Production vs. volatility: Can a quarterback outproduce a bad turnover-worthy throw rate?

As it turns out, America's Team prefer not to excessively travel the country for which they are named. When fans and media get their eyes on the schedule, they immediately look for certain specific things. During a Friday visit to the PFTPM podcast, Cowboys COO, executive V.P., and director of player personnel Stephen Jones addressed [more]

Interview with Fangjun Zhou, PhD, MS and Rafael Harpaz, MD, MPH, authors of Impact of Varicella Vaccination on Health Care Utilization, published in the August 17 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Varicella can be severe and at times life threatening, however, since the introduction of varicella vaccine in 1995, varicella hospitalizations have declined significantly, as have outpatient visits. 2. Herd immunity is protecting unvaccinated persons from varicella. Since varicella can be more severe in adults, it is particularly important that patients be screened for evidence of immunity to varicella and anyone susceptible be vaccinated, so that children and adolescents do not remain susceptible at adulthood. The federal government's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, provides new recommendations regarding screening patients for evidence of immunity to varicella and vaccinating those at risk of the disease. 3. The diagnosis of varicella has become challenging as rates have declined and since the disease is highly modified among those vaccinated. Laboratory testing will play an increasing role in diagnosis of varicella. 4. Providers should report varicella to the local health department so that public health authorities can act to control outbreaks and can monitor for development of problems in the vaccination program. Thanks to everyone who took part in Author in the Room on September 21. During the call, Dr. Rafael Harpaz mentioned that the CDC has some photo images of more attenuated forms of varicella. You can find these images at www.cdc.gov.

Interview with Charles N. Ford, MD, author of Evaluation and Management of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux, published in the September 28 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary points: 1. Differentiating between gastroesophageal reflux and laryngopharyngeal reflux. 2. Making and confirming laryngopharyngeal reflux diagnosis. 3. Resolution of laryngopharyngeal reflux findings may require aggressive and prolonged treatment.

Interview with David R. Flum, MD, MPH, author of Use of Early Mortality Among Medicare Beneficiaries Undergoing Bariatric Surgical Procedures, published in the October 19 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Patients 65 years or older have a much higher risk of early death than younger patients after bariatric (obesity) surgery. 2. Already a high risk population, Medicare medically disabled patients have a higher risk of early death after bariatric (obesity) surgery is performed than previously reported. 3. Older patients of more experienced bariatric surgeons had a much lower risk of death than those older patients whose surgeons had less experience performing the surgery.

Interview with Sandra Dial, MD, MSc, author of Use of Gastric Acid Suppressive Agents and the Risk of Community Acquired Clostridium difficile Associated Disease, published in the December 21 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Acid suppressive therapy use was associated with an increased risk of CDAD, with PPIs appearing to be associated with a higher risk than h2blockers. These agents, particularly PPIs, are being prescribed with increasing frequency to patients, including situations where the benefits may be small. 2. Although the rate is lower than in the hospital, CDAD is occurring in the community and is being diagnosed more frequently. 3. Prior antibiotic exposure appears to be less frequent in patients diagnosed in the community as compared to patients diagnosed in hospital.

Interview with Olga Jonasson, MD, author of Watchful Waiting vs Repair of Inguinal Hernia in Minimally Symptomatic Men, published in the January 18 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Men, and men only, who have few if any symptoms from their inguinal hemia, can safely delay having it fixed. 2. When symptoms develop, especially if the symptoms worsen suddenly, they should visit a surgeon and request a repair. 3. If the hernia suddenly becomes incarcerated, painful, and signs of a bowel obstruction develop (vomiting, abdominal cramps), an operation should be done immediately. In 2006, even this emergency operation is safe and mortality rates are low.

Interview with Anna Taddio, PhD, author of Intravenous Morphine and Topical Tetracaine for Treatment of Pain in Preterm Neonates Undergoing Central Line Placement, published in the February 15 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Infants feel pain during central line placement and this pain can be reduced with analgesics. 2. IV Morphine used alone or in combination with Tetracaine Gel is more effective than Tetracaine alone or no treatment. 3. IV Morphine and Tetracaine Gel are associated with expected side effects; IV Morphine causes mild respiratory depression and Tetracaine causes reddening discoloration of the skin.

Interview with Thomas Nolan, PhD, and Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, author of All-or-None Measurement Raises the Bar on Performance, published in the March 8 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. All or none measurement more closely reflects the interests and likely desires of patients than other approaches to measurement such as composite or item-by-item. 2. All or none measurement forces a system perspective. 3. All or none measurement offers a more sensitive scale for assessing improvements.

Interview with William Taylor, MD, author of A 71-Year-Old Woman Contemplating a Screening Colonoscopy, published in the March 8 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Embedded in experts’ recommendations for colorectal cancer screening are nearly impossible demands on primary care clinicians to discuss the pros and cons of various modalities for screening with each patient and to assess risk even to the detail of learning the pathology of the biopsy of relatives’ colonoscopies (e.g., adenomatous vs. hyperplastic polyps). 2. The complex set of components involved in the decision to screen (or not) for colon cancer includes input from both the doctor (e.g., data about what might happen and how likely the possibilities are) and the patient (e.g., how the patient weighs the relative desirability of the various possible outcomes that result from the possible decisions). 3. The decision to undertake a preventive maneuver involves weighing the risks, cost, and inconvenience of an intervention now for a potential benefit in the future.

Interview with Christopher M. Callahan, MD, author of Effectiveness of Collaborative Care for Older Adults With Alzheimer Disease in Primary Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial, published in the May 10 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Primary care practices have standard protocols to offer a patient with Alzheimer Disease and their caregivers. 2. The quality of care of many geriatric syndromes, including Alzheimer Disease, can be improved by implementing a collaborative care model. 3. Similarly to many geriatric syndromes, medication may be useful, but it is not enough. Medications are one part of a package of care.

Interview with Victor G. Vogel, MD, MHS, author of Effects of Tamoxifen vs Raloxifene on the Risk of Developing Invasive Breast Cancer and Other Disease Outcomes , published in the June 21 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Raloxifene is as effective in reducing the risk of invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women who are at increased risk of the disease. 2. The safety profile of raloxifene is more favorable than tamoxifen with fewer hysterectomies, uterine malignancies, serious thrombotic events, and cataracts. 3. Both physicians and patients are familiar with raloxifene and its use for preventing and treating osteoporosis, and there is a long experience with its use in healthy women.

Interview with David Gonzales, PhD, and Stephen Rennard, MD, authors of Helping Patients Stop Smoking: Varenicline vs Bupropion, published in the July 5 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. There is a new and novel pharmaceutical approach to treating nicotine addiction that helps smokers quit by specifically targeting nicotine receptors. 2. Efficacy for varenicline was three to four times that of placebo and twice that of bupropion at the end of 12 weeks of treatment, but abstinence rates in all groups declined after drug treatment ended. 3. The launch of a new smoking cessation medication will likely drive patient demand for smoking cessation services. Medical practices should be prepared to respond to this demand by having a clear, systematic approach to smoking cessation.

Interview with Harriet L. MacMillan, MD, MSc, FRCP(C), author of Approaches to Screening for Intimate Partner Violence in Health Care Settings: A Randomized Trial, published in the August 8 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Even though we have long assumed that clinicians should ask patients directly about intimate partner violence, this study shows that self-complete methods for soliciting such information are preferred by women, and may be more efficient. 2. The prevalence rate for intimate partner violence differs by setting and population and varies significantly from approximately 4% to approximately 18%. 3. While this study provides evidence on the best methods to solicit information on intimate partner violence, it doesn't tell us if collecting this information improves outcomes for women exposed to such violence. A randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of screening women for intimate partner violence in health care settings is currently underway.

Interview with David Mark Spiro, MD, MPH, author of Wait-and-See Prescription for the Treatment of Acute Otitis, published in the September 13 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Wait-and-See Prescription (WASP) is a viable approach to managing children with acute otitis media. Compared with the standard prescription group, the WASP group filled the antimicrobial prescription much less frequently and had equivalent clinical outcomes. 2. Within the WASP group, fever and ear pain were associated with filling the prescription demonstrating that parents are able to make appropriate care decisions when given clear guidance. 3. In the management of acute otitis media, important points for clinicians are first to make right diagnosis and then to provide sufficient analgesia. Adequate pain control allows parents to better manage their sick child and use antimicrobials judiciously while also reducing the risk of medical adverse effects and antibiotic resistance.

Interview with Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, author of Fish Intake, Contaminants, and Human Health, published in the October 18 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. For the general population, the health benefits of fish intake far outweigh the risks. 2. Women of childbearing age, nursing mothers and young children should eat up to two servings of fish per week as the benefits of fish intake still outweigh the risks. 3. Given the magnitude of the benefits, physicians should regularly give dietary advice to patients for cardiovascular disease prevention.

Interview with Louise Walter, MD, author of PSA Screening Among Elderly Men With Limited Life Expectancies. Summary Points: 1. Most cancer screening guidelines do not recommend screening elderly persons in poor health who have limited life expectancies because the harms of screening (which occur immediately) outweigh the potential benefits (which occur many years in the future). 2. PSA screening rates among elderly men with limited life expectancies should be much lower than current practice to avoid harming these men with unnecessary tests and procedures. 3. Guidelines should be more explicit about how life expectancy is defined and provide tools to help clinicians identify men with poor prognoses who are most likely to be harmed by PSA screening, considering both age and the presence of severe disease.

Interview with Dennis Black, PhD, author of The Effects of Continuing or Stopping Alendronate after Five Years of Treatment: Results from the Fracture Intervention Trial Long-term Extension. Summary Points: 1. The long-term use of alendronate for up to 10 years is safe. 2. Those who discontinued treatment at 5 years lost bone mass compared with those who continued but the bone loss was only moderate. Rates of fracture were similar among those who continued vs those who discontinued except for clinical vertebral fractures which, although relatively uncommon, were higher in those who discontinued treatment. 3. Results suggest that after 5 years of alendronate, many women may discontinue therapy for up to 5 years. However, those at high risk of clinical vertebral fracture may benefit by continuing.

Interview with David Ganz, MD, MPH, author of The Rational Clinical Exam: Will My Patient Fall? Summary Points: 1. Screening for falls is as simple as asking the patient if she's fallen in the past year. For patients who have not fallen, ask about gait or balance problems (e.g. "Do you have a walking or balance problem?"). 2. Most older patients who have a history of falls in the past year, or a gait/balance problem, have at least a 50% chance of falling in the coming year. You may want to do a more thorough evaluation on these patients. 3. To make screening easy for new patients, add into your pre-visit questionnaire questions that ask about a history of falls and/or gait/balance problems. Or, have your office staff ask these questions routinely when patients are being checked in.

Interview with Paul M. Ridker, MD, MPH, author of Development and Validation of Improved Algorithms for the Assessment of Global Cardiovascular Risk in Women: The Reynolds Risk Score. Summary Points: 1. Half of all heart attacks and strokes occur among those with normal cholesterol levels and 15-20% occur among those with no major risk factors at all. 2. The major breakthroughs in understanding cardiovascular disease over the past decade include insights about inflammation and genetics. Each of these can easily be ascertained with either a simple blood test (hsCRP for inflammation) or a simple question about parental history of myocardial infarction. 3. By incorporating these 2 new measures into how we think about risk, a new risk tool was derived known as the "Reynolds Risk Score." 4. This is a win-win for everyone as it allows us to better target therapies, avoid toxicity, and improve overall prevention strategies for heart disease.

Interview with Peter B. Bach, MD, author of Computed Tomography Screening and Lung Cancer Outcomes. Summary Points: 1. Screening and other prevention approaches involve subjecting very large numbers of people to an intervention, with the expectation that a few will benefit, but most will not (as they would have never developed the condition anyway). 2. In general, screening for diseases such as cancer will uncover some reservoir of abnormalities that appear to be precursors to clinical disease but are not yet causing disease. 3. We really have no evidence to support screening for lung cancer right now with any technology. 4. We really should be advocating for our patients to help them understand why they shouldn't have this test until we know that it is more likely to hurt them or help them.

Interview with Steven R. Steinhubl, MD, author of Aspirin Dose for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. Summary Points: 1. While aspirin is generally a safe drug and extremely effective, with more than 50 million US adults taking it every day for cardiovascular disease prevention, even a very small incidence of adverse effects can have major implications. Consistent with this, one study found that the most common medication leading to an adverse event requiring hospitalization was aspirin for cardiovascular disease prevention. 2. In terms of preventing heart attacks, strokes, or cardiovascular deaths, no clinical trial has identified an aspirin dose more efficacious than 75 to 81 mg daily. 3. Although there is no dose of aspirin that doesn't increase the risk of GI toxicity or bleeding, greater doses of aspirin are consistently associated with a greater risk. For example, in the United States alone, if everyone took 325 mg of aspirin daily instead of 81 mg, based on observational data, this could translate into nearly 1 million additional major bleeding complications a year.

Interview with Jan L. Brandes, MD, author of Sumatriptan-Naproxen for Acute Treatment of Migraine. Summary Points: 1. Evidence from two replicate randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials showed sumatriptan-naproxen as a fixed dose combination was superior in treating an attack of migraine when compared with sumatriptan alone, naproxen alone, or placebo. 2. Most importantly, given that migraine attacks in adults are 4 to 72 hours in duration, the fixed-dose combination of sumatriptan-naproxen was significantly more effective than sumatriptan monotherapy or naproxen monotherapy in providing a 24-hour sustained pain-free response. 3. Patients using the fixed-dose combination therapy were less likely to use rescue medication or to have headache recurrence, and did not experience any increase in adverse effects using the combination.

Interview with Bernard Cole, PhD, and Robert S. Sandler, MD, authors of Folic Acid for Prevention of Colorectal Adenomas. Summary Points: 1. Folic acid supplementation is not useful for preventing colorectal adenomas. 2. Folic acid supplementation may be harmful through increasing colorectal adenomas. 3. Practitioners and patients should wait for strong evidence before initiating therapies given the potential for waste and unintended adverse consequences.

Interview with Roy C. Ziegelstein, MD, author of Acute Emotional Stress and Cardiac Arrhythmias. Summary Points: 1. Episodes of emotional stress, especially when sudden, severe, and unexpected, may have significant adverse effects on the heart. 2. Acute emotional stress can increase sympathetic stimulation of the heart and can alter brain activity in a way that makes the heart more susceptible to rhythm disturbances. 3. Since episodes of emotional stress are almost inevitable in life, part of a healthy lifestyle is learning how to deal effectively with stress.

Interview with Douglas R. Lowy, MD, author of Effect of Human Papillomavirus 16/18 L1 Viruslike Particle Vaccine Among Young Women With Preexisting Infection. Summary Points: 1. The HPV vaccine has been shown to work very well in preventing new (incident) infection and disease caused by the HPV types targeted in the vaccine. 2. The JAMA study shows that HPV vaccination does not hasten clearance of existing (prevalent) infection with the HPV types targeted by the vaccine (HPV16 and 18). 3. It is most cost-effective to administer the vaccine before patients are exposed to HPV, because the vaccine is effective in preventing new infection but does not appear to be effective in treating established infection.

Interview with Romsai T. Boonyasai, MD, MPH, author of Effectiveness of Teaching Quality Improvement to Clinicians. Summary Points: 1. Quality Improvement (QI) curricula are often effective in improving learners plus or minus QI-related participation, attitudes, and knowledge. 2. QI curricula are less often associated with clinical improvements. 3. Clinical improvements occur more often when learners engage in multiple small cycles of change, and when they have individualized coaching in QI, access to their performance data, and access to pre-developed QI tools.

Interview with R. Monina Klevens, DDS, MPH, author of Invasive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in the United States. Summary Points: 1. The magnitude of MRSA infection is significant, demonstrating that it is a major healthcare and public health issue. 2. The majority of invasive MRSA infections are healthcare associated; hospitals and other healthcare facilities should make MRSA prevention a priority. 3. MRSA skin infections are common in the community and rarely become life threatening or invasive.

Interview with Dena M. Bravata, MD, MS, author of Using Pedometers to Increase Physical Activity and Improve Users' Health. Summary Points: 1. Pedometer users increase their physical activity. They walked 2000 steps per day more than people who do not use a pedometer. 2000 steps is equivalent to about 1 mile per day or about 100 calories per day. 2. Having a daily step goal is important for increasing physical activity with a pedometer. Pedometer users with any goal plus or minus either 10,000 steps per day or an individualized step goal plus or minus increase their physical activity whereas those pedometer users without a goal do not. 3. Pedometer users lose weight and lower their blood pressure. 4. Pedometer interventions that take place in the workplace are less likely to result in improvements in physical activity than interventions that took place in non-workplace settings. This is because the people who chose to participate in workplace interventions already had relatively high baseline physical activity which suggests that workplace interventions should target sedentary employees.

Interview with Ian G. Williamson, MD, author of Antibiotics and Topical Nasal Steroid for Treatment of Acute Maxillary Sinusitis. Summary Points: 1. Antibiotics are not so effective in the routine treatment of cases of acute sinusitis even when of probable bacterial origin, and should therefore be used more judiciously and with greater caution. 2. Expectations should not necessarily be for antibiotics but balanced risk assessments and symptom advice are still important. 3. Findings of lack of efficacy for antibiotics should drive a research agenda which aims to identify subgroups that might benefit from their use and/or other types of treatment.

Interview with Mark J. Pletcher, MD, MPH, author of Trends in Opioid Prescribing by Race/Ethnicity for Patients Seeking Care in US Emergency Departments. Summary Points: 1. Doctors appear to prescribe opioids less often to blacks and Hispanics/Latinos than they do to whites in the emergency department. 2. These differences do not appear to be explained by differences in type or severity of pain. To address these disparities, we would recommend: 1. Educating patients to make sure non-white patients expect good pain control and know how/when to ask for it. 2. Educating physicians and nurses about the existing disparities and the need to eliminate them, specifically addressing fears of prescription opioid abuse and other reasons physicians may withhold opioids. 3. Creating systems that minimize barriers to prescribing and monitor resolution of pain. 4. Monitoring quality of care by measuring resolution of pain and collecting and analyzing data by race/ethnicity.

Interview with Stephen M. Shortell, PhD, MBA, MPH, author of Improving Patient Safety by Taking Systems Seriously. Summary Points: 1. To make real progress in patient safety will require redesigning the underlying system of care such that healthcare professionals and institutions providing a continuum of services from prevention to hospice can address multiple conditions and episodes over time. A "culture of systems" must be established. 2. Competing priorities, professional autonomy, solo and small physician practices, disciplinary silos, miss-aligned financial incentives, and inadequate feedback about performance all undermine efforts to create safe healthcare systems. 3. A number of strategic, cultural, technical, and structural barriers need to be addressed to assure safer care. This includes the need for patient safety organizations to gather information across the continuum of care and provide both rapid feedback to practitioners and analyze trends over time.

Interview with Laura P. Svetky, MD, MHS, author of Comparison of Strategies for Sustaining Weight Loss: The Weight Loss Maintenance Randomized Controlled Trial. Summary Points: 1. Weight loss is feasible and long term weight loss is possible. 2. Ongoing personal contact and technology based interventions were effective but the overall benefits were small. 3. The role of clinicians is to reinforce the message that weight loss can prevent and treat multiple chronic conditions. Even small amounts of weight loss can lead to significant health benefits. 4. Our focus should be on long term healthy life style changes rather than dieting, which is by its very nature short term.

Interview with Barbara V. Howard, PhD, author of Effect of Lower Targets for Blood Pressure and LDL Cholesterol on Atherosclerosis in Diabetes: The SANDS Randomized Trial. Summary Points: 1. Both standard and aggressive targets for blood pressure and LDL cholesterol in individuals with diabetes can be achieved and are safe. 2. Aggressive targets were associated with regression in IMT and greater decrease in LV mass, but long term data are needed to determine if they will result in improvement in clinical events. 3. Aggressive targets for blood pressure and LDL cholesterol may be considered on an individual basis.

Interview with Wendie A. Berg, MD, PhD, author of Combined Screening With Ultrasound and Mammography vs Mammography Alone in Women at Elevated Risk of Breast Cancer. Summary Points: 1. Adding a single screening ultrasound examination to screening mammography in women at increased risk of breast cancer with at least heterogeneously dense breasts increases the cancer detection rate from 50% to 78%. 2. The risk of a biopsy for a benign lesion in our series was 1 in 40 for women undergoing mammography versus 1 in 10 for women undergoing mammography combined with ultrasound screening. 3. Using the standardized technique and interpretive criteria developed for this study, other radiologists and facilities with similar equipment and experience should expect similar results.

Interview with Sherita Hill Golden, MD, MHS, author of Examining a Bidirectional Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Diabetes. Summary Points: 1. People with symptoms of depression are more likely to engage in diabetes-producing health behaviors, including eating more, exercising less, and smoking more. As a consequence, they were more obese. 2. People with elevated symptoms of depression had a 42 percent increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes over 3 years. This was partially explained by unhealthy behaviors. 3. People with treated Type 2 diabetes had a 52 percent increased risk of developing depressive symptoms over 3 years. This suggests that individuals with diabetes should be monitored for development of depression.

Interview with Beverly Beth Green, MD, MPH, author of Effectiveness of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring, Web Communication, and Pharmacist Care on Hypertension Control: The e-BP Randomized Controlled Trial. Summary Points: 1. If blood pressure (BP) control could be improved, many deaths from cardiovascular and renal disease could be prevented. 2. The Chronic Care Model was used to design an intervention that empowered patients to be more involved in their own care using home BP monitoring, a patient shared electronic medical record, and Web-based pharmacist assistance. 3. The group of patients that received BP monitors and training to use an existing patient website (with encouragement to send their BP numbers to their physician) had a modest decrease in systolic blood pressure, but BP control did not significantly improve. The group that received BP monitors, web training, and web-based pharmacy assistance had greater decreases in BP and were almost two times as likely to have controlled BP.

Interview with H. George Nurnberg, MD, author of Sildenafil Treatment of Women With Antidepressant-Associated Sexual Dysfunction: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Summary Points: 1. Emergent sexual dysfunction (SD) is a principal reason for a three-fold increased risk of non-adherence that leads to increased relapse, recurrence, and poor disease management outcomes. 2. Selective phosphodiesterase-type 5 inhibitors (PDE5Is), limited to studies in men, have demonstrated evidence based data to support broad based and clinically meaningful treatment efficacy. 3. In an intention-to-treat analysis, women treated with sildenafil showed significant improvement in adverse sexual effects compared with those taking placebo. 4. Evidence shows that selective phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors are effective in both sexes for patients who have been effectively treated for depression but need to continue on their medication to avoid relapse or recurrence.

Interview with Ingrid E. Nygaard, MD, MS, author of Symptomatic Pelvic Floor Disorders in Women. Summary Points: 1. The three primary pelvic floor disorders include urinary and fecal incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse. 2. In a national population-based sample, nearly one-quarter of U.S. women reported at least one symptomatic pelvic floor disorder: overall, 15.7 percent experienced moderate to severe urinary incontinence, 9.0 percent experienced fecal incontinence at least monthly and 2.9 percent experienced symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (a bulge in the vagina they could see or feel). 3. Older women, overweight and obese women and multiparous women were more likely to report a pelvic floor disorder.

Interview with Rita Redberg, MD, MSc, author of Stress Testing to Document Ischemia Prior to Elective PCI. Summary Points: 1. A majority (55.5% ) of Medicare patients with stable coronary artery disease who underwent an elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) did not have a recommended stress test performed to document ischemia. 2. The rate of stress testing before elective PCI shows significant geographic variation, from a low of 22% in Fresno, CA to a high of 71% in Rochester, MN. 3. Patient characteristics (female sex, age of 85 years or older, and having co-existing illnesses) and physician characteristics (physicians who performed a higher volume of PCI procedures) were associated with lower rates of stress testing.

Interview with Brett D. Thombs, PhD, and Roy Ziegelstein, MD, authors of Depression Screening for Patients with Cardiovascular Disease. Summary Points: 1. Depression is a common and serious condition in patients with heart disease; therefore health care workers should inquire about symptoms of depression in their heart disease patients. 2. Our recent systematic review shows that there is not sufficient evidence at this time to call for routine screening for depression in patients with heart disease. 3. Additional research is needed to determine the optimal model(s) of care that will allow depression to be appropriately diagnosed and treated in patients with heart disease, particularly at times when these patients are being cared for primarily by heart disease experts rather than by experts in depression diagnosis and treatment.

Interview with David J.A. Jenkins, MD, PhD, author of Effect of a Low Glycemic Index or a High Cereal Fiber Diet on Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Trial. Summary Points: 1. Drugs such as the a–glucosidase inhibitor acarbose, which reduces the rate of digestion and absorption of carbohydrate and so flattens the post prandial glycemic response, have been shown to improve diabetes control, reduce the risk of developing hypertension, and lower the risk for cardiovascular disease. 2. Can a selection of more slowly digested carbohydrate foods achieve qualitatively similar benefits to drugs? Current data suggest that selection of diets containing low–glycemic intake foods have modest benefits in reducing glycated hemoglobin A1c even in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with 1 to 3 antihyperglycemic medications. 3. Foods with a low glycemic index include many traditional study foods such as dried peas, beans, lentils, intact-grain breads, pasta, oats, barley, parboiled rice, and temperate-climate fruits and berries. Low–glycemic index starchy foods are digested less readily in vitro. 4. Other effects include a tendency for higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower C-reactive protein values, and greater weight loss in the per-protocol completers, ie, those who completed the study with no change in medications.

Interview with Mary M. McDermott, MD, author of Treadmill Exercise and Resistance Training in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease With and Without Intermittent Claudication. Summary Points: 1. Supervised treadmill exercise improves walking performance for patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), whether or not the patient has classic symptoms of intermittent claudication. 2. Supervised lower extremity strength training improves quality of life, stair climbing ability, and treadmill walking performance for PAD patients with and without intermittent claudication. 3. Supervised treadmill walking exercise improves brachial arterial flow mediated dilation in patients with PAD, suggesting a global cardiovascular health benefit.

Interview with Steven A. Schroeder, MD, author of A 51-Year-Old Woman With Bipolar Disorder Who Wants to Quit Smoking. Summary Points: 1. Smoking is extremely common among persons with mental illness and exerts a huge toll in terms of morbidity and mortality. 2. We are now in the midst of a culture change. Formerly smoking was an integral part of the mental health culture and smoking cessation was not deemed pertinent. Now it is evolving into an important component of mental health and wellness. 3. Most smokers who have mental illness would like to quit. And many are able to do so, using the standard smoking cessation techniques used for the general population. There is still much more to know, but we know enough to encourage persons with mental illness to stop smoking and to provide them the tools to do so.

Interview with Michael K. Kearney, MD, author of Self-care of Physicians Caring for Patients at the End of Life. Summary Points: 1. Burnout and compassion fatigue are fundamentally different phenomena. Understanding the difference is helpful for effective intervention. 2. Investments in self-awareness and self-care are sound business strategies that can be expected to reduce staff turnover and increase patient satisfaction. 3. Mindfulness meditation and reflective writing have both been shown to increase self-awareness and self-care. They are among a number of strategies that can be built into clinical practice to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.

Interview with Lisa A. Cooper, MD, author of A 41-Year-Old African American Man With Poorly Controlled Hypertension. Summary Points: 1. Cardiovascular disease accounts for 35% of the excess mortality in African Americans, in large part because of hypertension. 2. Racial disparities in physicians' clinical decision-making and in quality of care for cardiovascular disease have been documented extensively; studies also show racial differences in patient-physician communication, particularly when the patient and physician come from different racial backgrounds, and unconscious racial biases among physicians. 3. A categorical approach that lumps patients of particular cultural backgrounds into groups and outlines their characteristics values, customs and beliefs may lead to over-simplication and stereotyping. Instead, an understanding of broad cultural concepts and skills that emphasize a patient-centered approach are preferred. This approach takes into account the individual patients' explanatory model, illness agenda and behaviors, and social context, and attitudes and skills with regard to negotiating treatment. It also includes participatory behaviors such as asking open-ended questions, using reflective listening, and avoiding arguments in which one tries to change the patient's views. 4. Systematic reviews of interventions to improve patient adherence to treatments for hypertension show that simplifying dosing regimens is most effective; using motivational strategies such as home monitoring, small-group training, counseling by a nurse or other professional, and reminder calls for patients are somewhat effective; and patient education alone is not effective. Quality improvement strategies for hypertension management show team change interventions that include assignment of some responsibilities to a health professional other than the patient's physician (such as a nurse or pharmacist) are associated with the largest reductions in blood pressure. Improvement in patient-physician communication is linked to improved outcomes for mental health; more studies are needed that examine how patient-physician communication may improve hypertension control and other physiologic measures.

Interview with Peter H. Hwang, MD, author of A 51-Year-Old Woman With Acute Onset of Facial Pressure, Rhinorrhea, and Tooth Pain. Summary Points: 1. There are now published consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute rhinosinusitis. 2. Acute viral rhinosinusitis and acute bacterial rhinosinusitis can be difficult to distinguish in the first 10 days of symptoms. 3. Radiologic imaging is often "positive" in both viral and bacterial etiologies of acute sinusitis and therefore cannot be used to distinguish the two. 4. Oral antibiotics when prescribed appropriately confer a higher rate of partial or complete resolution of acute sinusitis symptoms compared to placebo. However, it should be noted that the spontaneous rate of resolution of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis may be as high as 40-60%. 5. Adjunctive therapies such as topical and oral decongestants may offer symptomatic relief but have not been proven to shorten the duration of illness.

Interview with Charles M. Morin, PhD, author of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Singly and Combined with Medication, for Persistent Insomnia. Summary Points: 1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for chronic insomnia and can help reduce medication treatment for this condition. 2. Clinicians can be successfully trained in CBT. 3. CBT works well alone for insomnia and while medication treatment may help early in the course of this condition, it has not advantages for long term use.

Interview with John P. Forman, MD, MSc, author of Diet and Lifestyle Risk Factors Associated With Incident Hypertension in Women. Summary Points: 1. At an individual level, combining healthy lifestyle factors may substantially reduce the risk of developing hypertension; according to the findings of the study, women who followed 6 healthy factors had nearly an 80% reduction in risk. 2. At a population level, a large fraction of all new cases of hypertension could hypothetically be prevented if all individuals in the population followed combinations of healthy lifestyle factors; according to the findings of the study, this fraction may is 78%. 3. Given that hypertension is a leading cause of preventable death in the population, and given that the majority of hypertension may be preventable through lifestyle modification, efforts should be intensified to improve lifestyle as a means of improving public health.

Interview with Thomas H. Gallagher, MD, author of A 62-Year-Old Woman With Skin Cancer Who Experienced Wrong-Site Surgery. Summary Points: 1. Errors and adverse events are common, and disclosure of these events to patients is recommended but often does not take place. 2. Physician fear of litigation inhibits disclosure, but so does physicians' lack of confidence in their communication skills and concern that disclosure might be harmful to the patient. 3. Important future developments in the field include linking disclosure with offers of compensation, and using performance improvement tools to enhance the disclosure process.