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 for doctors and psychologists to be directly involved in the interrogation process. Directly involved also includes viewing the interrogation with the “intention of intervening.” Physicians are allowed to train interrogation personnel but are not supposed to tailor interrogation protocols to specific prisoners or detainees. Read more →

A few weeks ago I read an interesting article on the topic of the shortage of physicians in the United States. Apparently, the increasing population and the baby boomers entering retirement is going to put a huge strain on this country. In terms of Social Security and Medicare, it already is. There is no doubt that the climate of decreasing reimbursements is due to the government’s inability to pay for the healthcare of so many aging people.

Thus, the shortage of physicians will increase as more doctors are needed to take care of our aging population. Read more →

In the medical world, certain events that happen in the care of a patient are called sentinel events. These are unexpected events that cause serious physical or psychological injury or harm to a patient. These are usually procedure-based events such as operating on the wrong extremity or inadvertently puncturing an organ when doing a procedure. One would imagine that the delineation between what is and what is not a sentinel event is pretty straightforward. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. Read more →

As reimbursements continue to decrease every year, physicians must be extremely financial savvy in order to survive. Some areas of the United States can’t seem to find enough doctors (think middle of the country), whereas others have a glut of doctors (think West and East Coasts). Coupled with the tough financial climate, there is the competition among practitioners who need to make a living in medicine to pay their bills and support their family. The golden days of doctors being rich off of their profession simply do not exist anymore. In order to do that, physicians must invest their income and make wise financial decisions. Read more →

The American Stroke Association reports on a son who invents stroke equipment, like the adjustable thumb Froomsplint, so that mom can live a normal life. I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Robert Froom:

BRAIN BLOGGER (Tony): Greetings Bloggers. Today we welcome Robert Keith Froom to our anti-stigmatization forum. Hello Keith and welcome. Read more →