Tag Archives: health

Keeping the Madmen Healthy

Could it get any better at the top? Corporate executives seemingly have many perks; private jets, golf club memberships, and events held at exotic locations. Companies and their boards justify these perks, due to the stresses and strains of the job and the need to keep their top executives healthy; otherwise these companies risks declining […]

Continue reading

Through Thick and Thin

To whom do we complain? I thought about this question while watching a talk given by Dr. Deborah Rhodes at a recent TED conference. Dr. Rhodes, the Director of Mayo Clinic’s Executive Health Program, spoke about the possibilities and politics of screening for breast cancer. She discussed her work with engineers on developing a new […]

Continue reading

Hear No Evil

Is it possible to change one’s thoughts? According to one author, it’s not only possible but is the most effective, dramatic way to positively change our behavior. Spencer Lord, writing in his new book “The Brain Mechanic,” explains that cognitive behavioral therapy helps us understand how we can control our response to stressful events. As he […]

Continue reading

Top Ten Tips for 2011

We should all have a wish list for the new year. Looking back at the year in medicine, I’ve chosen what I believe are ten goals, that if we were to meet them, could fundamentally change our lives for the better. These apply to both men and women and are in no particular order: Have […]

Continue reading

How the Grinch Stole Medicine

When I was young, I often heard my elders say, ‘there ain’t no free lunch.’ It wasn’t until becoming a medical intern and resident that I discovered not only are some lunches free, but also dinners, books, bags, shirts and even trips to wonderful resorts and hotels. That is if you didn’t mind having them […]

Continue reading

Painful Progress

The problem with pain is that it is what we say it is. One patient may rate their pain a 10 (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the absolute worse), while a similar patient with similar pain may rate theirs as a two. And there is no objective way to tell […]

Continue reading

Dollars for Donuts

Those crazy Brits. It seems that health authorities in the United Kingdom recommended against using the PSA (prostatic specific antigen) blood test to screen for prostate cancer. The UK National Screening Committee began looking at the results of several major studies and determined that the blood test generated more false positives—the test suggesting cancer, when […]

Continue reading

When I’m 64

“Will you still see me next year?” Her question threw me, as I thought the visit had gone well. She’s been my patient for the past four years. She originally came to me when her earlier physician decided to join a concierge practice. His new medical practice doesn’t take insurance and patients pay cash if they […]

Continue reading

On This Eve of Giving Thanks

We’re living in thoughtful times. Everyday in healthcare I am humbled by the care, compassion and thoughtfulness exhibited by the staff at our hospitals and clinics. They don’t show this because it’s prescribed in a handbook, or policy and procedure. They’re not after a high rating on the next patient care survey. They don’t need […]

Continue reading

Unintended Consequences

Joe is a guy that never really cared about his health. He is overweight, according to any objective standard, and always attributes this to “bigger muscles” (it isn’t). He dutifully comes in once a year, but admittedly only because of his wife’s insistence. She worries about his lack of exercise, his growing abdominal midsection (“muscle”) […]

Continue reading