Patients and physicians do not know the cost of medical procedures. Opaque medical billing thus contributes to exorbitant, rising medical costs, burdening the healthcare system and individuals. After criticizing two proposed solutions to the problem of opaque medical billing, I argue that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should pursue a rule requiring that patients be informed by the physician of a reasonable out-of-pocket expense estimate for non-urgent procedures prior to services rendered.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jme.2024.46 | DOI Listing |
J Oral Biol Craniofac Res
December 2024
Department of Oral Biology and Oral Pathology, Saveetha Dental College and Hopsitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, 600077, India.
Introduction: Enamel translucency, essential for the aesthetic appeal of teeth, is primarily determined by its thickness, quality, and refractive index. Several factors, including age, genetics, diet, oral hygiene practices, fluoride exposure, and acidic challenges, can influence enamel translucency. Tobacco use, in particular, leads to significant alterations in enamel appearance by penetrating its micropores, causing yellowing and browning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLancet Microbe
December 2024
Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany; German Center for Infection Research, Munich Partner Site, Munich, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology, Infection, and Pandemic Research, Munich, Germany; Unit Global Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany. Electronic address:
Background: The broad use of bedaquiline and pretomanid as the mainstay of new regimens to combat tuberculosis is a risk due to increasing bedaquiline resistance. We aimed to assess the safety, bactericidal activity, and pharmacokinetics of BTZ-043, a first-in-class DprE1 inhibitor with strong bactericidal activity in murine models.
Methods: This open-label, dose-expansion, randomised, controlled, phase 1b/2a trial was conducted in two specialised tuberculosis sites in Cape Town, South Africa.
Comput Biol Chem
December 2024
Laboratory of Integrative Genomics, Department of Integrative Biology, School of BioSciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014, India. Electronic address:
Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) present a variety of clinical symptoms, such as dyspnea and chest pain, complicating accurate diagnosis. NSCLC includes subtypes distinguished by histological characteristics, specifically lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). This study aims to compare and identify abnormal gene expression patterns in LUAD and LUSC samples relative to adjacent healthy tissues using an explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) framework.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University Lyari, Karachi, 75660, Pakistan.
Deep learning-based medical image analysis has shown strong potential in disease categorization, segmentation, detection, and even prediction. However, in high-stakes and complex domains like healthcare, the opaque nature of these models makes it challenging to trust predictions, particularly in uncertain cases. This sort of uncertainty can be crucial in medical image analysis; diabetic retinopathy is an example where even slight errors without an indication of confidence can have adverse impacts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Case Rep
January 2025
Department of General Surgery, Ealing Hospital, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
We present a case of a woman in her 70s who arrived in the emergency department with signs of small-bowel obstruction. CT scanning revealed acute cholecystitis with a cholecystoduodenal fistula, pneumobilia and small-bowel obstruction possibly secondary to gallstone ileus although no radio-opaque gallstones were seen. The patient underwent an emergency operation and intra-operative findings revealed mechanical small-bowel obstruction of the proximal jejunum where a 4×2 x 3 cm gallstone was impacted.
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