federal government pushed it out without a plan, and then spent weeks denying problems with false positives. More
Residents say they – and Medicare – were duped by community COVID, antibody testing
Some Palm Beach County communities are questioning extra and unnecessary testing done - and billed to Medicare - for COVID. More
The Upside to Fewer Cancer Screenings in 2020
Screenings save lives, but can do serious harm too More
Why False Positives Merit Concern, Too
False negatives are not the only troublesome outcome of a faulty coronavirus test. More