The next issue of ACP Internist is online

The January 2010 issue of ACP Internist is online and coming soon to your mailbox. This issue, ACP Internist features:

Rethinking the value of the annual exam. Patients expect it and internists won't let it go. But does the evidence support the need for the periodic health exam? Data say routine lab tests are of little or no use, but experts weigh in on the value of regularly seeing patients for preventive screening.

Expert explains thyroid diagnosis, treatment and common red flags. The estimate that 25 million people have thyroid problems would double if the normal range for thyroid-stimulating hormone was adjusted, as some medical societies suggest. In this Web-only Q&A, Victor Bernet, FACP, the author of MKSAP 15's chapter on disorders of the thyroid gland, offers his insights into management.

What to do when lab values, imaging studies conflict. In the latest Mindful Medicine installment, James Hennessey, FACP, reports on a young woman's elevated testosterone level, and how he made a diagnosis even though the lab results and imaging conflicted. Jerome Groopman, FACP, and Pamela Hartzband, FACP, consider confirmation bias and how this internist sidestepped being misled.

Also, don't miss daily updates on ACP Internist's blog and on Twitter.