MD Whistleblower

During the pandemic, which has not yet ended, we’ve all heard lots of chatter about freedom.  Folks are figuratively burning their masks as a statement of their personal freedom.  We have seen patrons packed into bars and other venues, against the advice of medical professionals, claiming they have the freedom to congregate.  Political leaders in some states have banned mask mandates in schools arguing that parents have the freedom to make their own decisions regarding their kids. And the fundamental reason given by so many anti-vaxers and government skeptics is that they have the freedom to accept or reject any medical intervention.  These arguments are framed as pro-freedom positions in an effort to make it difficult for opponents to challenge them.   Who wants to be seen protesting against freedom?   Not surprisingly, and as I have posted previously on this blog, these issues are more complex.   Freedom is not absolute.   That’s why we have laws, regulations and societal mores t

I’m long on the record that we need to recalibrate the balance between individual freedom and society’s rights.  Personal freedom is often at the direct expense of society’s rights and expectations.   For example, an individual may argue that he has a right to air travel without having to proffer a government authorized ID or to submit to a search of his luggage. On this example, I think most of us would argue that society’s rights would prevail. And there needs to be personal responsibility and accountability when one exercises particular personal freedoms.   If you want to ride a motorcycle, for example, then your insurance risks should be priced accordingly.  And if you don’t want to wear a helmet while riding, then you and other helmetless riders need to share in this risk so the rest of us don’t have to pay when an unwelcome event occurs on your ride.   As in everything else in life, this terrain can become murky.   If a patient declines surgery that her medical team unanimous

I am on the record in opposition of Ohio’s system for authorizing the use of medical marijuana.  While I am not an expert on the issue, my reading over several years has informed me that persuasive medical evidence of safety and efficacy – the legal and regulatory standard used for prescription drug approval -  is lacking for nearly all ‘approved’ uses of this drug.  And while it is true that there is some evidence that marijuana offers benefit in a very narrow range of medical conditions, the broad claim of efficacy for a panoply of illnesses is unfounded scientifically.  Champions of medical marijuana use should want, if not demand, that the drug is vetted and tested under the auspices of the Food and Drug Administration.  Wouldn’t you want to be assured of any drug’s safety and efficacy?  Should anecdotes of benefit or beliefs of benefit be sufficient to release a medication for general use?  Is this the standard that we use to approve drugs used to treat hypertension and cancer?

Thus far, to the best of my knowledge, I have dodged infection with the coronavirus.  I am up-to-date on the recommended vaccinations and have comported myself with caution.  However, I am not in a state of personal lockdown and I still enter area retail establishments to make personal purchases, although I am always masked.  Currently, I am sipping a sugar-free peppermint mocha in a very sparsely populated coffee shop.  I accept that public health experts might challenge my definition of cautious.  Indeed, I’m sure many of them wouldn’t step foot, let alone a toe, into a supermarket these days. But the risks of catching the corona on my personal forays in the community pale next to the risks I face each week at work when I am in direct contact with several dozens of patients and staff.   The omicron variant spiked into the stratosphere here in Northeast Ohio, but thankfully it appears to be in a steady descent now. It does not seem that the vaccines and boosters protect us against o

While I may consider myself to be an ethical practitioner, I am in imperfect member of the genus, Homo, practicing medicine in an imperfect world.  I don’t commit Medicare fraud or lie to my patients.  When I commit an error, I admit it.  I often counsel patients against proceeding with endoscopic studies, because I don’t feel they are medically necessary.  I do my best to keep my patients’ interests as my paramount concern. But the world of medicine doesn’t always have bright lines and borders to keep us confined to an ethical zone.  Physicians and ethicists argue over where to draw these boundaries.  What was regarded to be unethical 10 years ago has become standard medical operating procedure in many instances.  Consider how the field of reproductive medicine has evolved.  The definition of death has been relaxed in order to increase the human organ donor pool. We will surely see human cloning in our lifetime.  Medical ethics is not easy to define. Community physicians like

Should the Serbian government send in elite commandos for a stealth rescue? If you are a political leader or a celebrity, and you’re looking for some media attention, here’s a method that works every time.  Simply flaunt the pesky  rules that the rest of us obey. And then get caught. Remember when Governor Gavin Newsom was photographed dining out at a posh restaurant in violation of the COVID-19 safety protocol that he imposed on Californians?  Such behaviors only reinforce the recognition that many entitled folks believe that rules apply to the hoi polloi, but not to them. Presently, tennis superstar Novak Djokovic is being detained in Melbourne, Australia after his visa was cancelled upon his arrival.   There will be a court hearing tomorrow that will rule if the government can proceed with deportation. Djokovic, whose ranking is number one on the planet, arrived to compete in the Australian Open, one of tennis’s four major tournaments.   Djokovic is keen to compete since a win the

2022 is here!   2021 has been an annus horribilis for America and the world.   We have simply not been able to vaccinate and boost ourselves free of the suffocating tentacles of an evolving coronavirus. Here in Ohio and elsewhere COVID-19 tests are endangered species.  Folks spend hours trolling around town hoping that a local pharmacy or a public library will receive a supply at the very moment he or she walks in.  My own inquiries have all yielded the same result – no tests available and no idea if and when they may arrive. Did you watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve? The pandemic, which in any earlier time in our history would likely have drawn us together, is cleaving the nation.   The day before writing this, I saw 2 patients who had elected to shun the vaccine.   I’ll spare readers their explanations which originated in the huge ‘science-free zone’ that tens of millions of Americans inhabit.   And earlier in the week, a medical professional who had been vaccinated express