Pelzman’s Picks: Continue Care Even After Withdrawing Tx

• Anna DeForest, MD, MFA, explains why physicians “should never withdraw care” even when it’s time to stop treatments ~ Better Words for Better Deaths (New England Journal of Medicine)
• Although hospitals are now required to list prices for their services, “not all hospitals make them easy to find, and understanding them is a bigger obstacle,” writes Harriet Blair Rowan ~ Transparent Hospital Pricing Exposes Wild Fluctuation, Even Within Miles (Kaiser Health News)
• Should there be a cut-off age for surgeons? Paula Span discusses whether older surgeons can continue to operate safely ~ When Is the Surgeon Too Old to Operate? (The New York Times)
• Freddy Abnousi, MD, MBA, John S. Rumsfeld, MD, PhD, and Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, explore how data from social networks can help us understand social determinants of health in a more meaningful way ~ Social Determinants of Health in the Digital Age: Determining the Source Code for Nurture (JAMA)
• Some hospitals are turning to patients for donations to supplement their income streams, writes Phil Galewitz ~ Hospitals Are Asking Their Own Patients to Donate Money (The New York Times)
• Brendan M. Reilly, MD, describes the downsides of urgent care clinics ~ The Spy Who Came In with a Cold (New England Journal of Medicine)
• “Connecting deeply through our shared humanity, no matter our differences, is one of the most precious gifts we offer and receive as physicians,” writes Mandy L. Maneval, MD, PhD ~ We Are All the Same (JAMA)

Fred N. Pelzman, MD, of Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates and weekly blogger for MedPage Today, follows what’s going on in the world of primary care medicine. Pelzman’s Picks is a compilation of links to blogs, articles, tweets, journal studies, opinion pieces, and news briefs related to primary care that caught his eye.