The American Medical Association (AMA) has become unmoored in history, seemingly unaware that both racism and the war on drugs are no longer tolerated by society. A confluence of recent activities and events having to do with their stance on medical ca…
An excerpt from Never Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win. The American epidemic of unnecessary medical treatment is one of the reasons your health care costs keep going up. Experts estimate it’s wasting hun…
Adapted from Rich & Dying: An Insider Calls Bullsh*t on America’s Healthcare Economy. I’ve stood in front of conferences before and made my case: our health care system is perfect. “A perfect system? Ours?” I’ll hear people in the audience mu…
A vital sign of U.S. democracy — voter participation — is very low, and health professionals providing holistic care can be part of the solution. Holistic care should be expanded to include civic health. U.S. voter participation ranks 28th among 35 nat…
I’ve been reflecting on how the scientific world came together over the past 15-months to take on a viral pandemic. Despite unprecedented circumstances, the field achieved one of the most incredible feats of modern medicine, and for once, we achieved i…
Last month marks one year since the killing of George Floyd, and over that often-tumultuous timespan of public outrage, nationwide street demonstrations, and protest, Americans have been forced to take a critical and introspective look at ourselves as …
Value-based care has become a buzzword over the past decade with early experiments in Massachusetts, followed by creating Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) as part of the Affordable Care Act. As commercial insurers jumped onto this bandwag…
A patient of mine (who was also a friend) reached out recently to say the cost of one of his essential medications had increased to a $300 monthly out-of-pocket expense. As an independent musician, he did not get his health care through an employer. Th…
Modern-day discrimination still has elements of slavery, segregation, and inaccurate assumptions about people of color. Just last month, a Texas high school principal sent a letter to parents explaining her dismay about a recent racist act where studen…
The 500,000 COVID-19 related deaths reflect our nation’s failure to reduce and prevent public health crises. As COVID-19 rampaged across the globe, several research teams raced to develop a vaccine, a technology that humanity has relied on for decades …
