A general rule about writing a story is to lead with the important stuff. I’ve reviewed each of my ESC2013 updates, and as it turns out, each day I have led with the folly. Sorry about that. I’m going to continue the trend. If you had a blog, you could do this too. Before I’m […]
Category: Reflection
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If it has come to this…
…we are in big trouble. Really? This is awful America. Just awful. I think and write a lot about the effects of making treatment worse than disease. This image makes me feel sad for my country. If you don’t think social fabric is […]
Be sure: what follows are not complaints; these are just the facts. — Here’s a recent exchange from an enlightened physician leader, one who has yet to give up: “My colleagues are discouraged and frustrated every day, leaving the office defeated and fatigued. There are other ways to practice.” High healthcare costs get most of […]
Thanks for all the support on my last post. It’s striking how sometimes pointing out the obvious gets a lot of attention. I have a quick follow-up post. The purpose is to show you a real-life and current example of how medical hubris might have killed thousands of patients. My friend and colleague, Dr. Wes […]
This may be the most important post I have ever published. I’m going to tell you about a study that should change the entire way doctors approach patients, and how patients should think of prescribed treatments. These findings should begin a culture change in American medicine. Background: I used to think Medicine would get easier […]
There was great commentary on my last post. Thank you all. I learned a lot from your words. This is how it’s supposed to work here. One comment in particular has stuck with me. It concerned the formation of a how-to be-healthy booklet. An information manual, if you will. I’ve thought about this many times […]
It’s going to be hard to anesthetize this one with compassion. I’m sorry, but the report card on US health is not good. We aren’t heading in the right direction, and everyone involved knows that it’s because of a failure to accept the truth. You have probably already heard the news concerning the state of […]
Good sleep finally found me. Nine hours total. That changes everything. I missed the free bus but that was OK because I got the best cab driver ever. He drove me to the fair two days ago. His Mercedes is spotless, his English good and his willingness to teach about Greece was welcome. I shared […]
It must be the time change. Sound sleep is eluding me. The good news about waking at 0330 is you can get serious work done. The bad news is doing the (involuntary) nod during a nice lecture on molecular biologic causes of atrial fibrillation this afternoon. I really did want to get that whole intracellular […]
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Father’s Day
The desk was a small one. It sat in the corner of the bedroom I shared with my younger brother. I was in high school the night my Dad came and sat beside me at that desk. The algebra problems seemed pointless. Why in the world would one need to match up ‘x’s and ‘y’s? […]
Perhaps it’s because I love the practice of medicine so much. Or maybe it’s because doctors (and teachers) have always been my heroes. I’m trying to sort out why I feel so offended by Dr. Paul McHugh’s editorial in the Wall Street Journal last weekend. His sensational and paternalistic view of physician-assisted suicide can be […]