John came in for his regularly scheduled quarterly appointment. “I made a New Year’s Resolution to lose 10 pounds this year. I only have 15 more pounds to go.” Mark Zuckerberg announced that he is taking a leave from Facebook to spend more time with his daughters. Like everyone who says they’re leaving Facebook, he’ll […]

When History is obtained from film, this creates a new obligation in truth from the entertainment industry as noted by Peggy Noonan in her column this week. This has essentially been true in the biographical book industry. We have just completed Eric Metaxas large volume on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. We’ve all heard […]

THE PERILS OF OPIOID PRESCRIBING Lawrence R. Huntoon, MD, PhD Pain management has become a minefield where physicians often walk at their peril between accusations of under-treatment and over-treatment of pain. Prosecutors in recent years have focused on alleging inappropriate prescribing of opioids, or on over-treatment of pain, which they state leads to addiction, abuse, […]

Dr. Rosen:      Here we’re having another government shut-down. Doesn’t that save us a lot of money? Dr. Edwards:  It all depends on how serious the politicians are? Dr. Milton:      The last shutdown by Newt Gingrich was a disaster. He caved before it was effective. Dr. Ruth:        How’s that? Dr. Milton:      He lost his fortitude before […]

A 63-year-old Physician Received a 55-year sentence while Taliban operatives received 10-years In September 2003, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi stated to a reporter: “Our office will try our best to root out [certain doctors] like the Taliban. Stay tuned.” In 2003, all six members of the “Lackawanna Six” (Lackawanna, New York, is a suburb […]

The Seven Deadly Sins: Overprescribing Excessive prescribing is another facet of gluttony, although the impetus for the physician is usually a different sin: greed. In the early 90s, [The Medical Board] . . .  revoked the licenses of physicians who sold prescriptions for Dilaudid for distribution on the street. Today, Oxycontin is the analgesic du […]

American physicians have already been declaring independence from Medicare, states the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), but the imposition of new payment methods may lead to a rush to imitate the British in exiting the regime of a remote, unelected, unaccountable bureaucracy. MACRA (the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) replaced […]

Ray Suarez and a NewsHour reporting team traveled to the Netherlands in September to explore the country’s innovative universal health care system, which has gained attention as a potential model for U.S. health care reform. Compare the health care systems in the Netherlands, Japan, the United States and its neighbors — Canada and Mexico– below […]

The Oldest Rhetorical Trick in the Book According to H.L. Mencken. by Donald J. Boudreaux In his brilliant 1956 collection, Minority Report, H.L. Mencken stated: If you were against the New Deal and its wholesale buying of pauper votes, then you were against Christian charity.  If you were against the gross injustices and dishonesties of the […]

Congress Has Forgotten America’s Biggest Health Care Problem The critical question is not who gets care and who doesn’t, but how it’s delivered. By Nisarg A. Patel Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s health care bill won’t do anything to incentivize states and health care organizations to deliver better, more efficient care. Above, McConnell speaks at […]