Making Headlines

Making Headlines Faculty members at the Feinberg School of Medicine and their colleagues in the life sciences at Northwestern University frequently are quoted or featured in national and/or international news stories. Here is a selection of recent media coverage. Links to the original stories are provided but please note that you may be required toregister with the news organization to access them and that they may be expired.

Cosmetic surgeries: What children will do to look ‘normal’
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-06-24-cosmetic-surgery
USA Today June 25, 2009

A decade or two ago, life was simpler for teens who didn’t like their looks. Girls pushed socks under their sweaters, and awkward, acne-faced boys hid behind shaggy bangs. And for better or worse, kids grew out of or adapted to their bodies. These days, more youngsters are altering the body parts that give them angst by going under the knife or laser or lipo tube to get the look they want…

Many parents and cosmetic surgeons believe that if the technology is there and a child would benefit emotionally, there is no harm done. Others are not so sure. “One of the challenges is that there is not a lot of evidence that it improves psychosocial well-being. The goal is admirable, right? Better lives. The question is: Does it work and is it necessary?” says Alice Dreger, professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at the Feinberg School of Medicine at NORTHWESTERN University.

http://women.webmd.com/news/20090622/patients-not-always-told-of–
WebMD June 22, 2009
Patients Not Always Told of Lab Results

Primary care clinicians and their staffs sometimes fail to inform all patients of the results of lab or screening tests—or fail to keep records that patients were informed and thus have no proof, says a study in the June 22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. That poses potential dangers to consumer health and possible legal troubles for doctors, researchers say…

Co-author Daniel Dunham, MD, of the NORTHWESTERN University Feinberg School of Medicine, says switching to electronic records systems won’t solve the problem. “An electronic record is a tool that can help improve or facilitate communication, but you need processes in place to deal with labs,” he tells WebMD. “And, many things can go wrong. It could be the doctor had the wrong phone number, or the wrong address. To this day, we tell patients the responsibility is on us to communicate with them.”