MD Whistleblower

Here’s a scenario that I face fairly regularly in my endoscopy and colonoscopy practice. As readers know, over the past 5 or so years I have been employed in a rather well-known Cleveland-based health care institution.  Prior to that, I was a private practitioner.  During those earlier days, I personally knew most of our scope clientele as they were our patients.  There was a minority of patients whom we did not know who were referred in by their doctors for routine scope exams.  In contrast, in my current employed role, nearly all the scope patients on my schedule are meeting me for the first time. From time to time, a patient who is scheduled for a colonoscopy will call my office asking if an upper endoscopy can be performed at the same time because their heartburn or some other symptom has been active. Which of the following responses are most appropriate? Yes we will gladly add on the extra scope test to assess your stomach and esophagus as this would be an o...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is riding over the countryside and the globe on a tidal wave.  It will gather strength and will become a tsunami sooner than we think.  Like any tool, its use depends upon the intent of the user.   A hammer can be used to build but can also be used to break.  It can serve as a weapon.  The tool bears no culpability. We have no reliable way to prevent tools from being used for nefarious activities. I don’t think the solution is to eliminate hammers from society to reduce hammer violence.   The overall idealized strategy is to stifle dark intent lurking within people so that they might not consider taking evil actions. Sadly, we have all seen that this worthy task is far out of reach.   We simply don’t have a tool to accomplish this. A tool with many uses. AI will be a tool like no other.   It will deliver preternatural benefits in every sphere of society. I predict that it will make the internet seem quaint by ...

Gastroenterologists see patients for chest pain regularly.  This is because the esophagus is a potential origin of various chest symptoms.  We all know that heartburn and belching, for example, can be manifestations of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD.   But the esophagus is not always the culprit responsible for chest distress! When I am seeing a patient with chest pain, my highest professional obligation is to consider if there might be a cardiac explanation.   If I am at all suspicious, then I will direct the patient to an appropriate practitioner, which may be the primary physician.   Years ago, I sent a patient with chest pain directly to the emergency room.   From there, he was sent for cardiac catheterization when a stent was placed..   Nearly every doctor could relate a similar anecdote. Oftentimes, chest pain patients are sent to me by cardiologists so I can be secure that a cardiac explanation has been excluded,   On oth...

When is my next colonoscopy due?  Patient's ask me this all the time. While this inquiry would seem to lead to a straightforward response, it often doesn’t.   Why is this the case?   Isn’t there a simple chart instructing gastroenterologists when the next exam is due?     Yes, there are published guidelines, which were recently revised in 2019, but not everyone follows them.   Some physicians advise the same colonoscopy intervals that they have been recommending for many years.   Others rely upon their own judgement rather than consulting with professional guidelines.   More often than you might think, patients are the driving force such as when they request a colonoscopy sooner than is medically necessary.   I have heard many times patients relating vignettes such as ‘ my friend was just diagnosed with colon cancer.   I know I’m not due until next year but can we schedule it now?’   And keep in mind that when any new medical guid...

The week before writing this I saw a couple of patients for 2 nd opinions.  This can be very tricky terrain and I do my best to navigate skillfully.  A casual remark on my part could damage the relationship between the patient and the doctor of record. Here are examples of remarks that I believe are best left unsaid. “Your doctor did what ???” “We don’t recommend that surgery anymore.” “Sounds like you need a new doctor!” “Have you considered hiring an attorney?” “I agree with you that the doctor’s office was unprofessional.” You get the idea.   Other physicians who offer patients second opinions may have a different view on this.   They may believe it is their role to make highly detailed medical recommendations as best they can which may represent an acute therapeutic course change.   They may even offer to take on the patient formally, a suggestion that would be expected to be welcomed by the dissatisfied patient. Trapped in a Medical Labyrinth...

Here’s a great power word for readers to casually toss around with friends.  Iatrogenic . This refers to a medical condition or complication caused by a medical treatment.  For example, if a person undergoes a knee replacement and suffers blood clots afterwards, this complication is considered to be an iatrogenic illness – it is a direct result of a medical intervention. The volume of iatrogenic illness is enormous.   I am not suggesting that the medical profession is culpable, although adhering to strict safety guidelines and best practices can lower the case load.   Indeed, many such safety practices are in place today that were not present when I entered the profession.   Among the most common iatrogenic conditions are medication side effects.   On a regular basis, every physician and health care practitioner has wondered if a patient’s new or worsening symptom might be the result of a medication.   Sometimes this is an easy call.   For exa...

Cologuard is a sophisticated stool test that checks for microscopic blood and altered DNA which can signal the presence of colon cancer or precancerous polyps.  Some patients are attracted to this non-invasive option rather than to traditional colonoscopy experience which includes the ever popular cathartic cocktail. This test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014.    The test was initially quite popular as patients and physicians were enthusiastic about this new colon cancer screening option.   Often in medicine, what’s new becomes popular but initial enthusiasm tends to ebb over time.   (With time, the initial safety and efficacy reports for medicines and diagnostic tests may not be sustained.   This is why post-marketing surveillance after initial approval is so critical.) Patients were advised early on, as they are now, that a positive Cologuard test meant that a follow up colonoscopy was mandatory.   Certainly, when I or...

Many patients are aware of Cologuard as a colon cancer prevention option.  The appeal is obvious. One can submit a Cologuard stool test and forego the joys of colonoscopy.  Indeed, what motivates patients to select the easier option is not belief in the product but an opportunity to avoid a much less pleasant alternative.  This is analogous to how many of us vote in elections.  Rather than vote for a candidate we are often voting against another candidate.                                        Did you vote for or against a candidate? Cologuard is much more sophisticated and expensive than the conventional stool testing for occult blood which has been standard fare for decades.   Cologuard will also detect microscopic blood in the stool but will also pick up abnormal DNA which could indicate the presence of a large precancerous polyp or even a cancer.   Hen...

Why do so many unproven recommendations get incorporated into the medical arena?  Put a jacket on so you don’t catch cold! Stress causes stomach ulcers. Caffeine causes _______.   (Fill in the blank since it’s blamed for everything!) Sugar makes kids hyper. Colonic cleansing rids the body of evil toxins. We accept many medical recommendations as sound in the absence of supportive data or in some cases, even if data refutes the claim.   Many folks, including current governmental public health leaders, still maintain that the measles vaccine causes autism which has been roundly debunked. D islodging medical myths takes effort, time and open mindedness of the believers.   When I was a younger doctor, antibiotics were routinely prescribed for sore throats and ear infections.. When these patients recovered, the antibiotics were credited with the salutary outcome.   Doctors were simply following the teachings and customs of that era.   Nowadays, phys...

The raison d’etre of MDWhistleblower is to give readers a peek ‘behind the medical curtain’.  This post is true to this mission. I offer readers a lesson that I have shared with patients, friends and family over the years.   I suspect that elements of my point have been covered in prior posts.   As I have penned over 800 posts since 2009, I hope readers will forgive me of an example or two of repetition. There is a frequent technique that I’m about to share that misleads patients about the value of various medical tests or treatments.   While these communications to the public are technically true, they are misleading.   Let me explain. If you saw a product or medical test from reputable organizations that promised to cut your risk of a heart attack by 30%, would you be interested?   Odds are that you would be very interested.   Who wouldn’t want their risk of a heart attack to be cut by nearly a third? Medicine is riddled with similar promises...

I am regularly solicited for my opinion on the stool test Cologuard, a colon cancer screening option.  These queries generally come from folks who are angling to avoid the joy of the colonoscopy experience.  It’s hard to fathom why someone would want to avoid the pleasure of a supersized laxative followed by a day of fun on colonoscopy day!  Scientific investigators are working hard on colon cancer screening blood test options, but as I have pointed out , these are not quite ready for prime time. Finding alternatives to screening colonoscopy is a very high priority for the medical profession. There are two driving forces. Colonoscopy, while effective, is a laborious process which is a 2-day experience, requires a driver, frequent time away from work, is expensive and has risk.   If a stool or a blood test could achieve the same level of protection, it would be a game changer. The economic rewards for launching an effective stool or a blood colon cancer screen...

Over the years, I have treated various medical professionals from physicians to nurses to veterinarians to optometrists and to occasional medical residents in training. Are these folks different from other patients?  Are there specific challenges treating folks who have a deep knowledge of the medical profession?   Are their unique risks to be wary of when the patient is a medical professional? First, it’s still a running joke in the profession that if a medical student develops an ordinary symptom, then he worries that he has a horrible disease.  This is because the student’s experience in the hospital and the required reading are predominantly devoted to serious illnesses.  So, if the student develops some constipation, for example, he may fear that he has a bowel blockage, similar to one of his patients on the ward.. More experienced medical professionals may also bring above average anxiety to the office visit.  Physicians, after all, are members of...

Some time ago, a patient arrived to my office prepared to enjoy the joy of colonoscopy.  Many of the patients on my endoscopy schedule are scheduled by other physicians and gastroenterologists.   In other words, I meet many of them for the first time on their special day.   My task is simply to perform the procedure and to then refer them back to their medical professionals.   In general, the system works well as we have many checks to assure that there are no safety barriers to performing the requested procedure in an out-patient setting.   Even when I schedule a procedure on one of my own patients, my patient’s medical record will be reviewed in advance by another medical professional. While the system works well on the safety front, it is less effective on the medical necessity front.   When an endoscopy schedule is open to referring medical professionals, there will be instances when the medical necessity of the procedure is questionable.   T...

Is gluten really Public Enemy #1?   Many seem to regard it as a toxic agent that causes a variety of symptoms .   Restaurants and supermarkets offer a wide variety of gluten-free foods.   Years ago, physicians advised a gluten-free diet only for individuals who had celiac disease (CD), which is an autoimmune disease that largely affects the small intestine.    If a celiac patient wades back into gluten territory, then his or her intestine will revolt.   I care for a few of these folks, but they are but a slim fraction of my patients who are shunning gluten.    Gluten are proteins contained in wheat and other grains.     Many adherents of a gluten-free diet believe that avoiding gluten is a more healthful dietary choice.    There is no actual test to confirm gluten intolerance, but many patients feel better on this diet. .   Why should it matter if an individual chooses to avoid gluten?   After all, there’s no risk...

There are many forces driving utilization in health care.  Patients come to doctors for explanations and relief. They relate symptoms that will likely lead to diagnostic testing.  For example, if you tell your physician that you have a burning sensation when you urinate, it is likely that you will be asked to surrender an aliquot of your urine for analysis.  If you enter your doctor’s office with some difficulty breathing, fever and a cough, I’ll wager that there’s a chest x-ray just around the corner.  These diagnostic tests are appropriate. When does utilization morph into overutilization?   I don’t know where the threshold between them lies.   Moreover, doctors disagree amongst ourselves on what constitutes an unnecessary medical test. Doctors agree that there is too much testing and prescribing going on, but they tend to point their fingers toward their colleagues rather than toward themselves.   Think of politicians here.   It’s common for ...

Over the past several decades, I’ve earned a good portion of my living performing colonoscopies – tens of thousands of them.  And risking a charge of heresy, I’ll say out loud that patients deserve a better colon cancer screening experience.  Progress is just around the corner.  Here’s a list of negative aspects of the colonoscopy experience.  I’ve got some street cred here.  Although I am usually on the operator end of the scope, I’ve also personally experienced the light at the end of the tunnel. Pre-test anxiety over the outcome. Ingesting liquid dynamite – often in the middle of the night -  and praying for a complete cleanse. Time away from work. D-day!  Enjoy IV needle placement, repetitive interviews, posh medical garments and the dignity of a public airing of high-amplitude flatus. The procedure has risks of complications, albeit at a low rate of occurrence. Driver must be present. Post-test anxiety over pending biopsy results. High aggregate...

A fundamental skill that physicians rely on is calculating risk/benefit analyses when we advise patients.  My use of the word ‘calculating’ is a misnomer as there is no reliable scientific method to quantify risk and benefit.  Indeed, different physicians might ‘calculate’ such an analysis differently.  Similarly, different patients in the same medical circumstances might gauge the potential medical benefit differently.  This is not hard science.  Some folks might feel that a 5% risk of a major complication is acceptable, while others would balk at this statistic.   And on the benefit side, is it worth taking a medication that has some risk with the hope that it might shave 1 day off of a 7 day illness?   Despite that risk/benefit analyses are not easily quantified, physicians and patients must enter into a dialogue on this issue when a treatment or a test is being proposed.   The participants have to do their best to tease through the issues....

 I will share with readers a recent occurrence between me and another doctor that was both rare and refreshing.  I was serving as the gastrointestinal consultant on one of the doctor’s patients.  I performed a scope examination of the stomach and obtained some routine biopsy specimens.  The pathology results were abnormal, but benign.  No urgent action was needed, but a full airing of the significance of the results would require a conversation between me and the patient in an office visit.  I notified the patient that there was no medical threat at all and we would unpack it all during his next visit. The referring physician wondered about this delay, which perhaps is a different style from other gastroenterologists (GI’s) who he works with.   (My guess is that other GI’s may opt to handle the issue with the patient on the phone or via the portal. I think, however, that there’s too much complexity to fully address this issue in this manner.) So, her...