- © 2007 Canadian Medical Association
Fallout on the rock: George Tilley, the beleaguered president and chief executive officer of Newfoundland and Labrador's Eastern Regional Health Authority, has resigned in the wake of the ongoing controversy over inaccurate hormone receptor tests received by hundreds of patients with breast cancer within the province, which resulted in a class-action lawsuit and a judicial inquiry (CMAJ 2007;177:24-5). Tilley has publicly apologized for the rampant “confusion” surrounding his agency's actions.
Travel hazards: The World Health Organization has released a study indicating that plane, train, bus or automobile passengers double their risk of developing venous thromboembolism if they remain seated and immobile on journeys of more than 4 hours.
Jaundice screening: The Canadian Paediatric Society has issued new guidelines for the detection, management and prevention of hyperbilirubinemia which urge that all newborns be screened for jaundice between 3 and 5 days after birth. Elevated bilirubin concentrations in the blood can lead to kernicterus and neurological damage like hearing loss. Jaundice affects 60% of newborns.
Chagas network: The World Health Organization has established a Global Network to combat Chagas disease in hopes of eliminating the tropical disease by the year 2010. The new network will develop a strategy by the end of this year on such issues as strengthening epidemiological surveillance, identifying a suitable diagnostic test and developing consensus on adequate case management.
Butting out: The annual Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey indicates that smoking rates among youth aged 15–19 declined to 15% in 2006, as compared with 18% in 2005. Health Minister Tony Clement attributed the decline to the efficacy of federal tobacco control strategies.
Personal chitchat: Many doctors waste patients' time by talking about themselves rather than focusing the discussion on information that might aid diagnosis, reveals a new study on the value of physician self-disclosure. “We found that physician self-disclosures were often non sequiturs, unattached to any discussion in the visit and focused more on the physician's than the patients' needs,” states the study, led by University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry researcher Dr. Susan McDaniel (Arch Intern Med 2007;167:1321-6). The study analyzed recordings of visits to 100 primary care doctors in the Rochester area, discovering that in 34% of instances, the physicians disclosed information about themselves. In 11% of instances, the disclosure was even “disruptive.” — Compiled by Wayne Kondro, CMAJ