Dangerous ingredients, like toxins, antifreeze, and mercury, are touted by many as reasons to decline vaccination against influenza. However, toxin is an inaccurate term regarding vaccines (a toxin is a poisonous substance made by cells or organisms and is definitely not in any vaccine), mercury is a non-issue (see below), and there is no antifreeze in vaccines (although some contain propylene glycol, …
What defines a competent psychiatrist? To staunch critics of the field, perhaps nothing. Some believe psychiatry has done far more harm than good, or has never helped anyone, rendering moot the question of competency. What defines a competent buffoon? A skillful brute? An adroit half-wit? Having just finished Robert Whitaker’s Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America, a reader might easily conclude that psychiatric competency is …
If F. A. Hayek were alive today, he would support the revival of labor unions in general and professional labor unions in particular. Towards the end of the Second World War, Hayek wrote a book warning us all that allowing governments to engage in extensive central planning of economic activities is nothing more than a road to serfdom for humanity. F.A. …
While the electronic medical record (EMR) has advantages, it also has introduced liability risks. EMRs can lead to lawsuits or result in a weak defense by casting the physician in an unfavorable light.
For example, examine these exchanges in a recent malpractice trial:
A while ago, I wrote about a medical student whose school tried to dismiss him just prior to graduation for unprofessional behavior.
A judge ruled that the school could not do so because it had tolerated some similar behavior earlier in his medical school career and had not considered it important enough to mention in his letters of recommendation.
In that post, I said, “‘Professionalism’ is difficult to define, especially when trying to …
New York Post reporter Susan Edelman revealed the name of the unfortunate anesthesiologist allegedly present on August 28 at Yorkville Endoscopy, during the throat procedure that led to the death of comedian Joan Rivers. She is reported to be Renuka Reddy Bankulla, MD, 47, a board-certified anesthesiologist from New Rochelle, NY.
Having her name made public will be a nightmare for Dr. Bankulla, as …
You might think of bacon, that thing of gustatory beauty that is salted, cured pork, as just pleasure for your taste buds. However, one of the first medical facts I learned in 2015 was that bacon has medicinal purposes (apart from making you feel better after eating it). With this new knowledge at hand, the time just seemed right for a …
You’ve made it. Four years of college, four years of medical school, and three years (sometimes four or five) of residency, depending on the specialty you chose. You’ve earned a prestigious title.
You are a doctor.
But wait, you are not done yet.
Want to be a cardiologist, oncologist, or gastroenterologist? Add another three years to the eleven spent to become an independent practitioner. Another three years of interest accruing on that six-figure …
Is it medically professional for a non-profit organization to use physician testing fees to “choose wisely” a $2.3 million luxury condominium complete with a chauffeur-driven BMW 7-series town car? In my view, obviously not. To most people, such an action would conjure up images of hypocrisy, waste, and corruption.
After a review of public and tax records, it appears to me this is exactly what has happened.
Background
In 1999 for reasons that …
One of the things that I love about my job as a hospitalist is the ease with which we can develop friendships with colleagues from other disciplines. Since I am an inpatient physician, it’s not surprising that some of my good friends are cardiologists, nurses, endocrinologists, physical therapists and, of course, other hospitalists. In fact, I met my neurosurgeon husband while co-managing his patients at the hospital. While thinking about …
Colonoscopy is the most effective test for the detection and prevention of colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. An estimated 14 million colonoscopies are performed in the United States every year. About 20 to 40 percent of these colonoscopies have inadequate bowel preparation according to multiple studies.
Inadequate bowel preparation is costly to the patient, the health care system, and society.
In one study, poor …
Home health care is in many ways a fantastic service, especially for those Medicare beneficiaries who are essentially homebound due to frailty or illness.
But it often feels surprisingly hard to synergize with home health care.
The main problem, as I see it, is that home health care agencies have set themselves up to provide only administratively required communication with the ordering doc. (There are rules governing home health care, you know!)
Now, …
My brother wears a scar around his neck. It represents his second surgery for papillary thyroid cancer. The first started off the same way. Ugly, red and angry. Curving like an ominous smile around his neck, like a noose. That’s how it felt too — the lump in his throat growing as he sat quietly, alone in a doctor’s office. It’s interesting how physical scars are a visual manifestation of …
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In the United States, we train health care providers on poor people. This is no secret — most medical schools and residencies are in lower income areas. If you have Medicaid or no insurance, you are more likely to find care in an office or hospital where medical students, residents, nursing students, and other trainees rotate; Blue Cross patients don’t let interns watch their childbirth. Even though my residency emphasized …
Have you ever eaten a healthy meal, maybe some brown rice and stir-fried veggies, and found yourself ready for another meal just a short while later? Or, more often couldn’t overcome a hankering for a satisfying dessert to top off (and undermine the healthiness of) that meal?
As it turns out, this lack of satiety is not merely a function of the …
There once was a kind, humble physician who worked for years in an office building across the street from the hospital, toiling day to day to take exceptional care of his patients. He was open and deliberate, calm and thoughtful. He himself hired every secretary and medical assistant, every nurse, and biller. His staff formed a protective family who fiercely advocated …
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Dear HMO,
As I prepare to #getcovered or #staycovered, I realize that as a physician, I have an advantage in that I know what specific types of insurance plans would best fit my needs. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many Americans. Most importantly, I know to avoid signing up for certain health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Although I am a strong …
I can recall, though it seems quite long ago, my first basic life support (BLS) course as a first-year medical student. The instructor dutifully demonstrated on a mannequin to eager young medical students what to do if someone is found unresponsive. Shaking the unmoving mannequin she said loudly, “Sir, are you OK?” Then hearing no response she showed us how to …
Radiologists discussing test results with patients, a subject that has been lurking under the radar for a while, recently came to light because of an article in the New York Times. The idea is that patient anxiety while waiting to find out a test result could be alleviated by an immediate discussion with a radiologist.
That would be very nice, but there are …
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Every ER has its call roster, that sacred list of oracles, laying out who we can call when our patients need some service that we cannot provide. If I need a cardiologist, or a neurosurgeon or even a dermatologist for some acute emergency condition, all I need to do is ring up the operator and tell them, “This is the ER …
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