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The Continuing Challenge of Effectively Managing Type 2 Diabetes: An Expert Discussion in Two Parts

The risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people of similar age but without diabetes. Primary care practitioners treat more than 75% of patients with T2DM. Despite all the work that clinicians put into managing T2DM, statistics reflect that many patients with the condition are not achieving their glycemic goals. Yehuda Handelsman, Vivian Fonseca, and Harold Lebovitz shared some of their biggest challenges to improving outcomes for these patients, as well as the ways in which primary care practitioners can most effectively treat their patients.

Part 1: http://hcp.lv/nXjRTe

Part 2: http://hcp.lv/olpIao

Prescription for Pot - A Debate on the Merits of Medical Marijuana

Are there any patients with particular conditions for whom medical marijuana is appropriate? If you don’t necessarily believe that’s true, what do the believers in medical marijuana say? Joel W. Hay, PhD, and Joseph I. Sirven, MD, sat down with us and discussed the potential of medical marijuana for treating a variety of different conditions and their symptoms. But they agreed that there are many unanswered questions regarding the use of medical marijuana.

http://hcp.lv/oh6NAp

New Health Risk of Smoking Cessation Drug

Since its approval in May 2006, varenicline has offered hope to the 70% of the estimated 45 million smokers in the US hoping to quit. In July, the authors of a meta-analysis published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) concluded that healthy, middle-aged smokers taking varenicline had a 72% higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared with those taking placebo. So what’s a clinician to do? Do the benefits of varenicline outweigh its risks? We interviewed Sonal Singh, MD, the lead author of the study, for his perspective.

http://hcp.lv/qBxPX8

Seeking Doctors Who Work Well With Others

Can medical schools select and produce doctors with better people skills? As a means of selecting potential doctors who have the people skills, ability, and inclination to work well with others, a number of medical schools have done away with the traditional personal interview in their application process and replaced it with the multiple mini interview (MMI).

http://hcp.lv/oeIoKk

Coming in October: Contemporary Management Issues in Hypertension: An Expert Discussion with Jan Basile, Keith Ferdinand, and Karol Watson

The October issue of MD: Peers & Perspectives will feature an expert panel discussion on managing hypertension for primary care practitioners. Among the issues that will be discussed are: effective screening of patients to identify those who have pre-hypertension and help prevent their progression to HTN; measures to increase the portion of patients with HTN who are well controlled; and how guidelines for treating HTN are likely to change in the near future.