943 When Less Is More in Medical Care

Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here’s what it’s about:

The new guidelines brought forth by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology call for a large proportion of senior citizens to take statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs, almost regardless of their cholesterol levels. We speak with Rita Redberg, MD, editor of JAMA Internal Medicine, about whether that is a wise approach.

Often, doctors and patients alike seem to assume that using all the medical tests, tools and techniques at our disposal is a good thing. But for several years, a series of articles in the highly respected medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine (formerly the Archives of Internal Medicine) have been focusing attention on situations where Less Is More. The outspoken editor of the journal has also written essays for the popular press about the risks of over-utilizing some diagnostic technology and medications. In addition to statins, she reviews the often unrecognized risks of CT scans. 

Does a diagnosis of appendicitis necessarily mean a rush to surgery? New research suggests that other approaches may be viable for some children.

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Guest: Rita Redberg, MD, MS, is professor of medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine in San Francisco and editor in chief of JAMA Internal Medicine. Her medical specialty is cardiology.

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