In this time of financial strain on physicians and the government reimbursement system we once again need to address the question — should doctors unionize? Recently, a group of physician picketed Capitol Hill to denounce continue reimbursement cuts. This results in a temporary stay of a planned... Read more →

In this series of posts we are examining the ethics behind medicine. This includes the entire ethical spectrum of behavior by doctors, patients, nurses, and the entire medical system. Here we present another case scenario about a patient. A 36 year old man presents to his plastic surgeon for cosmetic... Read more →

The current US healthcare system is broken. Few would argue this point. Rising costs, decreasing reimbursements, more lawsuits, insurance hikes, and an aging population are just some of the difficulties that face both physicians and patients today, and the situation doesn’t seem to be improving. One... Read more →

In my previous posts about Medicine and the Law we talked about the elements necessary for a patient-physician relationship — contract and consent as well as medical malpractice. We then went on to discuss causation and the different types. Continuing on in this series let’s talk about informed... Read more →

Many people in the United States, and indeed the world, are not aware that there are two types of fully licensed physicians. Allopaths (or M.D.s) have enjoyed being the mainstay of healthcare for hundreds of years along with the luxury of being a 20:1 majority of practicing physicians. Osteopaths (or... Read more →

In an effort to make this blog more interactive, I’ve decided to start a new series of posts focusing on Ethics and Medicine. In this series I will post a series of cases and see what my readers think. Some of these will focus on the ethics of the doctor, some the patient, the hospital, and other... Read more →

This is an era where lawsuits are filed for the absence of warnings — the McDonald’s lawsuit of 1994 (81-year-old woman awarded 2.9 million dollars for being scalded by a beverage that she ordered) and of 2003 (the plaintiff complaint stated that eating at McDonald’s contributed to... Read more →

This is the second post in my Patient Manifesto series. In my first post I tried to outline some broad categories of things patients want and expect from their doctor. One comment addressed two points that I didn’t focus much on but that in hindsight should not have escaped me — communication... Read more →

Business Week magazine has an interesting article regarding conflicts of interest among physicians, in particular cardiologists and those who publish clinical data regarding medicines or devices. I’ve alluded to such conflicts in previous posts, but it clearly is gaining national attention, particular... Read more →

Should doctors be able to turn patients away if they disagree with their lifestyle choice? The article reads like many pregnancy stories. The happy couple finally become pregnant against all odds and eagerly anticipates the birth of their first child. This story, however, takes a twist that many people,... Read more →

My last post about Doctors and Guns definitely generated some interesting comments. I really enjoyed reading the different perspectives and want to thank all readers for their comments. It has made me realize that this blog can be much more interactive and thus I will try to provide more stimulating... Read more →