Cancer Screening in Seniors Yields Few Benefits
From the Article:
Screening older patients for cancer provided minimal benefit at considerable cost and increased use of invasive procedures, reported investigators in two separate studies
The second study showed that reducing the screening colonoscopy interval from 10 to 5 years would lead to a minimal gain in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) at a cost exceeding $700,000 per QALY.
A consensus exists within the medical and scientific communities that routine cancer screening is unlikely to benefit people who have limited life expectancy. The consensus is reflected in clinical guidelines and more recently in the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation’s Choosing Wisely program.
Remember the talk of “death panels”… it would appear that once you achieve “senior citizen status” … your usefulness to the society is dramatically diminished ?
Moving Target for BP Guidelines
From the article:
The current blood pressure target recommendations may need to be revisited in hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease who are 60 years and older, researchers reported.
Achieving a systolic blood pressure (SBP) target of 140 to <150 mm Hg as recommended by the 2014 Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) Panel was associated with less benefit than the previously recommended target of <140 mm Hg, wrote Sripal Bangalore, MD, MHA, cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues in a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Aug 18.
Is it just me.. or does it look like either end of the bell curve is being targeted – young and expensive care .. old and expensive care ?
Filed under: General Problems
“A consensus exists within the medical and scientific communities that routine cancer screening is unlikely to benefit people who have limited life expectancy.”
Just what is ‘limited life expectancy’? Everyone has a ‘limited life expectancy’. It starts when you are born. It sounds like another study funded by us, the taxpayer, that cranks out garbage. And, when did money become the all determining factor in healthcare?
Im sorry but I hate these stupid guidelines and the stupid constant changes because I go to my doctor for years and every thing is kosher with the BP, etc and then they play with the target levels and suddenly hes trying to prescribe me all kinds of medication which months prior I didnt need. I recently got into an arguement over my BP because when i’ve had it taken elsewhere or myself its well under the guidelines, they take it in the office and its always ‘high’ to him no matter what room im in. Glucose fasting range used to be 70-120, now its 70-99 seriously? who can maintain a fasting 70-99 glucose?? I think this is not about catching undignosed patients, I think its Big Pharma wanting EVERYONE on their drugs