This article should be a "must read" for everyone. It compares the many health plans in the U.S. to the single payer Canadian health care system.
I practiced family medicine for almost fifty years and I can state that every word in this article is true. Our health care system is too expensive and wasteful. Too much health care money goes to the for-profit insurance industry. Too much time is wasted deciding whether or not a necessary test, procedure or treatment will be paid for. The doctor's office and treatment facilities drown in unnecessary paperwork, as are services such as laboratories and and other necessary providers.
The 18000+ Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) and a majority of nurses believe that the only answer
is a single payer system. But our federal legislatures will not let that happen. Money talks!
Melvin H Kirschner BA BS MPH MD
Dr. K's book "All Medicines Are Poison!" discusses many of the shortcomings of the U.S. health care system.
www.allmedicinesarepoison.com
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Dr. Reynolds. More than a mentor...
I first met Dr. Reynolds when I was in medical school. He practiced general medicine and in the addition to honing our diagnostic skills, he made the patient/doctor relationship a very important part of our training. Our first two years of training was at the classrooms of the University of Southern California's campus. Our second two years were spent on the vast Los Angeles County Hospital wards.
Although we were exposed to many specialties and many specialists at the hospital, our "home room teacher" was Dr. Reynolds. It was he who molded everything that we learned into a pattern that represented the comprehensive medical care expected of the family doctor. After I completed training and went into practice, it was not unusual to see doctor Reynolds at continuing educational functions.
Years after I became a practicing family physician, one of my patients presented with mysterious symptoms. I hospitalized her and was unable to determine the cause of her illness. None of my consultants could offer a cause or recommend a treatment.
I called my old professor Dr. Reynolds. He remembered me and offered to come and see my patient. After examining my patient he was also complexed by the symptoms. He noted that the mysterious illness was being reported in the international literature. Shortly thereafter, the international medical literature reported the cause of the mysterious illness and proposed a treatment, but no cure.
After 50 years of family practice, I'm retired and writing essays and books about medicine. Dr. Reynolds is long gone but still remembered. I'm proud to say that he was my mentor.
Although we were exposed to many specialties and many specialists at the hospital, our "home room teacher" was Dr. Reynolds. It was he who molded everything that we learned into a pattern that represented the comprehensive medical care expected of the family doctor. After I completed training and went into practice, it was not unusual to see doctor Reynolds at continuing educational functions.
Years after I became a practicing family physician, one of my patients presented with mysterious symptoms. I hospitalized her and was unable to determine the cause of her illness. None of my consultants could offer a cause or recommend a treatment.
I called my old professor Dr. Reynolds. He remembered me and offered to come and see my patient. After examining my patient he was also complexed by the symptoms. He noted that the mysterious illness was being reported in the international literature. Shortly thereafter, the international medical literature reported the cause of the mysterious illness and proposed a treatment, but no cure.
After 50 years of family practice, I'm retired and writing essays and books about medicine. Dr. Reynolds is long gone but still remembered. I'm proud to say that he was my mentor.
Why do so many people in this Country have inadequate health coverage or none at all?
As health arena worker and a family physician for over 60 years, I was always concerned about the fact that so many people in this Country have inadequate health coverage or none at all.
It certainly influenced how I practiced medicine. I saw to it that everyone who enter my medical office door received the treatment that the needed or was sent to an appropriate facility where they could receive it. If necessary, I would take care of their immediate needs until they could get a to free clinic or a hospital. When they were unable to pay my fee, I cancelled it. Never-the-less, I always made a very comfortable living. I believe that many of my colleagues practiced the way I did.
As a doctor, i've always been treated with great respect. I realize that I was fortunate to receive an excellent education and degrees at the five highly regarded universities that I attended. It was hard work and dedication, but worth it. I'm proud of my Country that made it possible for a poor boy from a poor family to do this and I consider what I did as a medical doctor to be pay back. Now that I'm retired from active practice, I continue to be involved in the medical arena whenever I can be of value.
I sincerely believe that at least 95% of our society are good people who wish the best for our fellow humans. Unfortunately I'm convinced that greedy, self centered people own this Country. I'm now 85 years old. I won't be alive to see our people take our Country back, but I hope that it will happen soon.
Melvin H Kirschner, BA BS MPH MD
Author of: All Medicines Are Poison!
It certainly influenced how I practiced medicine. I saw to it that everyone who enter my medical office door received the treatment that the needed or was sent to an appropriate facility where they could receive it. If necessary, I would take care of their immediate needs until they could get a to free clinic or a hospital. When they were unable to pay my fee, I cancelled it. Never-the-less, I always made a very comfortable living. I believe that many of my colleagues practiced the way I did.
As a doctor, i've always been treated with great respect. I realize that I was fortunate to receive an excellent education and degrees at the five highly regarded universities that I attended. It was hard work and dedication, but worth it. I'm proud of my Country that made it possible for a poor boy from a poor family to do this and I consider what I did as a medical doctor to be pay back. Now that I'm retired from active practice, I continue to be involved in the medical arena whenever I can be of value.
I sincerely believe that at least 95% of our society are good people who wish the best for our fellow humans. Unfortunately I'm convinced that greedy, self centered people own this Country. I'm now 85 years old. I won't be alive to see our people take our Country back, but I hope that it will happen soon.
Melvin H Kirschner, BA BS MPH MD
Author of: All Medicines Are Poison!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Over use of the Emergency rooms
There’s a simple truth here. People who get sick and show up at emergency rooms will get care whether they have insurance or not — and they should. Under a law signed by President Ronald Reagan — the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986 — nearly every hospital is required to offer treatment to those in urgent need of help. The law stops private hospitals from “dumping” (the term of art in the medical profession) patients onto public hospitals.
Excerpt from June 1 2011 Washington Post
Melvin H Kirschner BA BS MPH MD
Dr. Kirschner's book "All Medicines Are Poison!" discusses the health care inequities in the U. S. and offers some solutions.
Excerpt from June 1 2011 Washington Post
Melvin H Kirschner BA BS MPH MD
Dr. Kirschner's book "All Medicines Are Poison!" discusses the health care inequities in the U. S. and offers some solutions.
The death of Dr. Kevorkian
As a member of several end-of-life committees in California, I debated Dr. Kevorkian on national radio. My view is that a person has a right to die if they are suffering or are in an irreversible coma and being kept alive by artificial means. This decision and action must not be the doctor's choice. Several states now permit the doctor to provide the means but they must not perform the actual death.
Melvin H Kirschner BA BS MPH MD
Dr. Kirschner's book "All Medicines Are Poison!" discusses the health care inequities in the U. S. and offers some solutions.
Melvin H Kirschner BA BS MPH MD
Dr. Kirschner's book "All Medicines Are Poison!" discusses the health care inequities in the U. S. and offers some solutions.
To the L A Times Health Section:
The May 9 Health Section article "Doctor takes risk with drug trial tampering" discusses the most vital aspect of medical science research. That aspect is absolute honesty. The most important element of medical research is the "double blind" study. Double blind requires that neither the doctors or the patients are aware of who is getting a placebo or who is getting the actual medicine. A breach of that procedure invalidates the study.
I'm certain that there are medicines on the market today where faulted or inaccurate studies have qualified them as a useful medicine, Indeed, many medicines, previously approved by the Food and Drug Administration, have been removed from the marketplace because they are less effective or more dangerous than the studies demonstrated.
Conclusion: the studies were inaccurate or inadequate. But I suspect that some of them have been tampered with.
Melvin H Kirschner BA BS MPH MD
Dr. Kirschner's book "All Medicines Are Poison!" discusses the health care inequities in the U. S. and offers some solutions
I'm certain that there are medicines on the market today where faulted or inaccurate studies have qualified them as a useful medicine, Indeed, many medicines, previously approved by the Food and Drug Administration, have been removed from the marketplace because they are less effective or more dangerous than the studies demonstrated.
Conclusion: the studies were inaccurate or inadequate. But I suspect that some of them have been tampered with.
Melvin H Kirschner BA BS MPH MD
Dr. Kirschner's book "All Medicines Are Poison!" discusses the health care inequities in the U. S. and offers some solutions
'Dr. Death' was just a sideshow.
In this Times article, Bette Rollin, a board member of the Death With Dignity Nation Center, states that the recently deceased Dr. Kevorkian failed to understand what the death with dignity movement is all about.
I debated Dr. Kevorkian shortly before he was sent to prison because he killed a paralyzed patient by administering a legal dose of medicine. At that time Oregon and Washington had already passed laws permitting a doctor to prescribe a lethal medicine dose, but they were not permitted to administer it. California was passing laws that permitted physicians to withhold or withdraw life supporting measures for patients who were comatose because of irreversible brain damage.
California never past a law that permitted physician assisted suicide, but no matter how carefully the doctor prescribes, there is always a risk of overdose. All medicines are poison! If the patient takes too much medicine, there may be serious side effects and even death.
I recall two severely depressed patients who killed themselves by ingesting a huge over dose of reactively safe medicines that I had prescribed. Obviously these two patients had saved medicines for this purpose. The police found several, long expired, empty prescription bottles adjacent to the deceased patients. But it doesn't require pills to committee suicide. One of my patients jumped out of a third story window to his death, after a heated argument with his wife.
A doctor cannot always prevent a patient's death, but we are not Kevorkians.
Melvin H Kirschner BA BS MPH MD
Dr. Kirschner's book "All Medicines Are Poison!" discusses the health care inequities in the U. S. and offers some solutions.
I debated Dr. Kevorkian shortly before he was sent to prison because he killed a paralyzed patient by administering a legal dose of medicine. At that time Oregon and Washington had already passed laws permitting a doctor to prescribe a lethal medicine dose, but they were not permitted to administer it. California was passing laws that permitted physicians to withhold or withdraw life supporting measures for patients who were comatose because of irreversible brain damage.
California never past a law that permitted physician assisted suicide, but no matter how carefully the doctor prescribes, there is always a risk of overdose. All medicines are poison! If the patient takes too much medicine, there may be serious side effects and even death.
I recall two severely depressed patients who killed themselves by ingesting a huge over dose of reactively safe medicines that I had prescribed. Obviously these two patients had saved medicines for this purpose. The police found several, long expired, empty prescription bottles adjacent to the deceased patients. But it doesn't require pills to committee suicide. One of my patients jumped out of a third story window to his death, after a heated argument with his wife.
A doctor cannot always prevent a patient's death, but we are not Kevorkians.
Melvin H Kirschner BA BS MPH MD
Dr. Kirschner's book "All Medicines Are Poison!" discusses the health care inequities in the U. S. and offers some solutions.
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