DMS in the News
January 2005

National/International Media

U.S. News and World Report - January 31, 2005
Doctors Vanish from View
"There is a generational difference in what we see as important in our careers and personal life," says Jennifer Shu, immediate past chair of the American Medical Association's Young Physicians Section. "Whereas career might have defined you in the past, it doesn't anymore." She and her husband are a good example: She took two years off to have children and now works part time as an instructor of pediatrics and medical director of the nursery at Dartmouth (and writes books in her off time), and her husband is back at school for public health and outcomes research, with an eye toward a career in epidemiology.

Reuters Health - January 28, 2005
Breast cancers discovered by mammography require less toxic therapy
"If you are unlucky enough to develop breast cancer, it would be best if you could be treated with effective therapy that is minimally toxic," Dr. Richard J. Barth, Jr. from Dartmouth Medical School and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire told Reuters Health.

Newsweek - January 20, 2005
Stubbing out those film butts
A Dartmouth Medical School report published in the journal Pediatrics last July showed that kids are three times more likely to smoke if they repeatedly see on-screen actors puffing away.

NPR Health News Briefs - January 18, 2005
Esophageal Cancer Rise is Real
In the study, researchers from Dartmouth Medical School analyzed cancer statistics from 1975 to 2001. They found only a small increase in the proportion of cases detected early due to greater use of diagnostic testing.

LA Times - January 17, 2005
For insomniacs, a sleeping pill for every night
But although physicians frequently (and legally) prescribe medications for such "off-label" uses, "we were really not sure" what their long-term effects would be, says Dr. Michael J. Sateia, a professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School and president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. This article also appeared in the Orlando Sentinel, Long Island Newsday.

AP Newswire - January 15, 2005
Joint Enterprise
Medicare pays for most hip replacements, which cost from $18,000 to $20,000, so regional variation is a public policy issue, said Dr. James Weinstein, chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Dartmouth Medical School.

CBS News - January 3, 2005
Tips On Toys To Help Baby Develop
Toys that just light up, flash or make noise for no reason may amuse very young children, but they don't foster development as well as toys that offer a cause-and-effect. And TV doesn't necessarily aid the development of kids under two. Those opinions come from one who should know, Carol Andrew, an occupational therapist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School who specializes in children's development and works a lot with developmentally disabled kids.

Other Media

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - January 29, 2005

Questions arise about costs, need for medical scans
That's not surprising to Dr. Jack Wennberg, director of the Center for Evaluative Clinical Services at Dartmouth Medical School. Scanners are used in the diagnosis of so many patients that it is difficult to measure when and where they provide clear health benefits, Wennberg said.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - January 25, 2005
Kids' sleep problems get more attention
Dr. Michael Sateia, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, noted that the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that pediatricians screen all children for snoring, which can be a sign of sleep problems. "This is part of the growing recognition of the importance of healthy sleep and sleep disorders in childhood," said Sateia, professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School.

The Union Leader - January 24, 2005
NH researcher leads study to develop cancer vaccine
A researcher at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center believes she has found a vaccine that protects against most kinds of cervical cancer. For 20 years, Dr. Diane Harper has studied the connection between a common viral infection called human papilloma virus and cervical cancer. This article also appeared in the Concord Monitor, Paul Harvey Radio News, AP Newswire, News-Medical.net.

The Union Leader - January 23, 2005
Seeds of Hope
"It's an enormous time commitment," said Dr. Kimberly Grafton, a surgical oncologist at the cancer center and an assistant professor of surgery at Dartmouth Medical School..."Some patients just say they never feel the same," said Dr. Rick Barth, head of general surgery at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center and associate professor of surgery at Dartmouth Medical School.

The Union Leader - January 23, 2005
ÔMicrocoils' keep prostate radiation where it's needed
"The man advantage here is that the micro coil directs the dose at the highest levels inside tumors and keeps doses low outside the tumors," said Dr. P. Jack Hoopes, a veterinarian and professor of surgery and radiation oncology at Dartmouth Medical School.

Florida Sun-Sentinel - January 23, 2005
A mother's promise
Dr. James Bernat, a neurologist at Dartmouth Medical School and former chair of the American Academy of Neurology's ethics committee, concedes physicians can only make reasonable judgments about a patient's awareness "because we can't get into their minds." But after 15 years, as in Terri's case, or 35 in Edwarda's, he agrees it would take a miracle for either woman to regain awareness.

Tallahassee Democrat - January 23, 2005
Chiropractic school faces key vote FSU has submitted a 100-plus page proposal for the program that spells out the state's need for a chiropractic program, how it fits the state's higher-education mission and how it will be implemented. Board members have copies of that proposal, the board's staff analysis of that proposal and reviews by two consultants: Richard Stevens, an associate professor of medicine (neurology) and anatomy at Dartmouth Medical School who has medical and chiropractic degrees; and David Wickes, executive vice president and provost of Western States Chiropractic College.

NHPR - January 21, 2005
The Exchange- The New Dietary Guidelines
Laura's guests are Dr. Marcia Herrin, Adjunt Assistant Professor of Community and Family Medicine at the Dartmouth Medical School and Dr. Mary McGowan with the Cholesterol Treatment Center at the Concord Hospital.

Connecticut Valley Spectator - January 20, 2005
N.H. drug czar hears of valley's growing problem
Don West, an associate professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth, said the program will allow patients who simply can't do an in-patient program to receive intensive treatment without having to spend the night.

The Boston Globe - January 18, 2005
Former Dartmouth dean accepts medical challenge
One of Boston's most ambitious but less well known medical research centers, the CBR Institute for Biomedical Research, named Dr. John C. Baldwin as its new leader last week, hoping the former dean of Dartmouth College's Medical School can raise the funds to double the institute's research space and hire more researchers.

Arnie Arneson Show - January 18, 2005
Ira Byock, professor of anesthesiology appeared on the Arnie Arneson Show to discuss palliative care and the growing problems surrounding Medicare.

Valley News - January 18, 2005
Murder-suicide shines light on end-of-life care
"I don't think that there is hard data on how often suicides of this nature occur, but it's clear that it is happening more and more frequently," said Dr. Ira Byock, a specialist in palliative care and end-of-life issues at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Nashua Telegraph - January 13, 2005
Prenatal program aids drug users
For the past seven years, a state-funded prenatal program here has been providing methadone to pregnant women from across the state through a collaboration that includes the Nashua Area Health Center, Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth Medical School.

WMUR Channel 9 News - January 13, 2005
Gated Radiation: New Cancer Therapy at Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Dr. David Gladstone, assistant professor in medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and Dr. Eugen Hug, professor of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, were interviewed for a television segment featuring a new form of radiation treatment that synchronizes radiation beams with the patient's breaths.

Associated Press - January 12, 2005
Bill would bar arbitrary denial of fertility treatments
Judy Stern, director of Dartmouth-Hitchcock's in vitro fertilization lab in Lebanon, testified against the bill. She said the change would raise "significant ethical and social issues," including helping child abusers, substance abusers or women over 60 get pregnant. She also said medical personnel should not be required to treat patients who threaten them. This article also appears in Valley News, Union Leader, Portsmouth Herald News, Foster's Daily Democrat, Concord Monitor.

NHPTV - January 12, 2005
New Cancer Treatments
Also in this program, two doctors from the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Dr. Richard Barth and Dr. Peter Kaufman, talk about new cancer treatments and breakthroughs. They join NH Outlook host Beth Carroll in studio.

Foster's Daily Democrat - January 11, 2005
Seacoast dermatologist chief author of new bookThe book is published by Elsevier Mosby and is available in seven languages.
In addition to Habif, the "Skin Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment" was co-authored by Frisbie Memorial Hospital dermatologist Dr. James L. Campbell Jr. Other Dartmouth Medical School professors contributing to the publication are Dr. M. Shane Chapman; Dr. James G.H. Dinulos; and Dr. Kathryn A. Zug.

Red Nova - January 11, 2005
Team Me Up Scotty; To an Astronaut Far From Home, It's as Important as Oxygen, Fuel and Radiation Shielding: Team Work
James Carter, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Jay Buckey, a doctor and associate professor of medicine at Dartmouth, are heading a NASA project to do just that. They're developing a teamwork training program that can be delivered entirely through a laptop computer -- here on the ground or in the distant reaches of space. "ÉIf we can provide the kind of training that gives astronauts that 'extra edge,' then we're opening the door to effective space flight," says Buckey, himself an astronaut.

Worcester Telegram & Gazette - January 7, 2005
State's health care consumers need comparison-shopping data
Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School announced recently that when it comes to high-quality care at hospitals across the nation, you don't always get what you pay for - even at the hospitals deemed "best in the nation" by U.S. News & World Report. These researchers found that just because a health care provider charges more for its services or orders more tests and procedures - all costing more money - the quality of care is not improved. The ultimate finding: Cost and quality vary widely even among the nation's best health care providers.

Nashua Telegraph - January 6, 2005
N.H. gets failing grade for tobacco prevention
Dr. Sandy Burstein, medical director for Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Nashua and a member of the Nashua Tobacco-free Coalition, said he was "disappointed" but not surprised by the report. "It's a shame. Smoking is the leading cause of death in the country" with 400,000 people dying each year from smoking related causes, said Burstein, who is also a family medicine physician.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer - January 4, 2005
Teaching doctors to help heal when death is near The Medicare rule tends to divide doctors from those who care for the dying, including non-physicians, said Dr. Ira Byock, director of palliative medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire. "The traditional model ... is we treat the disease as hard as we can ... until little if anything more can be done," Byock said. "Then we say we'll send you to hospice care where you can really be nurtured and your symptoms expertly managed."

Valley News - January 3, 2005
Teenager Fights Crohn's Disease
Locally, Dr. Gary Levine, a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center gastroenterologist, said many Crohn's patients react positively to the prescribed medication, and he is not yet recommending the procedure to any of his patients.

Washington Monthly - January 1, 2005
The Best Care Anywhere
The most recent and persuasive evidence came from study by Dartmouth Medical School published last October in Health Affairs. It found that even among the "best hospitals," as rated by U.S. News & World Report, Medicare patients with the same conditions receive strikingly different patterns and intensities of care from one another, with no measurable difference in their wellbeing.

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