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offering new treatments?

 

[LizzyM]

FDA moves to crack down on unproven stem cell therapies

Be careful. It is often best to avoid being the first or the last to offer a new therapy.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

There's no glory or excitement in being the 100th person to do something.

There is if you are the first to do it right

 

[Winged Scapula]

FDA moves to crack down on unproven stem cell therapies

Be careful. It is often best to avoid being the first or the last to offer a new therapy.

Exactly.

"Regenerative medicine/stem cell therapy" is nearly the sine qua non of quack medicine: The stem cell hard sell

 

[ReapPremed]

I think this question is just being phrased in an odd way: you are basically asking about continuing education for physicians after finishing residency?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Why wouldn't you be able to offer approved, evidence-based treatments?

 

[Piglet2020]

The physician I work for (orthopedic surgeon) cautions against these new "miracle" treatments. Usually, they cost patients thousands of $$$ with no proven track record. I'm talking about those stem cell injections people get for their lumbar spine and hip pain. Had a few patients who tried it and ended up either worse or f/u w/ the doctor a few weeks after.

 

[mehc012]

He's had multiple patients who didn't need to get total shoulder and total knee operations because of it. Whether or not that specific treatment turns out to be a load of crap is beside the point. I regret using that example, because it's pulling attention away from my question.

...or never actually needed to in the first place.

The example you used is perfect, because it highlights the actual difficult point of your question: sure, any physician can offer cutting edge therapies within their field, but they'd better be able to support their decisions with actual evidence (data and research, not anecdotes), or else be running it as an IRB-approved trial. So if you can sift through the weeds to find the gems, and you do so in an ethical way, have at. Otherwise, you risk becoming the most dangerous type of snake-oil salesman: the one with an MD.

 

[Dantes]

I think OP already said he/she didn't phrase the question well but the point still stands, and I'm curious and would be interested to know too. For example, I know psychiatrists that offer genetic testing for medications and others recommend the patient look to an outside company if interested. Is this based on finances and whether or not a practice can afford to offer certain services, or is it based on provider interest to offer them (or both)?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Yea I didn't do a good job phrasing the question. I agree with what everyone is saying, and I vehemently oppose pseudoscientific Tx's. I suppose I'm more interested in clinical research, conducting clinical trials under proper scientific conditions. How difficult would it be to run clinical trials as a working physician? Or would you need to be in an academic setting like a medical school faculty physician?

Its mostly difficult from an administrative standpoint.

We have clinical trials available to patients but had to have someone who would keep track of the paperwork, complete IRB stuff, consent patients etc. Most PP do not want to/cannot afford to do the same but you don't have to be in academics to run clinical trials.

As far as "offering innovative treatments" in PP; you can do whatever you want and some "fringe" physicians do so as a source of income.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

There will always need to be a first. There's no glory or excitement in being the 100th person to do something.

Patient: I've never heard of this treatment doc, why are you using it?
Doctor: Potential glory... if it works.

I hope for your sake you find some non-litigious patients

 

[el_duderino]

If you want "glory" I think you're looking at the wrong field. You sort of presented two scenarios: one where a clinician tests unproven therapies on his patients, which is a path to lawsuits and censure as opposed to glory. The second was a clinical researcher. If you're thinking about research, you should spend some time learning about the process