You can’t have skeletons in the closet if you want to be the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces. As Election Day draws near, I imagine that both McCain and Obama are exhausted; both have been run through the ringer. After all, they must endure non-stop campaigning schedules, high pressure... Read more →

In the last presidential debate there were only a few zingers. One came from John McCain who, after Barack Obama compared him to G. W. Bush, emphatically stated, “If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.” Since the debate Obama’s running mate, Joe... Read more →

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 was officiated so that people with disabilities may continue to work, play and participate in day-to-day tasks and activities. It states that no employer may discriminate amongst or terminate employees based on a physical or mental impairment when they... Read more →

Most Americans are willing to pay higher taxes to make health care reform possible, but, like politicians, they disagree about what reforms should take place. Should the government mandate a health care plan or should insurance carriers do a better job of providing coverage? The Democrats, led by Presidential... Read more →

No matter which side of the political fence you sit on, most Americans agree that our health care system is broken. Health care costs in the United States are approximately 16% of our gross domestic product (GDP), and they are expected to reach 20% of the GDP by 2017. That amounts to a staggering $4.3... Read more →

A recent New England Journal of Medicine article questions the ethics of psychiatrists being involved in interrogations. In 2006 the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Psychological Association (APA) issued statements that it is unethical... Read more →

You know, there’s a reason why famous sayings are, well, famous sayings. It’s because they’re true and they usually sum up this truth is just a few words so as to package their neat truism in a tidy little box. BMJ’s article, New York’s road to health, quickly brought to mind one of those sayings... Read more →

One controversial area where the brain, politics, and law collide is in cases where people suffer severe brain damage and are in a persistent vegetative state (this is more accurately termed complete vegetative state). In this state, the higher cortical functions of the brain are essentially wiped out.... Read more →

Continuing on in my series of posts about Medicine and the Law, we’ve established that there are two elements necessary for a patient-physician relationship to be established — contract and consent. There must be a written or implied contract in place, and there must be agreement to it on... Read more →

I’ve decided to go ahead and post a series on Medicine and the Law. One of the things I hear about so often from both sides of the patient-physician relationship is the fear and threat of legal action. Typically physicians are paranoid of being sued. They practice defensive medicine and go out... Read more →

When it comes to politics, it’s difficult to be a physician these days. There are many strong candidates in the presidential primaries this year. From the Republican side you’ve got a very ethical leader in John McCain. For the Democrats you’ve got a very charismatic and young Barack... Read more →