JAMA news stories on Newser

Fewer Medical Students Considering Primary Care

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:06:03 CDT

Just 2% of graduating medical students say they plan to work in primary care, forecasting a shortage of doctors who coordinate care and keep costs low, the AP reports. And it’s not just higher pay luring them away: They fear the paperwork and increased workload. Primary-care doctors must “speed to...

Merck Used Ghostwriters to Draft Rosy Vioxx Studies

John Johnson — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:51:25 CDT

Merck used its own ghostwriters to draft articles minimizing risks of its drug Vioxx, then found medical researchers to lend their names to the research, the Wall Street Journal reports. Merck, which pulled the painkiller from shelves four years ago over heart-attack risks, rejects the claims as "misleading." They appear...

Screening Isn't Slowing Staph: Study

Laurel Jorgensen — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:09:00 CDT

Widespread screening of hospital patients for the drug-resistant staph bacteria MRSA doesn’t appear to reduce the number of infections, a new study finds. Swiss researchers screened more than 10,000 patients for the superbug when they were admitted to the University of Geneva Hospitals. Another 10,000 weren’t tested. The...

Breast Cancer Can Come From Dad, Too

Peter Fearon — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:53:34 CDT

Half of congenital breast cancer victims inherit the disease from their fathers, not their mothers, according to a new study. And unless dad has female relatives with the affliction, the responsible gene may go undiscovered. The study in JAMA warns doctors, increasingly screening family trees for cancer, not to overlook...