One of the definitions of the noun steward is a person whose responsibility it is to take care of something. Wikipedia calls stewardship an “ethic that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources.” These apply well to cardiologists–who use powerful (and expensive) tools in the care of fellow humankind. The internal cardiac defibrillator, or […]
ICD deactivation in the NY Times — with a quote from a blogger
The news came via a direct message on Twitter. “You got a plug in the NY times. Congrats.” (Thanks Dr. Jay Schloss.) Paula Span, author of the NY Times’ The New Old Age Blog, reported today on the issue of cardiac device deactivation in patients who are approaching end of life. The role I had […]
End of life care – A great American tragedy.
“Why don’t we die the way we say we want to die? In part because we say we want good deaths but act as if we won’t die at all.” Katy Butler, WSJ There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding right now in nearly every hospital in this nation. Aggressive life-prolonging care of the elderly too […]
Take fear and ignorance out of end-of-life decisions — A rebuttal to Dr Paul McHugh’s WSJ editorial
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 […]
Heart Rhythm Society Meeting 2013 — Hyde Park Lecture
Hi Everyone, This may be the longest I have ever gone between posts. As all bloggers do, I will tell you the reason. I was preparing for my invited lecture at HRS 2013. It was a Hyde Park Talk. This means you stand in one of the busiest parts of the convention, and just start […]
Standing up for a Harvard Doctor
There was a very important article written in the NY Times today. It highlighted a common medical scenario in my world—the defibrillator (ICD) world. I am going to talk about ICDs here, but the big picture inherent in this story illustrates the important issue of how best to apply invasive therapy to elderly and sicker […]
Going gently…
…is how doctors die. Few essays written by doctors are more relevant to today’s crisis in end of life care than Dr Ken Murray’s now famous, Why Doctors Die Differently. It made it to the WSJ today, thank goodness. It’s available for free in its original (and longer) form at Zocala Public Square. We discussed […]
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