MD Whistleblower

Many physicians understandably pride themselves on special skills or knowledge that they have acquired.  This is true of so many professions.  A lawyer is admired for her skill in the trial arena.  A musician is lionized for his virtuosic technique.  An athlete inspires his peers and the rest of us with his record-breaking accomplishments. We have all heard of physicians who are renown for particular talents.    You need an operation on the pancreas?   Here’s the guy you should see.   Your Crohn’s disease is not responding? You should see my specialist who saved me from surgery! Your fibromyalgia is on fire?   Have you heard of this new doctor in town who runs a fibromyalgia clinic?   Obviously, a physician’s skill set is a critical asset in the practice of medicine.   Indeed, when a patient sees me, he comes with the belief that I have the training and experience to address his concerns. Usually I do, but not always.   It is very important for physicians to know which patients sho

My last blog post contrasted the experience of being an employed physician with being a private practice doctor. I expressed that at this stage of my career that I much preferred being employed to running a medical practice. (This means that I can now spend all of my time just being a doctor!) But there are desirable features of private practice medicine that simply do not exist in the medical megalopolis where I now work. Not surprisingly, the vibe is different in a gargantuan organization that employs tens of thousands of caregivers, staff and support personnel who serve millions of patients domestically and overseas.  It is simply not possible to recreate the intimacy that I enjoyed in my prior small practice with my patients and my own staff.   Here’s an example that will illustrate my point effectively. Here's how I found my doctor! For as long as I’ve been practicing medicine, I’ve queried every new patient who came to see on how they ended up with me.   Yes, there were a

In my illustrious (or at least long) career, I have had 3 jobs.   After I finished all of my training, I was an employed physician for nearly 10 years.   Afterwards, I joined a small private practice group where I remained for 20 years.   Over time, as partners in the practice left or retired, I became the practice’s president by default.   I don’t really have an authority persona, which my staff was well aware and hopefully appreciated.   In nearly all cases when a decision could either favor the interests of our employees or the practice, I favored our staff. This earned a huge measure of staff loyalty, but no achievement award from the Chamber of Commerce. I am more than content to be regarded as a caring boss than a shrewd businessman.   Three years ago, I joined a rather large Cleveland medical enterprise where I now serve as a physician employee. Employment                         Independent I know the advantages and drawbacks intimately of both models – employment vs business

One of the most vexing issues for patients and their doctors is dealing with unexplained abdominal pain.  Indeed, over the course of my career, I have treated thousands of these patients.  Every day, one or two of them are on my office schedule. Many of them have had abdominal distress for decades.   Many have had several visits to emergency rooms and have seen multiple gastroenterologists and other doctors over the years.   Diagnostic tests are done and often repeated in the ongoing quest to find an explanation.   When I review a patient’s entire medical record, I am often astonished to learn how many CAT scans have been repeated to evaluate the same pain. These patients understandably are operating under the notion that the medical profession should be able to explain the cause of their pain. This is the primary reason that these individuals seek care.   This is, after all, the job of a doctor.   In addition, they also want decent pain control so that they can live a more normal

It’s certain that you have heard the phrase ‘Fake News’ bandied about these past few years.   It seems there is no consensus defining this term.   Here are a few differing interpretations. Inaccurate reporting where minor, immaterial errors appear, but the essence of the story remains true.   For example, if an article wrongly names a restaurant where a meeting is held, the article should not crumble. Deliberately slanted reporting to serve a political agenda.   I do believe that this happens daily.   Reporters and editors are charged to compartmentalize their own views, similar to judges, but they are human like the rest of us.   The next time you open a newspaper, read the headlines carefully and you will find examples of wording that is less than fair and balanced News reports that are completely on the level, but are attacked by those whom are threatened by the reporting.   I don’t feel that I need to give examples here. Fake or On the Level? A close cousin of Fake

In my own life, I do my best to use one set of weights and measures.  By that I mean applying the same standard always when judging individuals, businesses, politicians and even nations.  There is not a day that passes that we do not see exasperating evidence of double and triple standards being applied.  We saw Republican senators recently excoriating a nominee under consideration for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by senators who previously voted to confirm her!  No gloating here, Democrats.  Your treatment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate Judiciary hearings was not your finest hour either.  The Cleveland Browns recently acquired a superb quarterback, Deshawn Watson whose 5 year contract will provide him with a miserly $230,000,000. Presumably, after taxes, he should still have enough to live comfortably.   As everyone in Cleveland who is breathing knows, Watson is facing 22 civil lawsuits accusing the athlete of sexual abuse.   In fairness, two grand juries dec