As you may have heard me say before, not all doctors are saints. Patients often tend to revere doctors — of which I heartily approve! But as with any group there are always bad apples. And if not all of the apples are bad, there are also incompetent ones. Sometimes they are well-meaning. Sometimes they are just hoping nobody catches on so they don’t lose their livelihood. But I am definitely NOT anti doctor, anti medicine, anti prescriptions or anti anything else. I know there is good and bad everywhere. Unfortunately, in medicine, the bad or the incompetent can mean the death or suffering of innocent people.
Filed under Doctors, medicine, News by on Aug 17th, 2017. 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.
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.
This is one of those stories that I find very difficult to write. My anger is great and clouds my mind. Yet if I do not, there may be some kind of eruption – tears, shouts, or pounding on the wall.
The headline in the Philadelphia Inquirer read, “4 ex-pharma execs face possible jail time.”
“Possible” jail time? This is murder.
In brief:
Synthes received FDA approval bone cement for use only to fill bony voids or defects in some parts of the body, but not in the spine.
In 2003 and 2004, the company is accused of having its representative train surgeons to use this cement for the very thing they were forbidden by the government to do.
For those who don’t know, many surgeries are performed by people who aren’t technically allowed to practice medicine. A lot of times, people who didn’t complete medical school or people who have had their medical licenses taken away for various disciplinary reasons can get employment with a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals or medical appliances (like replacement hip joints) and will train doctors on how to utilize these new products.
This isn’t widely discussed and is shady, at best. It’s probably criminal, but that’s another column.
Synthes executives are charged with conducting illegal clinical trials in which 200 patients were treated for ways not approved by the FDA.
Of those 200, three died.
Filed under big pharma by on Nov 22nd, 2011. Comment.