The Fourth of July my hometown paper had an article on the fact that the Declaration of Independence was poorly reported at the time. A newspaper in 1776 had a small paragraph  after the classified ads. The reason why seems obvious: the Loyalists with all the money and ownership

The Commonwealth Fund report on health care in industrialized nations came out June 17th 2014. It again ranks the USA dead last. All other nations spend an average of $3,406 per patient per year. The US spends $8,508; yet, we have much less to show for. Why is this? If you recall the

The affordable Care Act is upon us. In my opinion it is the wrong answer: lipstick on a pig. True, it does provide basic care for many people who otherwise would have no access to health care. But, as a “hole” ACA will contribute to a staggering waste of resources and money ($750+ bil

There are several issues that make the practice of medicine a bit… trying. One of them is patients demanding prescriptions of antibiotics and controlled substances. Many patients have stopped seeing me because I did not prescribe an antibiotic for their cough. In my opinion they

Quotes from article published recently in the NEJM-No comments necessary Abolishing Mammography Screening Programs? A View from the Swiss Medical Board April 16, 2014DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1401875  In January 2013, the Swiss Medical Board, an independent health technology assessment i

My last blog was on Hobby Lobby taking their case to the Supreme Court. HL feels it should not be forced to cover birth control pills for their employees. Apparently it is ok for HL to cover Viagra. Now the plot got sicker: HL’s 401K was found to invest in pharmaceuticals making the p

Balance being a central tenant of Integration, I wish to report an eye popping positive development in the Pharmaceutical industry. Glaxo has announced they will no longer pay doctors to promote their prescription drugs. It will also stop requiring their good-looking drug representati

Some large for-profit companies are refusing to comply with the Affordable Care Act demand that they provide Birth Control benefits for their female employees. Said companies argue that contraception is against their religious beliefs. Fair enough. Everyone is entitled to their religi