Wise Words about Medicare

I've taken the liberty of copying an editorial from today's New York Times. (Having been born in New York City I used to assume tha...

Obama, Kennedy, and Tough Health Care Choices

In his address last night President Obama spoke with force about the need for affordable, accessible, high quality health care for all Ameri...

Should Zagat Review Physicians?

Wellpoint , which provides medical coverage to more than 35 million Americans, has teamed with Zagat , which is known for its restaurant rat...

Riegel v Medtronic - a Clash Between Ethics and Law

A year ago today, on February 20, 2008, the Supreme Court decided Riegel v Medtronic by an 8-1 decision, with Judge Ginsburg as the sole di...

Shared Medical Appointments (2) - A Clinical and Ethical Innovation

In December I wrote about how Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, the group practice I was part of for 32 years, is implementing shared med...

Adolescent Self-Determination, Cancer, and Ethics

Harvard Medical School's required course in "Medical Ethics and Professionalism" had its first seminar session yesterday. The ...

Curing Medical Loneliness

An article in yesterday's Washington Post - "Sharing the Pain: Rare Disease Puts an American University Economist in Touch With Fe...

Drug Trials in India - a Video Interview with Amar Jesani

Anyone interested in the ethics of clinical trials in developing countries should look at this five minute video of an interview with Amar ...

The Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Disgraces Itself

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) has cancelled plans to hold its 2015 meeting in Boston because of a new Massa...

IBM and UnitedHealth Experiment with Medical Homes

Lately I've been dabbling in realism in this blog. Basing our health insurance system on employers is a cockeyed idea that emerged durin...

Complementary Medicine

A conversation with a colleague today got me thinking about how mainstream U.S. medicine ("western medicine," "allopathic med...