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Doctoring Knowledge

Shining Bright Spot of 2020 — The RECOVERY Trial

Take a look at this article in The Times. It tells the story of Oxford professors named Martin Landray and Peter Horby. When they saw the pandemic unfolding in China and Lombardy, their first thought was to design a proper clinical trial to determine what works for COVID19. Normally, it takes a year or more […]

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Doctoring General Ablation General Cardiology Knowledge

No, Young Adults Should Not Live in Fear from Coronavirus

What follows is an OpEd that I co-authored with Andrew Foy, MD, from Penn State University. Andrew is an academic cardiologist who studies the quality of scientific evidence. Two outlets have declined to publish our piece. This is not surprising given that we critique a research letter written by prominent academic leaders. As you read […]

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Doctoring General Medicine Health Care Knowledge Reflection

Follow-up on my Eight COVID Assertions

Yesterday’s post generated some good comments. Two emergency medicine specialists felt that I was both wrong and insulting in saying that hospitals were not overwhelmed. What I meant in the word ‘overwhelmed’ is the notion of not being able to support a sick patient in the ICU or on a vent. That didn’t happen, but […]

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Doctoring Health Care

What I Got Wrong (and Right) about COVID19

In May, I wrote a column about COVID19 that got some attention. My reason for writing was the change in messaging about the strategy of flatten-the-curve. We were first told to flatten-the-curve to prevent overwhelming hospitals. But then the thinking changed to flatten-the-curve to save lives.  I made eight assertions about COVID19. Let’s see how […]

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Doctoring General Cardiology Knowledge

New column and podcast up:

Last week, I wrote a column on one of the most controversial clinical trials in cardiology. The EXCEL trial pitted stents vs bypass surgery for people who have left main coronary artery disease. The trial has been beset with controversy. The three areas of debate surround the definition of MI (or heart attack), the increased […]

Categories
Knowledge Reflection Social Media/Writing/Blogging

Deeper Worries in America

I worry about the coronavirus. It’s already killed more than 100,000 Americans. The recent protests have created a nerve-wracking public-health situation for the next weeks. I really worry about racism. Not only racism in police systems but more systemic racism in our culture. My friend Dr. Andrew Foy sent me this slide and post showing […]

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Doctoring General Medicine Hospice/Palliative Care Knowledge

Stopping COVID19 in Nursing Homes is No Easy Task

My city, Louisville KY, recently had a spike in COVID19 infections. It came from a handful of nursing homes. That nursing home and long-term care facilities account for large percentages of COVID19 cases has been well documented. In some cities, the majority of cases come from these facilities. These facts have sprouted platitudes about “protecting […]

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Doctoring General Medicine Knowledge Reflection

More on COVID19 Testing and How This Virus Makes Us Use Our Noggins

My friend Anish Koka, a cardiologist, wrote a beautiful review of COVID testing over at the HealthCareBlog. The great pandemic is wreaking havoc, we are told, because the nation is not testing enough.  The consensus from a diverse group that includes public health experts, economists, and silicon valley investors is that more testing will allow […]

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Doctoring General Medicine Knowledge

COVID19 and Finding Effective Medical Therapies

This post introduces a column I wrote over at TheHeart.org | Medscape Cardiology — The good news is that most people infected with coronavirus don’t need a hospital or doctor. But some do. Some get very ill. The maddening thing is that doctors don’t have an effective treatment for the virus. There are no cures. […]

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Exercise General Medicine Health Care Reform Healthy Living

The Case for Opening (some) Pools In COVID19 Pandemic

The COVID crisis has decimated water exercise. Can we rethink pool closures? A significant number of my older patients relied on pools for their fitness. During a pandemic, you can stay active or fit only if you have good legs and joints. Walkers, runners, and cyclists have no problem; they play outside in the Spring […]

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Doctoring General Medicine Knowledge Social Media/Writing/Blogging

Will the Uncertainties of COVID Science Resurrect Blogs?

Health news was popular before the pandemic. Now, almost all news is health news. It’s not only a rapt audience contributing to the deluge of COVID19 news. Two other factors: 1) the availability of preprint servers, digital archives where a scientific paper can be published without formal peer-review and 2) the attention economy. Attention is […]