Sure, the malpractice system is broken. And there are lots of suboptimal doctors out there.
I have told some what the correct diagnosis is and they have ignored me. Some are too busy to take phone calls from me. Institutions have refused to order tests that I’ve requested.
On the other hand, I have been lectured about the necessity for “cover your ass” medicine. I could not practice it if I wanted to. Nobody would pay for it. In my specialty, I am always told to look for ways to cut costs while some patients cry to me they cannot afford their medicine. We do our best. Read more on Capping Malpractice Damage Awards…
Filed under Diagnosis, medicine by on Jul 2nd, 2012. Comment. 
To tell people who are overweight that they need to move around more and count calories is kind of like telling Yogi Bear to leave tourists alone and avoid eating the contents of picnic baskets. It ain’t gonna happen.
I have long ago surrendered to the fact that logic, reason, science and – yes, even the truth – have overcome the need to manipulate the population with misinformation in order to control them and to wring every bit of money out of them.
I give professional nutritionists the benefit of a doubt — even though two of them wrote this book. After all, every dietitian I have ever known was “recovering” from at least one eating disorder. And usually on the “lower serotonin” side of life, probably a little obsessive, maybe a little depressed.
Mostly, these are people who believe everything they are told without questioning, or exist on “wishful thinking.” Or they have a political or professional agenda. Read more on How Many Calories in B.S.?…
Filed under eating disorders, medicine, weight by on Jul 12th, 2012. 1 Comment.
Seems to me that doctors are starting to think like insurance companies.
And it seems to me they are making decisions for the wrong reasons.
No. This is the wrong way to think. Read more on Unnecessary Medical Tests…
Filed under Doctors, medical errors, medicine by on Jul 12th, 2012. Comment.
Dr. Alycia A Chambers is one of my new heroes. An investigation in 1998 led her to suggest that Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky met the criteria for pedophile, in her own assessment of the person now identified as “victim #6.”
What is at stake here is not the usual legal case of “my expert vs. your expert,” for only the most jaded of lawyers would suggest that this case be deferred to the adversarial system, letting the truth fall where it may.
Sexual abuses of childhood trust generally lead to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can affect the conduct of an entire life if untreated. They are all too often untreated.
Dr. Chambers’ report was buried for a long time. Part of this could have been because she was female. It is not powerful anymore to talk about sex discrimination and harder to prove it, but I have no trouble believing the opinion of a professional female was buried in the files. Read more on Penn State Coach Scandal Update…
Filed under abuse, Sexual Misconduct, Sports by on Jul 25th, 2012. Comment.
Hello health care system. This is weird, to put it mildly.
As far as anyone seems to be able to figure out what happened, this 38 year old nurse killed five dialysis patients and “assaulted” five others by putting sodium hypochlorite – bleach — in their dialysis tubing.
She had some problems with domestic violence and public intoxication and such. But according to the relevant statements, that was all resolved before she did this.
Jurors have convicted her of capital murder, but she is not going to get the death penalty. Mostly, this is because she is deemed to be of no further danger if she’s kept out of health care. Her daughter seems to be taking it hard. This is an indication for counseling, but not a change in Mommy’s sentence. Read more on When Nurses Kill…
Filed under medicine, Public Health System, Substance Abuse, Violence by on Jul 25th, 2012. Comment.
I can’t say exactly what is going on in the case of the Colorado movie theater shooter — I just do not have all the knowledge and all the facts. I am happy this young man was able to find the psychiatric services at his local institute of higher education. Many students cannot. Sometimes I even have to alert my patients who are eligible for such services that such services exist. Psychiatrist Lynne Fenton’s past as an acupuncturist is colorful, at least. I have been to so many places and done so many things, that I do not think anyone should be condemned by their past.
In the past, Dr. Fenton has been disciplined by her medical board for prescribing rather strong drugs to herself and family. I suppose people are sometimes overcome in circumstances such as the death of a relative like Mom. She is back practicing with not more than a slap on the wrist and a mark on her record. Appropriate for this level of wrongdoing I think, if there are really no other circumstances. As for the accused shooter’s notebook with the stick figures and the shooters, I have seen many such notebooks — but never from a patient. I saw them in 2nd, 3rd or more rarely in 4th grade on the desks of male classmates who fantasized about such things. The operative word here is “fantasize.” Read more on Colorado Shooter’s Drawings May Have Been A Warning…
Filed under Mental Illness, News, Psychiatrists by on Jul 30th, 2012. Comment.