The utilization-management requirements that gobble up physician and staff time while interrupting or delaying appropriate care need to be dramatically reshaped to ensure they are clinically valid and implemented in a way that is transparent, timely, efficient, flexible and standardized. That is the resounding message set forth in a comprehensive set of 21 principles released Wednesday by the AMA and a coalition of 16 other organizations representing physicians, medical groups, hospitals, pharmacists and patients.

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The odds are good that you’re reading this on your phone right now. The overwhelming majority of physicians, residents and medical students own smartphones and many use them to keep up with medical news, communicate with colleagues and consult clinical reference tools that help them deliver better care. But these pocket computers also have the potential to distract from medical care in ways that can be harmful. There are three ways you can ensure wise clinical use of your smartphone.

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The use of health coaches in a physician-led, team-based care model has been shown to help improve outcomes for patients with chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. One multispecialty practice explains how they implemented the idea and the critical ways these new team members advance care.

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Did you know that September was National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month? It was also Sexual Health Awareness Month, and National Suicide Prevention Week also took place in September. Throughout the year, there are many such occasions that relate to issues affecting adolescent health, but there is no similar nationwide event that targets teen health as a whole. Physicians are trying to change that.

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The AMA welcomes legislative proposals that make insurance coverage “more affordable, provide greater choice and increase the number of those insured,” AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, MD, said in a Jan. 3 letter to House and Senate leadership.

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After weeks of calorie-laden holiday festivities, it is never easy to pick up your head from the pillow and begin anew. And yet the single digits on the calendar offer a lovely opportunity to do precisely that.

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Somatic cancer panel testing, also called cancer genomic panels or tumor molecular panels, can simultaneously look for dozens or even hundreds of genetic variants driving cancer growth and expand patients’ treatment options by identifying targeted therapies. They represent a major advance in cancer care, but the circumstances under which such tests should be used vary depending on several factors. Discover more about this fast-developing area of precision medicine and test yourself with interactive case studies.

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While we write principally with a physician audience in mind, many of our stories are also read by the public at large. Here are some of our most popular stories on topics that any patient would do well to understand better.

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