Chris Rangel MD
Legalized crack.
How the tobacco settlement has failed.
Remember back in 1994 when seven CEOs representing the largest tobacco companies testified before the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment and stated, quite clearly, their beliefs that nicotine is NOT addictive? Well, according to a new study, these same tobacco companies thought it important enough to increase the […]
I want to do charity work. Reduce my taxes!
Yesterday’s MLK day (except maybe in AZ) got me thinking about charity care and our medically under served and uninsured population. While the number of uninsured in this country has climbed past 45 million, the percentage of physicians who provide any type of discounted or free care has dropped from 76 to 68% in the […]
Do massive jury awards change corporate behavior?
A comment on my last post about the recent $51 million Vioxx jury award reiterated the ‘ol apparent myth about punitive damages.
With such a high award, [Merck] will think twice before they dare introduce a drug with a side effect. That’s the theory at least.
A theory. Yea, but that’s all that is. The reality is […]
Is it moral to cut up a morula for research?
The moral morass of the morula
After the human egg is fertilized it divides multiple times and forms a small sphere of identical cells called a zygote. Each of these cells is called a blastomere and when there are about 30 of these the zygote is called a morula. These divisions occur in the fallopian tube […]
We Need Special Health Courts.
A reform proposal for the current medical liability system.
The recent Harvard School of Health study by professor David Studdert reviewed 1,452 closed malpractice claims and found that there is no evidence that frivolous suits are flooding the system. However it also found that over a third of the cases (37%) involving injury did not result […]
What if sex had no health consequences?
Recently the FDA approved a vaccine (Gardasil made by Merck) against human papiloma virus (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer. This cancer kills about 3,700 women per year in the US. The vaccine prevents 70% of cancer causing HPV types and 90% of the HPV that cause genital warts. The problem is that in order to […]
The DMV and the state medical board, part II.
Although there were some excellent comments to part I, no one really addressed the inherent question in my analogy; Why do we let first time speeders off so easily and throw the book at every physician no matter how minor or correctable the complaint? Why don’t we throw the book at first time speeders? Why […]
What if the DMV were like the state medical board?
What it boils down to is the fact that the state medical board is a solely reactive and overtly political institution dependent almost entirely on complaints to deal with problem physicians. It’s likely that most of the complaints to the board are not legitimate or the investigation cannot find grounds to “punish” the physician (one […]
Concierge medicine; Is it better medical care?
A few readers commented on my last post about the “McDonaldization” of the practice of outpatient medicine and asked about the growth of so called “concierge (boutique) medicine” and if there was any data that it provides better care.
Simply put, concierge medicine is a new type of business model where instead of fee for service […]
The “McDonaldization” of the health care industry.
A recent AP poll found that Americans are amazingly impatient. The poll found that we can’t stand waiting in line more than 15 minutes or being put on hold more than 5 minutes. Why are we so spoiled (for lack of a better term)? This has to be a direct result of what sociologist George […]
Recent Comments
- Dan on Drug Companies Create Their own Markets.
- Dan on Defensive Medicine.
- Dan on Antidepressants and Teenage Suicide.
- Dan on Stop Direct to Consumer Drug Ads!
- Dan on Ridiculous Malpractice Lawsuit.
Content
Most Emailed
- Are video games to blame for mass murder? - 1 emails
- Toxic Mold Hysteria. - 1 emails
- Undervalued MDs. - 1 emails
- Lawyers out of control in south Texas. - 1 emails
- On Passing Gas and Government Health Coverage. - 1 emails
