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About Me
I am a physician and behavioral scientist. My research and writing explore the quirks in human nature that influence our lives -- the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness, and the way our society functions. (more...)- Have a question or just want to get in touch? Email me at peter.ubel@duke.edu
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Category Archives: Health & Well-being
Exciting New Breast Cancer Drug Poised to Break the Bank?
In exciting news for breast cancer patients, the FDA recently approved Perjeta, a new treatment for metastatic breast cancer that delays progression of the disease by six months. But can we afford to offer this drug to every woman who could … Continue reading
Posted in Health & Well-being
Tagged health care costs, health insurance
When Aggressive Medical Care Was More Dangerous Than Assassin’s Bullets
Dr. Smith Townsend knelt on the filthy train station floor, the patient lying in front of him with a bullet wound in his back. The patient was clinically stable for the moment, so Townsend turned his attention to the wound, … Continue reading
Posted in Health & Well-being, Medical Decision Making
Tagged consumer psychology, health care costs, healthcare quality
Health Cost Decisions in the Real World
When Rita Volk, a busy college student, first experienced a nagging sensation in her right ear, she ignored it. Even though she felt like she was traveling in an under-pressurized airplane, Volk assumed the problem would go away. But it … Continue reading
Posted in Health & Well-being
Beware Overreaching Government Efforts to Detect Breast Cancer
JoAnn Pushkin’s breast cancer was diagnosed at an advanced stage because the density of her breasts obscured the tumor on her mammograms. That was shocking news to Pushkin, who only learned that her breasts were radiologically dense at the time … Continue reading
Posted in Health & Well-being, Health Policy, Medical Decision Making
Is Information Good for Medical Decision Making?
Making important decisions in the dark can be stressful. But a recent study suggests that shining a light on decisions can make decision makers even more anxious. The question remains: Is this anxiety a good thing or a bad …. … Continue reading
Posted in Health & Well-being, Medical Decision Making
Penalizing Smokers So They Will Quit
Recently my employer, Duke University, announced it would be charging $10 more per month to offer health insurance to smokers (see story here). Duke’s policy has a couple motivations. Smokers get sick you see, and those smoking related illnesses cost Duke money. … Continue reading
Most provocative sentence of the week?
Whatever you think of Plan B, the emergency contraceptive pill that the Obama administration decided to keep behind pharmacy counters rather than let women and girls buy it OTC, you have to admit that the New England Journal authors wrote a heck of a provocative sentence, after reviewing the number of scientific committees that had deemed the medication safe. (The article is by Wood, Drazen and Greene, from January 12.) After pointing out that adolescent girls can already buy lethal doses of Tylenol OTC without any questions asked, and after explaining that the only known risks of Plan B are nausea and delayed menses, they land a hard punch right on the jaw of the Obama administration:
“Any objective review makes it clear that Plan B is more dangerous to politicians than to adolescent girls.”
Ouch! Continue reading
Posted in Health & Well-being, Health Policy
Finally on Fox?
As all of you know, my goal in life is to be a regular on Fox News. Well, anyway, here is a link to a Fox News story on happiness and all that stuff, which quotes me, and even places me back in Michigan. Let’s do the time warp . . . ? Continue reading
Posted in Health & Well-being
Peoples Pharmacy Podcast
This weekend, I had the pleasure of being a guest on Peoples Pharmacy, a great public radio show that hails out of Durham NC. We had a far ranging, rapidly shifting conversation about lots of things. Check it out if … Continue reading
Posted in Health & Well-being, Medical Decision Making
Age and happiness
As we get ready to turn the clocks on a new year, it is good to remember that for most of us, our happiness increases with age. See this recent news article which talks about some of my old, ahem, … Continue reading