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Medicalization of aging and the testosterone deficiency syndrome

16 Dec

Over the last few years it has been proposed that the simple fact of having testosterone below the normal levels, which occurs with the passage of time, provokes a constellation of disorders. Testosterone therapy in the management of TDS (testosterone deficiency syndrome) is not justified, because there is no clear benefit in the relevant primary [...]

A few reasons to say no, thanks, to influenza vaccines

13 Sep

Influenza is a very common infection that spreads during winter time. In general flu is a lightly disease, but it may complicate the evolution of chronic patients, and even healthy ones. The best answer to stop the propagation is just to wash your hands. But official institutions and private organizations push to introduce influenza vaccine [...]

Primary health care oriented systems, for whom, why and how

4 Jun

Health systems are social products, and as such they cannot being invented. They are expression of the final election between “freedom” and “equity”. Freedom means that each person may select and pay for the needed health services. Equity means solidarity, to help those in need even at the cost that are fit. Only the USA [...]

Quaternary prevention: a summary

4 Jun

Quaternary prevention is the prevention of harms by medical interventions and as such a foundation block of medicine (primum non nocere). All services have adverse effects, all services might produce damage to health. A few services produce more benefits than harms in specific situations. Unnecessary and inappropriate services mainly produce harms, and few benefits if [...]

Clinical care and health disparities

10 Apr

In this review, we consider empirical studies from the United States and elsewhere, and we focus on how one aspect of health systems, clinical care, contributes to maintaining systematic differences in health across population groups characterized by social disadvantage. We consider inequities in clinical care and the policies that influence them. We develop a framework [...]

Influence vaccines: miracles, errors and business [updated 13/10/2011]

13 Oct

Influenza vaccines are useless. But every year millions of patients and healthy persons get vaccinated against flu virus. Cochrane reviews are consistent: flu vaccines are useless in healthy persons (elderly, adults and children under two years) and do not stop transmission in between humans. The case of Poland versus the world demonstrated that the vaccine [...]

Quaternary prevention: theory and practice

13 Oct

All health services have adverse effects, all health services might produce damage to health. A few services produce more benefits than harms in specific situations. Unnecessary and inappropriate services mainly produce harms, and few benefits if any. Quaternary prevention is the prevention of unnecessary and/or inappropriate services and the prevention of over-medicalisation. Quaternary prevention refers mainly to personal services, [...]