Variant COVID-19 Strains Coming to America

This past week, I received my 2^nd Moderna vaccine uneventfully. Leaving science aside for a moment, I marveled that a small amount of clear liquid thrust into my upper arm could shield me from a contagious and invisible invader. Indeed, with the many public health failures we have suffered this past year, the development of safe and effective vaccines in record time has been a monumental scientific triumph. Obviously, these successes were the result of decades of medical research and development that created a ladder that today’s scientists could ascend. This is how medical science works. While it is true that medical breakthroughs can occur ex nihilo – out of nothing – more typically new scientific achievement builds on prior successes and failures.

We've added a few more rungs this past year.

Even with the advent of vaccines, this remains an uneasy time. Yes, there will be additional vaccines added to the armamentarium. Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine is expected to be granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in the near term. But, new potential disease threats have appeared and others are surely lurking in the shadows. We are aware of variant strains of the novel coronavirus in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. Do we not think that these and yet undetected mutant strains are already present in other corners of the world? While many of these variants may contain innocuous mutations, others may confer advantages to the virus with respect to transmissibility and virulence. At some point, we may need to call for Operation Warp Speed 2.0 to create new vaccines and therapeutics to combat new viral threats.

I feel that we are engaged in global cat and mouse conflict. It seems unfair that the goal posts are shifting. But disease and illness are unfair. They strike and afflict the innocent. But, we are not defenseless. We have robust protective techniques available as public health experts have admonished us for months.

The scientific community and the public have learned so much this past year. And without doubt, these lessons will save many lives when the next pandemic strikes. We’ve created a few more rungs in the ladder that scientists and researchers will climb in the future.

Comments

Why Most Doctors Choose Employment

Increasingly, physicians today are employed and most of them willingly so. The advantages of this employment model, which I will highlight below, appeal to the current and emerging generations of physicians and medical professionals. In addition, the alternatives to direct employment are scarce, although they do exist. Private practice gastroenterology practices in Cleveland, for example, are increasingly rare sightings. Another practice model is gaining ground rapidly on the medical landscape. Private equity (PE) firms have been purchasing medical practices who are in need of capital and management oversight. PE can provide services efficiently as they may be serving multiple practices and have economies of scale. While these physicians technically have authority over all medical decisions, the PE partners can exert behavioral influences on physicians which can be ethically problematic. For example, if the PE folks reduce non-medical overhead, this may very directly affe

Should Doctors Wear White Coats?

Many professions can be easily identified by their uniforms or state of dress. Consider how easy it is for us to identify a policeman, a judge, a baseball player, a housekeeper, a chef, or a soldier. There must be a reason why so many professions require a uniform. Presumably, it is to create team spirit among colleagues and to communicate a message to the clientele. It certainly doesn’t enhance professional performance. For instance, do we think if a judge ditches the robe and is wearing jeans and a T-shirt, that he or she cannot issue sage rulings? If members of a baseball team showed up dressed in comfortable street clothes, would they commit more errors or achieve fewer hits? The medical profession for most of its existence has had its own uniform. Male doctors donned a shirt and tie and all doctors wore the iconic white coat. The stated reason was that this created an aura of professionalism that inspired confidence in patients and their families. Indeed, even today

Electronic Medical Records vs Physicians: Not a Fair Fight!

Each work day, I enter the chamber of horrors also known as the electronic medical record (EMR). I’ve endured several versions of this torture over the years, monstrosities that were designed more to appeal to the needs of billers and coders than physicians. Make sense? I will admit that my current EMR, called Epic, is more physician-friendly than prior competitors, but it remains a formidable adversary. And it’s not a fair fight. You might be a great chess player, but odds are that you will not vanquish a computer adversary armed with artificial intelligence. I have a competitive advantage over many other physician contestants in the battle of Man vs Machine. I can type well and can do so while maintaining eye contact with the patient. You must think I am a magician or a savant. While this may be true, the birth of my advanced digital skills started decades ago. (As an aside, digital competence is essential for gastroenterologists.) During college, I worked as a secretary

MD Whistleblower

Search This Blog