In the News

A Watchful Eye in Hospitals

The New York Times– In this op-ed, Associate Professor of Medicine Tim Lahey looks at the ethics of video monitoring patients and staff in hospitals. “Hidden cameras should be a last resort,” writes Lahey. “Hospitals should notify patients that covert video monitoring may be used in unusual circumstances, and only with the oversight of a hospital ethics committee.”

New Weight Loss Drugs’ Side Effects Worrisome, Say Dartmouth Doctors

The Boston Globe – Dartmouth researchers Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin are looking into two new weight loss drugs—Belviq and Qysmia—which they say “have been associated with serious harms.” Advising the public, they say, “until there is more convincing evidence about the cardiovascular safety of these drugs, physicians and patients should approach them cautiously.” Schwartz and Woloshin are both professors of medicine and of community and family medicine, as well as co-directors of the Medicine and the Media program.

Study Disputes Value of Routine Mammograms

Associated Press via NPR – Quotes H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine, of community and family medicine, and of TDI, who says mammography screening “is a choice, not a public health imperative.” This story looks at a new Canadian study that has renewed the debate over the risks of routine mammograms.

For Women, a More Complicated Choice on Mammograms

The New York Times – Quotes Lisa Schwartz who says, as new data emerges that reveal mammograms may lead to overtreatment and false positives, “it’s important for women to realize there is a genuine decision to be made here.” Schwartz is a professor of medicine, of community and family medicine, and of TDI.