Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Michael Brant-Zawadzki is a radiologist and physician executive.

Whole-body MRI screening: political privilege or future of care?

Physician

January 6, 2026

The use of MRI body scanning as a preventative tool was highlighted by the president’s recent rope-a-dope with the media. Community practice whole-body MRI businesses now exist, local entrepreneurs directly marketing these services to the public. These scans are not reimbursable by traditional health payers.

The attraction of MRI is its lack of ionizing radiation, as well as its proven sensitivity to a variety of pathologies. Example: Detection of breast cancer …

Embracing life’s purpose in the face of inevitable death

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

December 7, 2023

“I cannot escape death, but at least I can escape the fear of it.”
– Epictetus

I wish more people knew that quote during the pandemic. I write this on November 1st, celebrated as Dia de Muertos or “Day of the Dead.” Epictetus and the other Stoics knew that death is inevitable, that life can change in an instant, and viewed it as a reminder to live each day purposefully and virtuously. …

What does the term “doctor” mean, who can use it, and does it matter?

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Physician

October 31, 2023

From the Oxford Dictionary: Doctor.

a qualified practitioner of medicine; a physician. (a number of synonyms are listed, including “quack”)

a person who holds a doctorate.

Increasingly, non-physicians are using the term “doctor.” Clearly, a doctorate degree allows the holder to use that term semantically, contextual puffery or not. Nurses can obtain a doctorate degree through a rigorous peer-reviewed process of study. PhDs in various fields likewise. All MDs are doctors. Not all …

A matter of trust: Bill Maher loses trust in medical professionals

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

May 5, 2022

I was at my gym last night. Billy Joel’s ballad about trust was the metronome to my squats. Though vaccinated and boosted, I was wearing my mask. I know the latest evidence about vaccines and natural immunity, the dramatic transmissibility but mild virulence of the latest Omicron variant.

So my mask was only for optics. Someone might recognize me as a doctor in the local hospital where masking is still mandated. …

Why trust is the bedrock of public health policy

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Physician

March 1, 2021

I was at my gym last night (yes, it’s finally open). Billy Joel’s ballad about trust was the metronome to my squats. Though vaccinated, I was wearing my mask. Knowing the latest evidence about vaccines, my mask was only for the optics of those mostly maskless around me. I overheard the couple next to me say, “OMG. Fauci says we should double-mask. What a BSer!”

Trust is fundamental to the delivery …

How many people need to be infected to achieve herd immunity?

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

August 4, 2020

“The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.”
– Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo believes that New York has vanquished the virus by good policy. Never mind that New York’s mortality numbers total to the worst in the United States. Being smashed very early by the wide and wild spread of COVID-19 since early February, by the time the lockdown occurred well over …

The collective consciousness of COVID-19

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

April 13, 2020

“Plagues are infrequent but constant, and they do not alter the conditions of mankind (everybody dies) but rather concentrate our misfortunes into moments where everyone thinks for a change that mortality is afoot.”
– Albert Camus

In Camus’ construct, there was no mass media or the internet, yet the fear of imminent death spread like wildfire in a parched California landscape. Nothing is as contagious as that type of fear, as stampedes …

The casualties of the Iran missile attack: not your father’s concussion

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

March 6, 2020

Recently, revelations indicated that the Iran missile strike on the U.S. base in Iraq actually did cause head injuries. So why did the U.S. initially claim no “casualties”? From the limited reports available, it appears that most of the soldiers’ symptoms were consistent with concussions. Let’s define terms: In the wars of the 20th century, our soldiers would have been labeled with “shell shock.” In the past, diagnosing concussion required …

Are our senior presidential candidates mentally fit?

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

November 3, 2019

Did you know, one in four people over 65 have abnormal memory impairment? This is the finding from screening with an objective test. In half of those who test abnormal, there were common conditions – such as depression and medication interactions – which can be addressed and even reverse the memory problem. But for the other half, the memory problem is a sign of mild cognitive impairment, which can be …

Social media: a social disease killing our kids?

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

September 7, 2019

Much has been written and said about the role of Facebook and social media in our society. Only recently has the increasingly dark side of what was once thought to be a monumental transformation of humanity come into public discourse. Initially, the potential threats to privacy and the normal political process of our democracy grabbed the lion’s share of concern.

More recently, however, attention is turning towards the impact of social …

Teenage suicide: trouble in a virtual paradise

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

April 30, 2019

It’s not just someone obsessed by Columbine. Last year, a seemingly normal teen was found dead from suicide in a Corona del Mar park. Just a few weeks ago, a young man walked into a local South County fast food joint, then into the restroom, where he was found hung. Another was found dead on the grounds of an Aliso Viejo school. A few days later, the school parent open …

Medicare for all and the problem of health care on demand

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Policy

March 10, 2019

The evolving politics of single-payer health care conflate the concepts of universal coverage, health care on demand and free health care. To the indiscriminate progressive mind, all three are part of the holy grail. The fly in the ointment is that highly attractive and altruistic politics runs into the brick wall of reality. As Thomas Sowell — a noted Stanford economist — wrote: “The first lesson of economics is scarcity: …

After Luke Perry: a greater awareness of stroke symptoms

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

March 6, 2019

When your grandmother suffers a devastating stroke, it is a family tragedy, but it does not necessarily make the headlines. When Luke Perry has a massive stroke at age 52, it does. Stroke remains a surprisingly common occurrence, striking someone in the United States every 40 seconds, and killing someone every 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Not only one of the top 4 causes of death in the U.S., but …

Eulogy for the doctor

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Physician

March 17, 2015

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No physician, however conscientious or careful, can tell what day or hour he may not be the object of some undeserved attack, malicious accusation, blackmail or suit for damages … “
– Assaults Upon Medical Men. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1892

It’s happened again: A well-liked doctor is killed by his patient. Last year’s horrific death of a physician in our community, a …

Read more…

Eulogy for the doctor

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

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