MD Whistleblower

Folks love quizzes and puzzles, especially now when most of us are spending most of our time hunkered down at home.   I had attempted to send one my kids a jigsaw puzzle that I ordered on line, only to discover a few weeks later that the item was out of stock.   Apparently, like hand sanitizer and foster dogs, jigsaw puzzles are in very high demand. Scarcer than toilet paper. In an earlier phase of my life, I prepared ‘quizzes’ that were passed around on holidays and family dinners when guests competed for valuable prizes such as stickers, packs of gum and other treasures that are sold at dollar stores.    Not only were these experiences ‘fun for the whole family’, but they were effective educational tools.    Ask a Kirsch kid even today whose portrait is on the $50 bill or how many neck bones are inside a giraffe’s neck, and he or she (I hope) will nail it. So today, I will offer readers a lighter fare.   Here’s a coronavirus quiz ba...

In the weeks ahead, there will be growing tension between forces wanting to open up the economy and those who demand that we hold the line.   And no one can tell us now when it will be okay to pull the trigger.   It is so much easier to endure a challenge if there is a firm end date to focus on.    In this case, not only is there no clear trigger-date, but there will never be agreement on when it will be acceptable to pull back.   I’m no expert, but here’s a brief list outlining the complexities of this conundrum. Public health experts will disagree on the economic relaxation date. Corporate leaders will likely favor a sooner and broader opening of the economy. Governors will have diverging views from national leaders about what actions their state should take. Businesses who are not permitted to open may howl and protest as competitors are given a pass. Can schools, for example, be reopened while we are still urged to maintain social distancing? Will...

Kindly refer to the article linked below explaining my great concern over the massive hype over these 2 medicines that many are perpetuating.    MK https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2020/04/chloroquine-for-covid-19-not-for-this-doctor-michael-kirsch.html

I haven’t seen so many masks since I was a Trick or Treater.   Even as a physician, I have worn surgical masks very rarely as it was uncommon for me to be in an operating room, where masks and gowns are part of the dress code.    Until I embarked upon a transition to telemedicine recently, many of the patients coming to see me in the office were masked. The official dogma on wearing masks during the pandemic is evolving. Experts at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the World Health Organization (WHO), the Surgeon General as well as many prominent public health officials had advised just recently that masks were not an effective barrier against coronavirus.   This is why asymptomatic individuals were not advised to mask up.   In contrast, we were told that these masks should be worn by symptomatic individuals who were coughing or sneezing as masks may reduce the risk that others will become infected. Just days ago, there was a sudden ...

There is no person unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic.   It does seem that the public and the government are responding belatedly in a manner commensurate with the threat.   I write this knowing that less than a week ago from the time I am composing this, Florida beaches were teeming with vacationers.   A memorable quote from one of these selfless and enlightened partiers was: “If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I’m not gonna let it stop me from partying.” This individual, from my own state of Ohio, did apologize for his remarks.   I would suggest that his mouth be mandated to take a 14 day quarantine from all speech.   Look, we’ve all said dumb stuff.   I know I have.   My advice?   If you sense some dumb words about to erupt, and there are cameras rolling, sprint in the opposite direction as if the coronavirus is on your tail and gaining ground. Right now, Ohio and many other states are in a ‘shelte...

A worker was told of corona. Who's boss said, "You're on your own-a." "Leave the arena" "Begone! Quarantina!" "You mean I'm gonna be all alone-a?" Coronavirus - An Invisible Foe We will get to the other side.   Clearly, the path to a safe and secure future has not been a straight shot.  Both the government and the public have fallen short. The initial coronavirus testing launched here was a debacle, in contrast to other countries that knew how to aim straight.  We have seen price gouging for hand sanitizer and face masks.  As recently as this past Thursday, Florida beaches were teaming with folks who brazenly and selfishly risked contracting the virus and transmitting it to others. But, most of us have fallen into line.  And, so have our leaders. I feel more sanguine that we will prevail in the medical arena than we will on the economic front. Epidemics and pandemics will join the array of natural disasters ...

In 1770, in Boston, British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who were taunting the soldiers.  Several colonists died and several soldiers were arrested and charged with murder.  This event known as the Boston Massacre was a seminal historical episode that contributed to the colonists’ growing desire to separate from the British Crown. Boston was a cauldron of the independence movement.   Hatred against the British was prevalent.  Who would be willing to defend the accused soldiers at trial risking opprobrium or worse?  John Adams, our future second president, defended the soldiers believing that every accused deserves adequate representation.  To this day, America distinguishes itself with our belief and practice that an accused man is presumed innocent and is entitled to a competent legal defense.  As we all know, lawyers are often assigned or volunteer to defend unsavory individuals to protect their clients’ constitutional rights, e...