MD Whistleblower

Ohio made national news twice in one week, and the Cuyahoga River wasn’t even on fire. First, Obama and his entourage flew here to headline the conference, Winning the Future Forum for Small Business, when he addressed small business leaders. He referred to the ‘reinvention of Cleveland’, a term that suggests we are experiencing a renaissance here, an event that most of us are unaware of. In any event, when a president flies in, it offers an opportunity to think, particularly if you are held hostage on the highway awaiting the presidential motorcade. Then, you can ponder how late you will be for your destination. Education, one of my preferred issues, also made headlines. A Mount Vernon, Ohio teacher was accused of infecting his curriculum with creationism, among other allegations which readers can discover with a single click after a Google search. Ohioans follow the creationism issue closely and pride ourselves on being more enlightened than many spirited evangelists from the Sunf...

This is a family blog. At times, I have had to expunge comments for inappropriate content. My criteria for comment eradication include: Raw language Personal attacks Overt commercial objectives There was a time in my lifetime when breasts were considered an inappropriate topic in public discourse. You never saw Little Ricky suckling his mother’s milk on I Love Lucy. These days, of course, breast references and actual images are chic and ubiquitous. Relax, parents. The remainder of this post will remain family-friendly, so there is no need for you to consult your 14-year-old on how to implement parental controls on your computer. Here are 3 recent breaking breast developments that all inquiring minds will want to be abreast of. Landmark medical study concluding that many women with breast cancer do not need to undergo pain and expense of removing lymph nodes. They do just as well if their nodes are not disturbed. Why does this matter? See prior landmark Whistleblower post. U....

Recently, every newspaper in the country reported on a landmark development in breast cancer treatment. It is now clear that certain breast cancer women do not need to undergo removal of lymph nodes from the armpit as part of their treatment. This would spare them from the risk and discomfort of an unnecessary procedure. It is welcome news, particularly for those of us who argue that in medicine, less is more. This is an example of the benefit of comparative effectiveness research , a tool that can separate what patients truly need from what the medical profession believes they must have. Let’s hope that breast cancer breakthrough metastasizes across the medical profession. Here’s what it accomplished. It spares women from unnecessary surgery. It saves money. It demonstrates that physicians and medical professionals can serve the public interest. It gives hope that all medical specialties will critically evaluate and justify the tests and treatments that we recommend to our pati...

I recently posted a piece entitled, Health Care Reform in the Crosshairs , when I opined that Sarah Palin’s political ads with crosshairs superimposed on selected congressional districts were acceptable political discourse. Click on the link above to view the image that accompanied the post. A reader sent me a private email suggesting that the crosshairs image was distasteful, particularly as one of the crosshairs was placed over Congresswoman Giffords’ district. The congresswoman was attacked by an evil murderer, and we all pray for her continued recovery and for the other victims and their families of this unspeakable attack. In the private commenter’s own words, I think you should take down Sarah Palin's targets map on your most recent blog post. I don't understand its connection to what you're writing in any case. But the targets are aimed at congressional districts, one of which is Rep. Giffords’. Since she was actually shot and almost died, in seems a bit distast...