MD Whistleblower

The medical arena, like society at large, is permeated with self-interest. In medicine, every health care reform measure, new medicine, new medical device or revised medical practice guideline is at some constituency’s expense.  Recognizing and dismantling conflicts of interests is one of medicine's greatest challenges and threats.  It does not seem that all players in the medical arena prioritize the greater good and make patients' interests paramount. When I was a gastroenterology (GI) fellow decades ago, our GI department was active in new technologies to crush and dissolve gallstones and stones that had wandered from the gallbladder into the liver pipes. Millions of dollars of R & D were spent and the procedures were done in specialized centers in the U.S and abroad. The treatments were cumbersome and only modestly effective, but the treatments continued year after year. Then, laparoscopic cholecystectomy arrived, a new operation that could remove gallbladders with muc...

On the morning that I began this post, I read in our local newspaper that Tennessee is soon expected to have a law that would permit public school teachers to offer views on climate change and evolution that are counter to orthodox doctrine on these subjects. No, I don’t think that creationism is science and it should not be disguised as such. Global warming, or climate change, however, is more nuanced. While it is inarguable that temperatures have been rising, it is not certain and to what extent human activities are responsible for this. Clearly, this issue has been contaminated by politically correct warriors and those who have an agenda against fossil fuel use. Science, like all scholarship, should be a pursuit of the truth, without a destination in sight. Believing or wanting to believe that man is turning the world’s heat up may sound plausible, but it may not be true. Just because something sounds true and logical, doesn’t make it so. In addition, repeating an opinion ...

Sharpening a quill. I am a physician who writes and I think that more of my colleagues should do so. Not because we are such skilled wordsmiths or understand plot and character development. We don’t. But, we confront the human condition every day. We see pain and struggle and fear and rebirth. We have much to share. Beyond medicine, I think everyone should write, because everyone has something important to say and to share. To paraphrase an old Pete Seeger song, where has all the writing gone? Long time passing. I long for longhand. I plead for paper. I pine for a pen. Sadly, there has been steady erosion in the craft of writing, which I attribute to the ’new & improved’ forms of communication that have supplanted the written word. In addition, folks don’t simply regard writing as a worthy pursuit. Writing today means tweeting, emailing, texting, Instagraming, tik toking and various other keyboard or voice activated techniques. Artificial intelligence may push all of thi...

Jingle Frost Romney Lost Obamacare is here Brought to us by the Dems With promises and fear. Fiscal Cliff Might be teriff! Sailing through the air Watching Boehner and the Pres Pretending that they care. Susan Rice Playing Nice Charging in reverse Kissing up to GOP Who now say she is worse. Taxes Rise Before your eyes While the masses cheer Will Medicare go on the block? Let’s punt this 'til next year! Obama plan Kick the can And claim that it's progress. Who's to blame? You know his name. George Bush has caused this mess! Wishing You Joy and Peace!

Am I an apologist for the pharmaceutical companies?  I don’t think so, but others may disagree based on some sympathetic Whistleblower posts that have appeared in this blog.  It is without question that the drug companies have been demonized and portrayed as rapacious gangs of greed who seek profit over all.  Haven’t you come across the pejorative term, Big Pharma?  Linguistical note:  The adjective ‘Big’ means evil. Consider: Big Oil Big Government Big Tobacco Get the point?   Big Elephant! I’m not suggesting that the pharm guys and gals are all Eagle Scouts.  These companies operate to make money, just like car companies, the cosmetic industry, the airlines, banks and financial institutions, hospitals, manufacturers, the hospitality industry and retailers throughout the land.  Here’s a bold Whistleblower pronouncement. There is nothing evil about making money. Of course, I want our drugs to be safe and...

I spend a lot of my time reading, thinking and writing about politics and medicine.  I love the debate.  Three of the five Kirsch progeny engaged in serious school debate programs, and I believe that they received years of training at our dinner table.  I certainly learned a lot from them – and still do – and I hope they picked up a few worthy lessons along the way. Some time ago, an associate admonished me to avoid dialogue concerning religion or politics, two of my staple conversation themes.  This advice seemed misplaced as I’ve never had an argument in my life discussing a controversial issue.  Indeed, I seek out these opportunities. I don't want the other individual to change the subject; I want this person to change my mind. Controversy erupted recently when Hepatitis C enthusiasts pushed back against the U.S Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) draft recommendation regarding testing folks for hepatitis C virus (HCV). More turbulence is sure to ...

Breast news is booming.   Mammography is in the news again.   We have legions of breast lobbyists that have agendas that are far beyond the true medical value of mammography.  Even legislators have entered the mammographic arena in a clumsy effort to show their pro-women bona fides.  Politicians should not practice medicine.  It’s absurd that they try to do so when they can’t even perform their own jobs competently. In 2010, the government overturned its own panel the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), in response to an outcry from politicians and mammo-cheerleaders. The USPSTF is not anti-mammogram, and neither am I. I’m pro medical evidence. Mammogram enthusiasts often champion positions that are beyond the science.  Beyond the Kool Aid drinkers, there are billions of dollars at stake here.  Medical evidence is massaged by companies who manufacture conventional and emerging imaging breast techniques and by radiologists w...