MD Whistleblower

A few months ago, most of us had never heard of an N95 respirator or mask.   I had never heard of it. It is an essential element of Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, which we have all heard so much about. The N refers to ‘non-oil’, meaning that the mask should not be used in the presence of oil-based substances.   The 95 means that 95% of airborne particles are screened out if the mask is worn properly.   Keep in mind that 95% is less than perfect.   It means that the mask will fail 5% of the time.   And, if the mask is not worn with a tight seal, the efficiency percentage will drop further.   And, the mask wearer is instructed not to adjust the mask during use which will break the seal.   So, the 95% standard is likely under idealized circumstances.   As of this writing, I have only worn the N95 mask on two occasions.   My initial experience donning the mask was for a fit testing by an occupational health specialist to ve...

Prior to the pandemic, patients who entered my office building were greeted by 2 staff professionals who would assist patients in checking in and performing the usual logistical tasks that occur prior to a medical appointment.   Shortly after the pandemic commenced, I would arrive to work to witness these 2 ladies in rather different garb.   They were now fully gowned, masked, gloved and goggled.   Each carried a bottle of hand sanitizer.   If not for their voices, I would not have recognized either of them.   Patients and medical personnel passing by would extend one an open palm to receive a squirt of the precious cleansing elixir.   While I acknowledge the necessity for staff interfacing with the public to don protection, it was an eerie site for me to witness, even as a medical professional. It is simply a scene that is foreign to most Americans. I recall when I traveled to Israel for the first time, I was struck at the site of uniformed and armed s...

In a recent post , I presented why I believe that the fragmentary and anecdotal medical evidence supporting the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 does not justify its use. Certainly, if I become infected with the coronavirus, I would be reluctant to accept a recommendation to take either of these 2 medications, based on what is currently known. Ordinary people, especially when they or loved ones are afflicted with a disease, will readily accept unproven remedies, especially when conventional medicine has no effective treatment.   We all understand this.   But the lack of a treatment, in my view, does not justify abandoning our usual standards that physicians rely upon when we make treatment recommendations.   Shouldn't Physicians Weigh the Risks and Benefits? Here are some reasons why I object to coronavirus patients taking chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19.    The principles outlined below certainly extend b...

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 ...