As patients, we have an expectation that our medical records will remain confidential. After all, there are few records more personal than our medical records, which may describe the most intimate details of our personal lives. Confidentiality is important to the physician/patient relationship because, without it, patients may be understandably reluctant to be honest in describing to the provider their history and problems. Unfortunately, technology and human nature are conspiring to make the desired confidentiality an illusion. As much as we might want our personal data to be confidential, the ways in which it is distributed, the way health care…

I had the opportunity recently to speak with a woman who believed she had been the victim of medical malpractice in connection with a repair of her hip. She had sent me a detailed description of what had happened to her, of her concerns about her treatment and of the limitations she was now experiencing as a result of the hip repair. I had reluctantly turned down her case and she wanted to know why. We had a good talk and, when we were done, she understood why I could not take her case. I thought it might be helpful…

One of the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic is that our drug development model and drug supply chain are broken.  Our western capitalist system has served us well for many years.  It provided products at a low price, which allowed us to enjoy a good standard of living.  It does not do everything well, however.  The profit motive has produced a dysfunctional drug development model and has also produced less-than-robust supply chains that rely on foreign manufacturers to produce the drugs we need. Here are just some examples of drug development and supply dysfunction. Orphan Drugs.  Orphan drugs are drugs created…

The Covid-19 pandemic has upended many aspects of our individual lives and the economic life of our country as well. We will be adjusting to its effects for many years to come. Some businesses are looking to use the emergency created by the pandemic to get legislators at the state and national levels to give them something that is on their perennial wish list: immunity from suit. Nursing homes, hospitals and doctors want immunity from suit. Although they are claiming they need it because of the pandemic, they don’t want it to be limited to what happens because of the…

We all want to look like we are young and healthy, even those of us in our later years.  Beauty is big business and, wherever there is big business, you can be sure charlatans will follow.  This is true in medicine and particularly true in cosmetic surgery. Unlike many other areas of medicine in which a doctor’s compensation depends on insurance company reimbursement rates, most cosmetic surgery is paid for by the patient.  Most often cosmetic surgery is not covered by medical insurance so the cosmetic surgeon is free to charge what the market will bear.  In the case of…

How would you like to be kept alive in a permanent vegetative state for a year just so your hospital can continue to make money?  That is what happened to at least one patient at a hospital in New Jersey and probably to others as well.  Their stories are horrible examples of doctors and hospitals gaming the system to keep the dollars flowing.  If you think this hospital and these doctors are the only ones doing this, you are incredibly naive. Darryl Young, 61, a veteran and former truck driver, needed a heart transplant.  After four years with a mechanical…

Pity the poor carbohydrate.  Carbohydrates, also known as saccharides or carbs, are sugars or starches. They are a major food source and a key form of energy for most organisms.  We need them to survive.  Unfortunately, like people, there are good carbs and bad carbs.  Also, just like hanging out with bad people can land you in jail, running with a bad crowd of carbs can cause you lots of trouble. Most of the foods pictured above are examples of good carbohydrates.  They are complex carbohydrates and have a low glycemic index.  That means that they slowly release their energy into…