JAMA

Honors Medicine at Michigan Eight articles by U-M authors featured

The February 16, 2000, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, which celebrates the University of Michigan Medical School Sesquicentennial, contains eight articles including original research, essays, and editorial commentary authored or co-authored by Michigan faculty. Listed in the approximate order in which they appear in the Journal, they are:

Indications for Emergent Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain and Spine by Douglas J. Quint, M.D. A discussion of the appropriateness of magnetic resonance imaging for evaluation of suspected central nervous system pathology on an emergent basis, and clinical situations, such as suspected spinal cord compression, when emergent magnetic resonance evaluation is required.

A Cost-Utility Analysis of Screening Intervals for Retinopathy in Type 2 Diabetes by Sandeep Vijan, M.D., Timothy P. Hofer, M.D., and Rodney A. Hayward, M.D.
An examination of the marginal cost effectiveness of various screening intervals for eye disease in type 2 diabetes, stratified by age and level of glycemic control.

The International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection: New Insights into an Old Disease by Kim Eagle, M.D., and many other authors of a large international study
An assessment of the presentation, management and outcomes of acute aortic dissection, a life threatening emergency associated with high morbidity and mortality, based on outcomes of 464 patients over three years.

Extracorporeal Life Support: The University of Michigan Experience by Robert H. Bartlett, M.D., Dietrich W. Roloff, M.D., Joseph R. Custer, M.D., John G. Younger, M.D., and Ronald B. Hirschl, M.D.
A description of the Michigan experience, over two decades, with extracorporeal life support (the use of a modified heart-lung machine) with 1,000 patients, the development and current status of extracorporeal life support, and diffusion of this complex technology into clinical practice.

Conflicts around Decisions to Limit Treatment: A Differential Diagnosis by Susan Dorr Goold, M.D., Brent Williams, M.D., M.P.H., and Robert M. Arnold, M.D.

A medical model proposed as a useful tool for helping physicians to understand and manage physician-family conflicts about end-of-life care.

An Example Worthy of Imitation: The University of Michigan Medical School, 1850-2000 by Howard Markel, M.D., Ph.D.
A brief history of the Medical School, its vital reforms in medical education, and its success as a public institution of higher learning charged with educating students of diverse backgrounds.

ERISA Litigation and Physician Autonomy by Peter D. Jacobson, J.D., M.P.H., and Scott D. Pomfret, J.D.

A look at the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, how the complex statute influences health care delivery in managed care organizations, and how court interpretations of ERISA have limited physician autonomy and subordinated clinical decision-making to managed care organizations’ cost-containment considerations.

Shaping a Positive Future for Academic Medicine at Michigan by Gilbert S. Omenn, M.D., Ph.D., Allen S. Lichter, M.D., Larry Warren, M.A., and Lee C. Bollinger, J.D.

An overview of challenges faced and met by the U-M Health System as an academic medical center in the late 1990s, and its ongoing commitment to integrating medical practice with education and research.

In addition to the above articles, five books authored or co-edited by Michigan faculty will be reviewed in the JAMA issue celebrating the Medical School Sesquicentennial. They are as follows:

Not Just Any Medical School: The Science, Practice and Teaching of Medicine at the University of Michigan, 1850-1941 by Horace W. Davenport, D.Sc. Reviewed by Michael E. Johns, M.D., member of the JAMA Editorial Board and editor of Archives of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

Principles of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, edited by William R. Hazzard, M.D., John P. Blass, M.D., Ph.D., Walter H. Ettinger Jr., M.D., Jeffrey B. Halter, M.D., and Joseph G. Ouslander, M.D. Reviewed by Gerard Kerins, M.D., of the Center on Aging at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

The Practice of Autonomy: Patients, Doctors, and Medical Decisions by Carl E. Schneider, J.D. Reviewed by George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H., of the Health Law Department at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Textbook of Gastroenterology, Volumes 1 and 2, and the Textbook and Atlas of Gastroenterology on CD-ROM, both edited by Tadataka Yamada, M.D., David H. Alpers, M.D., Loren Laine, M.D., Chung Owyang, M.D., and Don W. Powell, M.D. Reviewed by Frank L. Iber, M.D., of the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Chicago.

Sleep Medicine by Michael S. Aldrich, M.D. Reviewed by Randolph W. Evans, M.D., Houston, Texas.

From the University of Michigan Health System: Executive Officers (Omenn, Lichter, and Warren), Departments of Radiology (Lichter, Quint), Internal Medicine (Vijan, Hofer, Hayward, Eagle, Goold, Williams, Halter, Schneider, Yamada, Owyang, Omenn), Surgery (Bartlett, Hirschl), Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases (Roloff, Custer, Markel), Emergency Medicine (Younger), Physiology (Davenport, Yamada), Neurology (Aldrich), Human Genetics (Omenn), Geriatrics (Halter), Historical Center for the Health Sciences (Markel). Also: School of Public Health (Jacobson, Hayward), Law School (Schneider), Office of the U-M President (Bollinger).

Medical School alumnus Michael E. Johns (M.D. 69, Residency in Otolaryngology 1975) is executive vice president for health affairs at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.