doctor

Internet-savvy patient or “cyberchondriac”?

Patients who show up in their doctor’s office after having already conducted countless hours of internet research and come up with several potential self-diagnoses can prompt some mixed feelings from physicians. While some may embrace their patients’ desire to know as much as possible about their condition, others can find the task of

Rx for docs: just say no, but nicely

A doctor’s job is to provide patients with expert medical opinion and the best possible care. Yet many patients have their own ideas about the kind of clinical care they want — be it a particular test, treatment or medication. So, what happens when the two opinions don’t necessarily coincide?

Nurse in legal trouble for reporting doctor

A Texas nurse is on trial this week for reporting a doctor whose practices she believed endangered patients. As Kevin Sack of the New York Times reports, last year Anne Mitchell submitted a report expressing her concerns about Dr. Rolando G. Arafiles Jr.’s prescription and surgical procedures—including sewing a rubber tip onto a