The Covert Rationing Blog

More on Predatory Guidelines

May 6th, 2008 by DrRich

The Wall Street Journal Health Blog informs us that on Saturday last, participants at an American Psychiatric Association symposium apparently castigated the new American Heart Association guidelines on the need to do cardiac pre-screening of children with ADHD. (See DrRich’s previous posting on predatory guidelines, and on the new AHA recommendations.)

A pediatric psychopharmacologist from Harvard (DrRich wonders if any such exist anywhere else) named Timothy Wilens insisted there is no evidence that medication for ADHD causes sudden death. He referenced a recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that the risk of sudden death in children on ADHD drugs is only 0.2 to 0.5 per 100,000 patient years, compared to a risk of 1.3 to 8.5 per 100,000 patient years in athletes under 18. Wilens jokingly suggested that perhaps “Parents should get an EKG for their child before yelling at them.”

Wilens then reluctantly admitted that at Harvard, the cardiac pre-screening recommended by the AHA has already been instituted in order to avoid legal problems.

So, by this graphic example, even when imposed guidelines are clearly believed to be completely unnecessary, even when that belief is strongly supported by published statistical evidence, and even when the guidelines have been promulgated in a demonstrably predatory manner that is more likely an invasion of professional turf than a protection of patients, guidelines are guidelines and must be obeyed.

We can fully expect to see many more examples of predatory guidelines, dueling guidelines, and all manner of other guidelines reflecting utter anarchy. Why? Because the manufacture of guidelines works.

DrRich rests his case.

Posted in Guidelines, Abuse of

One Response to “More on Predatory Guidelines”

1. Bob wrote on 05/6/08 at 12:17 pm :

   The AHA recommends cardiac pre-screening on a previously unscreened group of patients. In other news, your realtor thinks this is a great time to buy a house, and your barber believes you need a haircut.

TrackBack URI

Leave a Reply