Is there empirical evidence for "Defensive Medicine"? A reassessment.

Proponents of tort reform applied to medical malpractice argue for change partly on the premise that the threat of lawsuits has made medical care more costly. Using U.S.

The impact of a decision aid about heart disease prevention on patients' discussions with their doctor and their plans for prevention: a pilot randomized trial.

Background: Low utilization of effective coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention strategies may be due to many factors, but chief among them is the lack of patient involvement in prevention decisions. We undertook this study to test the effectiveness of an individually-tailored, computerized decision aid about CHD on patients' discussions with their doctor and their plans for CHD prevention.

Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized trial in a convenience sample of adults with no previous history of cardiovascular disease to test the effectiveness of an individually-tailored, computerized decision aid about CHD prevention against a risk factor list that patients could present to their doctor.

Use of mental health services after hurricane Floyd in North Carolina.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a natural disaster, Hurricane Floyd, on the use of mental health services in a Medicaid population in North Carolina.

Methods: Difference-in-differences techniques were used to determine month-by-month and 12-month postevent average effects of the hurricane on the use of mental health services at the county level. The exposure group was drawn from 14 severely affected counties, and the control group was drawn from 56 unaffected counties.

Serum levels of phytanic acid are associated with prostate cancer risk.

Background: Recent findings of over-expression of the AMACR gene in prostate cancer and association between sequence variants in the AMACR gene and prostate cancer risk, along with the well established findings of association between prostate cancer risk and over-consumption of dairy products and red meat, indirectly suggest that phytanic acid, which primarily comes from dietary intake of dairy and red meat and requires the AMACR enzyme for its metabolism, may be associated with prostate cancer risk. In this small case-control study, we assessed the association between phytanic acid levels and prostate cancer risk.

Methods: One hundred and four prostate cancer patients and controls were recruited in North Carolina.