MD Whistleblower

Here are some predictions that I pray will come true! Nancy Pelosi, James Clyburn and Steny Hoyer will step down in order to pass power to younger Democrats. Donald Trump will be invited to speak at a Planned Parenthood Convention. Mitch McConnell will recommend that Merrick Garland be placed at the top of the list if a U.S. Supreme Court justice vacancy develops. Kim Jong Un decides to denuclearize his country. Debbie Wasserman Schultz declines to run again in 2018 when facing poll numbers that predict she will be thumped. Putin gives back Crimea to Ukraine stating, ‘My bad!’ Chuck Schumer responds to a GOP legislative proposal stating, “Wow, that’s a great idea!  Why didn’t we think of that?” The NRA demands that congress close loopholes on background checks before all firearm purchases. Amazon decides to close down to allow for the resurgence and thriving of small shops and businesses.  Millennials will put aside their smart phones and recreat

Tomorrow on Christmas I will be working.  I’ve worked on December 25 th for as long as I remember.  Our offices are closed but the hospitals are open.  I have chosen a profession that must be available to serve at all times.  If I want a day off, then I am obligated to make sure that there is a doctor in my place. Many professions share this reality.  Nurses, law enforcement, military personnel, hospital workers, firefighters have all worked on holidays when most families were relaxing together.  We accept this responsibility.  But, at times I do suffer a tincture of envy thinking of folks who never have to wonder if they are working on Thanksgiving since they are off on every holiday.  I remind myself during my Yuletide rounds that the last place that these patients – at least most of them - want to be is in the hospital.  Yes, I will be spend some hours treating them, but I will return home and not face surgery, medical testing and the various indignities of hospital

Dashing through the swamp Through caves of muck and mire Where folks are much afeard That someone wears a wire. Repeal, replace went down Mitch played a losing hand Which traitor killed the bill? Susan, John or Rand? Now, onto tax reform, With just a minor glitch, It crushes us with debt Excepting all the rich! Does Rexie have to go, For someone with more steel, Who believes with heart and soul. In Art of the Deal? The Dems kicked Franken out Of this they were so sure, They needed to stampede To prep for Judge Roy Moore. The Dems and GOP Whose mantra is ‘Attack’! Sometimes face to face, Or sometimes in the back! Soon this year will end, Will next year be duller? I doubt this will occur Once we hear from Mueller! Some want Trump to go. But does this move make sense? Would they really want President Mike Pence? Joy and Peace!  W

This past week President Trump reversed protection for millions of acres in two national monuments in Utah.  Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase Escalante will be halved as a result of the major surgery just performed by the Chief Executive.  These moves will likely result in job security for scores of environmental lawyers. Teddy Roosevelt is growling in his grave. As expected, there were howls from the left, most of whom have probably never visited the sites.  How many people are against opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling who have never been to Alaska?  Keep in mind that the folks who actually live in Utah, and the legislators who represent them, argue that they should have control over their own lands.  Shouldn’t they have the right to determine the fate of their own state and to resist federal encroachment?   Should the feds compensate states for the economic losses that they suffer when lands are deemed to be federal monuments? When d

It used to be that doctors knew best.  We told you what to do and you obediently complied.  The world has changed and the paternalistic system of yore has given way to the shared decision model where patient autonomy is respected.   The Old Way:   “Well, I’ll be setting you up for surgery soon.” The New & Improved Way: “Let’s discuss all of the reasonable options with their respective advantages and drawbacks.  Then, you make the call.” To paraphrase the mantra of Fox News:  D octors Report – You decide! Has our current fidelity to patient autonomy improved medical outcomes?  I have no idea.  It has certainly changed patient’s (and our) experience, but I do not know if it has improved patients’ health.   I wonder if doctors and patients who have experienced both systems believe that the current system have improved medical outcomes. Has anyone measured if the new system is better? Not every patient wants this level of authority.  I cannot count how ofte

The nation pauses to give thanks for health and family and freedom.  As during any holiday or celebration, some of us are in the valley or have been there.  There is always a way forward, even if the pathway is obscured.  We gather together. The First Thanksgiving We converse amiably. 'I'll kill you!' We dine. Blessed with bounty... We talk turkey. Pardon me?

The computerized era has introduced all of us to a genre of errors that never existed during the archaic pen and paper era.   The paper medical chart I used during most of my career never ‘crashed’.  Now, when our electronic medical records (EMR) freezes, malfunctions, or simply goes on strike, our office is paralyzed.  Although I appear to the patients as a breathing and willing medical practitioner, I might as well be a storefront mannequin who appears lifelike, but cannot function.  We cannot access the patients’ records, write a prescription or enter a new office visit.  Mannequins appear lifelife but don't function well. Of course, like any business who faces this crisis, we expect instantaneous rescue from our IT professionals, as if we are their only client and they are permanently stationed in our waiting room just waiting for us to sound the alarm. This is among one of the most frustrating aspects of EMR for medical professionals.   We simply don’t have