Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD
Michael Brant-Zawadzki is a radiologist and physician executive.
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Latest articles
Physician voices
Waiting seven days or more to get a report of your recent CT scan? Welcome to today's new normal. Until a couple of years ago, the digital transformation of radiology dramatically shortened turnaround times of report delivery. The last-century process…
Waiting seven days or more to get a report of your recent CT scan? Welcome to today’s new normal. Until a couple of years ago, the digital transformation of radiology dramatically shortened turnaround times of report delivery. The last-century process of audio dictation, manual transcription, editing, and signing final reports was replaced by direct voice recognition software. Radiologists became the transcribers and editors. Turnaround of reports from study time shortened …
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The radiologist shortage behind your scan delays
Physician voices
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…
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 …
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Whole-body MRI screening: political privilege or future of care?
Conditions and diseases
"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…
“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. …
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Embracing life’s purpose in the face of inevitable death
Physician voices
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…
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 …
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What does the term “doctor” mean, who can use it, and does it matter?
Conditions and diseases
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…
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. …
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A matter of trust: Bill Maher loses trust in medical professionals
Physician voices
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…
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 …
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Why trust is the bedrock of public health policy
Conditions and diseases
"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…
“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 …
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How many people need to be infected to achieve herd immunity?
Conditions and diseases
"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…
“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 …
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The collective consciousness of COVID-19
Conditions and diseases
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’…
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 …
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The casualties of the Iran missile attack: not your father’s concussion
Conditions and diseases
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…
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 …
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Are our senior presidential candidates mentally fit?
Conditions and diseases
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.…
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 …
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Social media: a social disease killing our kids?
Conditions and diseases
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…
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 …
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Teenage suicide: trouble in a virtual paradise
Health policy
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…
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: …
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Medicare for all and the problem of health care on demand
Conditions and diseases
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…
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 …
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After Luke Perry: a greater awareness of stroke symptoms
Physician voices
- 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 valued colleague shot in his office…
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 …
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Eulogy for the doctor
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