Dawn Anderson, a former nurse who was dying from multiple painful conditions faced far worse than just death. Dawn was dying in agony. Even the hospital she was in refused to provide opioid pain relievers that had worked well for her in the past. Here is her chilling story, which is the quintessential example of the consequences of "opioid madness" and the cruelty it brings with it. It should scare all of us.
Policy & Ethics
The Lancet is a highly respected biomedical journal that's taken an odd turn toward sensationalism and clickbait. That is troubling. Here's what we've been noticing.
A former high school science teacher, who believes the biotech industry commits crimes against humanity, attacked our organization on an anti-Semitic website. We, of course, are honored. And we have a few things to point out as a result.
A heartbreaking tale of technology use gone awry. Despite the many wondrous advances in digital healthcare, its use in end-of-life cases requires well-defined parameters. And customized for families to facilitate humanity, not to replace or undermine it.
Our Dr. Josh Bloom responded to a March 7th article in the New York Times, titled Good News: Opioid Prescribing Fell. The Bad? Pain Patients Suffer, Doctors Say. Here's his take -- brief and right to the point.
The 29-member Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, led by Dr. Vanila Singh, recently released an important 100-page draft report. The Federal Register docket already shows nearly 2,000 comments, and doubtlessly the HHS email gateway has received many more. Dr. Richard Lawhern, the Director of Research of the Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain, shares his thoughts.
Insurance providers use big sticks. They call them co-payments and high deductibles, used to try and lower their costs. Yet, when they try the carrot of rewards -- using actual dollars -- we have little interest.
Some science positions are so well-supported by data that every literate adult should embrace them. For those who reject facts, an appeal to emotion with funny pictures and clever text can sometimes work to persuade. So, let's celebrate some of our favorite pro-vaccine memes.
In the science wars, some positions are so well-supported by mountains of data ("vaccines are safe and effective"), that every literate adult should embrace them. Alas, they do not. For people who reject facts, an appeal to emotion might work. Hence, the meme. It's simply a matter of reality that memes with funny pictures and clever text go viral, while the latest research paper from the Journal of the American Medical Association does not. So, let's celebrate pro-vaccine memes.
We've issued patents for enzymes, seeds, and mice -- which are all forms of life. But can nature have rights? And further, what do Cliven Bundy, a Nevada cattle rancher who engaged in a tense standoff with the federal government, and a group of Chippewa have in common?
This type of rough math reveals some problems, or at least several concerns that we as a nation should be aware of. So before relying on sound bites and quick news hits, we all need to have a better understanding of the concept of Medicare for All, and its varying proposals.
Overlapping surgery increases a surgeon's efficiency. But it comes at too high an expense: the denigration of our the surgeon's role, as well as an unwarranted emphasis on technique over care.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, who fancies herself a visionary, challenged her critics to come up with an alternative to the Green New Deal. It wasn't very hard to do. Not only that, when the Fox Business Channel read Dr. Alex Berezow's plan, they invited him to discuss it on television last night. So he did. And here's his proposal.