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Cigarette Warning Labels May Go Up in Smoke

We live in a free society. One of our most treasured freedoms is our right to free speech. This means that we are free to advertise goods and services to potential customers, although commercial speech does not enjoy the same constitutional protection as does noncommercial speech. Some advertised products are good for us and others aren’t. In many cases, the worth and value of the product are in dispute. Nevertheless, if a product is legal, the manufacturer is entitled to advertise and to lure customers. While an advertisement may not be false, it may not be the complete truth either. We expect that these pitches will be buffed and sanitized to present the product in a favorable light. That’s why they’re called advertisements, and not testimony. It would be absurd for a company to include negative material about its products in its promotional materials, barring a legal requirement to do so. While issuing product warnings and legal disclaimers may be a laudable public interest mane

Can Spiral CT Scans Detect Curable Lung Cancer? But Wait, There's More!

A hundred bucks doesn’t buy much these days. A crisp Ben Franklin can be exchanged for 50 Big Macs A Broadway show ticket A night in a New York City hotel (just joking) A college textbook (paperback) Your life Your life? Yes, 5 crumpled Andy Jacksons can save your life, as was reported earlier this year in a front page article in The Plain Dealer, Cleveland’s only daily newspaper. University Hospitals is now offering a $99 spiral computed tomography (CT scans) of the chest in individuals who are at increased risk of developing lung cancer. The rationale is that if cancers can be detected early, then the cure rate for surgical removal is very high. Gary Schwitzer, medical blogger and press watchdog, tries to bring some balance to the distorted media coverage of CT lung cancer reportage. The test is not covered by insurance, so consumers will have to hand over 10 Al Hamiltons to get in the door. I’m a deep skeptic of this effort, and predict that with some more time, the

Whistleblower Holiday Cheer 2011!

Jingle Bells, jingle bells, Romney cracks a smile, Oh what fun it is to watch The Gingrich pompous style. Bachman bleats, Cain retreats, Huntsman tries to please. Oh what fun it is to watch, When Perry’s brain goes freeze! Ron Paul’s weird, Very weird, Santorum has no chance, Oh what fun it is to watch His Tea Party romance. Who will win? Who will Spin? Who won Debatorama? The winner dancing in the streets Is Barack Obama! Wishing you Joy & Peace

Colt McCoy's Concussion Fumbled by Team Physicians

The Cleveland Browns have been in the news this week, and not because of newfound success on the gridiron. While sports is not among my highest priorities, I have developed increasing interest over the years since professional sports is religion to so many here in Cleveland and in Ohio. Cleveland sports teams all enjoy great success, provided that success is not defined by victories. It’s not if you win or lose but how…  I watched the Cleveland Browns compete against the Pittsburgh Steelers two Thursdays ago. I cringed as I witnessed our young quarterback, Colt McCoy, take a blow to the head that could have landed the perpetrator a 10 year prison sentence had this act occurred on the street. I wasn’t worried that McCoy would have to miss the rest of the game. I feared that he might have to miss the rest of his life. Violence sells tickets. If an activity requires a participant to don a helmet and a coat of armor, then clearly it is an unwise activity for a human to engage in. M

Colonic Hydrotherapy and Colon Cleansing; Time to Bend Over?

Garden Hoses in Assorted Colors A few times each month, a patient asks me for my opinion on colonics. They ask me because I am a gastroenterologist, and I am supposed to know this stuff. After 2 decades of performing colonic intrusions, I should be well qualified to respond to these alimentary inquiries. To those who are unfamiliar with the concept of colonic detoxification, I offer a brief rationale of the procedure. Those who have been lured into the Fraternal Association of Rare Toxins (acronym not provided) have been persuaded that stagnant stool within the colon is a source of toxins that seep into the body causing disease. According to the anti-toxin crowd, when stool overstays its colonic welcome, it can lead to chronic fatigue, lassitude, restlessness, irritability, mood disorders, skin rashes, arthritis, cardiac rhythm disturbances, seizures, allergies, dementia and the murky diagnosis of candidiasis, or yeast infection. This symptom list could apply to half of my medical

Pay-for-Performance Attacks Hospitals - Shake Down or Fair Play

This blog has tried to support the virtue of personal responsibility. If you smoke, don’t blame Joe Camel. If you surrender to Big Mac attacks, don’t go after Ronald McDonald. If you love donuts, and your girth is steadily expanding, is it really Krispy Kreme’s fault? And, if you suffer an adverse medical outcome, then… Medicare aims to zoom in on hospitals, suffocating them with a variation of the absurd pay-for-performance charade that will soon torture practicing physicians. Of course, a little torture is okay, as our government contends, but pay-for-performance won’t increase medical quality, at least as it currently exists. It can be defended as a job creator as several new layers in the medical bureaucracy will be needed to collect and track medical data of questionable value. Medical quality simply cannot be easily and reliably measured as one can do with a diamond, an athlete or a wine. Most professions resist being graded or claim that the grading scheme is a scheme. Teach

Fecal DNA for Colon Cancer Screening and Cleaner Sidewalks: Which Matters More?

It’s Saturday morning, and I’m in an undisclosed location drinking a fabulous cup of coffee while turning the pages of The New York Times, knowing that ink and newsprint will be vanishing too soon. Yes, I do have an iPad now, but I haven’t figured out how to blog on it. Any suggestions? Buried in the first section of the paper is an article on stool, which in my view as a gastro specialist, should have merited front page placement. Yes, we all know the adage, ‘one’s man’s trash is another man’s treasure’, but stool - as in excrement - should be prized by everyone. Perhaps, as a gastroenterologist, I have a jaundiced view on this issue, which explains my dyspeptic reaction. All Whistleblower posts have an accompanying image, and I wonder what visual would be appropriate here.  I opted against my first choice, and chose instead a photo of our beloved Labrador Retriever, Shoshie, of blessed memory. The Times reported a new program to trace canine unscooped poop back to Spot’s owner