Today’s proof that you can be a doctor in med school and still be pretty stupid: Medical Pastiche.
Those of us in school to learn how to use data will recognize the fallacy in this post: you can’t conjure “hypothetical” numbers and claim they prove your argument. At best, it’s stupid or lazy – at worst [...]
Tue, September 30 2008 » Uncategorized » 3 Comments
Grand Rounds is up at Monash Medical Student, featuring a post from yours truly. Thanks to Jeffrey for hosting it this week.
Tue, September 30 2008 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
Kevin, MD posts reposts on the problem of unnecessary medical testing – apparently a major driver in the cost of health care. He argues that doctors order extra tests to cover themselves against a malpractice suit, and this is expensive. Obviously, the problem is lawyers.
Doctors – being human – make mistakes. Unfortunately, these mistakes kill [...]
Mon, September 29 2008 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
I read a few lines into Ezra Klein’s post on McCain’s health care plan thinking that it no longer applied to me. Ezra’s point is that McCain has proposed a massive restructuring of health care access in the U.S., under the guise of a change to the tax code. The crux of this proposal is [...]
Mon, September 29 2008 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
I am not exactly sure what this letter writer’s problem is, apart from having to stay up past Letterman, but shouldn’t an anaesthesiologist be able to get hold of a chill pill? And as for the commentary appended by Dr. Diastolic:
I often believe that patients don’t have the capabilities to make proper decisions about their [...]
Fri, September 26 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
Apparently, liberal groups are now launching attack ads demanding that McCain release his medical records. This is one of the rare moments when I will jump to McCain’s defense: I think these ads are a bad idea.
I don’t vote for a person, much less a body. I vote for ideas. Candidates might be the originator [...]
Thu, September 25 2008 » Uncategorized » 1 Comment
Kevin, MD thinks it’s just awful that a man died in a Canadian emergency room. Of the patient in question:
“If you approached him he would certainly talk to you, but rarely initiated, would not ask for anything. He was not a demanding person at all,” said Garth Reesor, the mission’s chief operating officer.
The man apparently [...]
Thu, September 25 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
I have argued previously that health care is not a primary right, but a civil right. I want now to engage the argument against health care as a right in more depth, specifically to say that it can only be symptomatic of acute hypocrisy.
The argument, in its typical presentation, is that doctors provide a service, [...]
Thu, September 25 2008 » Uncategorized » 7 Comments
One of the things about being sick is that you don’t have to worry about all the stuff that normal people ought to worry about. For example, I avoided raw vegetables for about three years, contrary to all sorts of dietary and nutritional expert advice. My system just couldn’t handle anything that rough. Same for [...]
Wed, September 24 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
Man Succumbs To 7-Year Battle With Health Insurance
DENVER—After years of battling crippling premiums and agonizing deductibles, local resident Michael Haige finally succumbed this week to the health insurance policy that had ravaged his adult life.
[...]
Once a healthy and happy father of two, Haige saw his life forever change seven years ago when health insurance professionals [...]
Tue, September 23 2008 » Uncategorized » No Comments
A novel crime against decency by Duncan Cross
