Q: What are the advantages of using electronic health records to monitor the health of large populations?
A: EHR systems collect vast amounts of information on large numbers of patients. That means that in addition to tracking the prevalence of diseases or risk factors within the population as a whole, we’ll be able to track how well we’re treating and controlling chronic diseases over time by age, sex and neighborhood poverty level.
Sam Kaplan
The Problem of Replication
It’s disappointing when seemingly groundbreaking studies can’t be repeated. But it’s happening a lot.
Tangled Up in Tau
Trouble with the protein may underlie most kinds of dementia, perhaps including Alzheimer’s. New drugs could help.
A Tough Job Made Tougher
“Disabled” doctors? They don’t like the term or the implication, and their careers have been anything but limited.
Comprehension Test
For patients to be effective partners in their own care requires a basic grasp of medical terms that, shockingly, many don’t have.
No Easy Answers
The name—ductal carcinoma in situ—begs the question: how to treat a small breast lesion that has yet to spread.
In Finer Focus
Bringing never-before-seen structures into view, today’s microscopy is dispelling cartoon concepts and answering unanticipated questions.
Same Genes, Different Fates
Few identical twins suffer identical maladies, leading science to probe the significance of epigenetic changes that make paths diverge.
Venture Philanthropy: A New Driver for Research
Disease foundations that use a venture capital model get a stake in the breakthroughs they fund. Not everyone thinks that's a good idea.
