CasesBlog - Medical and Health Blog

"No Doctor Visit Required - Order Your Own Lab Test" - Quest Diagnostics Google Ad

Quest Labs is actively advertising on Google with "No Doctor Visit Required - Order Your Own Quest® Lab Test".

Anyone can order their own lab test at Quest and LabCorp, including test for COVID antibodies, HIV, etc:

https://questdirect.questdiagnostics.com/products

https://www.labcorp.com/labs-appointments/labcorp-services/pixel-labcorp

This is not new, it but it is still not widely utilized in clinical practice. The likely reason is that the cost of the tests must be paid out of pocket as most insurers do not cover it.

From KevinMD:

"There are now laws that permit patients to order their own lab tests such as cholesterol or glucose. Even registered nurses working in intensive care units are not permitted to order these tests without a physician’s authorization. Ordering diagnostic tests and medical treatments have always been under the purview of a physician or highly trained medical professionals."

References:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/05/12/477644945/diy-blood-tests-theres-a-downside-to-ordering-your-own

https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2017/02/patients-order-lab-tests.html

Fake patient reviews are flooding Google, Yelp and other review websites

There is "a robust industry of global review fraud" according to this Washington Post article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fake-patient-reviews-are-making-it-increasingly-hard-to-seek-medical-help-on-google-yelp-and-other-directory-sites/ar-AAKHtpN

“Physicians with their own personal private practices tend to have more suspicious reviews versus physicians who might be an employee of a large medical center or a hospital.”

Over 70% of patients use online reviews as the first step to finding a new doctor as of 2020. "The reason that physicians are paying for these fake reviews is that they know the importance of how it will drive patients to their office,” said Niam Yaraghi, an assistant professor of business technology at Miami Herbert School of Business at the University of Miami.

If a patient writes a negative review, a doctor can’t give a full-throated defense because of HIPAA privacy regulations. “You’re not supposed to be sharing patient’s confidential health information,” Dr. Jackson said. “In a lot of cases, we don’t even want to acknowledge that you’re a patient.”

Platforms face no penalties when they do miss fraud. Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Google, Yelp and Trustpilot and other platforms are insulated from legal liability for fraudulent content posted by third parties on their sites.

How to get a good night's sleep | DW Documentary

DW Documentary: "We spend around a third of our lives asleep. Sleep is absolutely essential - yet the average sleep per night is barely seven hours. That figure is lower than ever before.

We now know the decisive role sleep plays: During this time, the brain clears itself, making room for new thoughts.

Researchers have also been able to confirm that there are alternatives when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep. Among those considered effective are polyphasic sleep (consisting of short naps), light therapy (using blue daylight to synchronize the body’s internal clock) and lightly electrified helmets that stimulate the brain's hormonal activity. Companies are experimenting with light and using innovative office designs, including nap pods or bunks, which allow employees to take short daytime naps. These are just some of the approaches covered in this look at the "gentle sleep revolution."

A man spent a year eating fish at breakfast, lunch and dinner to improve his health, it didn't work (PBS documentary)

The Fish on My Plate (full documentary) | PBS FRONTLINE: "Best-selling author and lifelong fisherman Paul Greenberg spends a year eating fish at breakfast, lunch and dinner to help answer the question: “What fish should I eat that’s good for me and good for the planet?”

The Fish on My Plate chronicles Greenberg as he works on his book, The Omega Principle — and consumes over 700 fish meals in hopes of improving his health through a dramatic increase in his Omega-3 levels. As part of his quest to investigate the health of the ocean — and his own — Greenberg spends a year eating seafood for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8wEMO9aZvw”