Human Interest
    15 hours ago

    INDIANA ROUTS HOWARD!

    The second game of the 2026 college football season for Indiana University was played yesterday. IU  had a home game…
    Bone & Joint Problems
    4 days ago

    YOU DON’T WANT TO BREAK THIS BONE!

    The anatomy of the bones of the wrist leaves one of the bones vulnerable to injury. Or saying it another…
    Human Interest
    5 days ago

    ANOTHER BIG SEASON FOR INDIANA FOOTBALL

    The third season of Indiana University football under the coaching genius of Curt Cignetti got underway this past Saturday, and…
    Physician Office Issues
    7 days ago

    HEALTH INSURANCE EXPLANATION OF BENEFITS

    Have you ever taken a close look at the receipts you receive from Medicare or your Medicare supplement insurance company?…
    Surgery
    2 weeks ago

    HIGH TECH SKIN SUTURE: THE WOUND TALKS

    Here’s a novel idea: Surgical suture material that is coated with either an antimicrobial drug (an antibacterial) or an anti-inflammatory…
    Dermatology
    2 weeks ago

    HERPES ZOSTER: SHINGLES

    Surprisingly, I have not written a post about Herpes Zoster, AKA shingles. I’ve written about the two shingles vaccines available,…
    Human Interest
    2 weeks ago

    THE MAGIC OF COMPOUND INTEREST

    Compound interest is one of miracles of economics that has the proven ability to create wealth without sacrifice. Albert Einstein…
    Physician Office Issues
    2 weeks ago

    AI-ENHANCED STETHOSCOPE IS A DIAGNOSTIC BOON

    I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a physician and never use a stethoscope. The stethoscope, after all, has…
    Infectious Diseases
    2 weeks ago

    CHILDHOOD VACCINE SCHEDULE UPDATE

    On January 5, 2026 the US Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the acting director of the CDC…
    Foot & Ankle Problems
    3 weeks ago

    DOCTORS NEED A SIDE JOB: REALLY?

    Here’s a statistic I find hard to believe. According to an article in medscape.com, 39% of physicians work a side…
    Preventive Medicine
    3 weeks ago

    ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS AND CHRONIC DISEASE

    For the past 16 years, nutrition experts and public health officials have been increasingly concerned about the ingredients of, and…
    Human Interest
    3 weeks ago

    NET WORTH: A FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

    Net Worth is a concept of which most readers of DrGOpines.com have a reasonable understanding. It’s a simple concept that…
    Human Interest
    3 weeks ago

    FAMOUS QUARTETS IN MY LIFETIME

    They say “Music makes you smile!””Music makes the world go around!” and “Music is the soundtrack of your life” When…
    Cancer
    3 weeks ago

    PSA TESTING AFTER AGE 70, 80

    The “enigma that just won’t go away” has come up again. In late May, 2026, I published an article with…
    A Day in the Life Scenarios
    4 weeks ago

    RETIRING CAN BE A TOUGH TRANSITION

    During the many years a physician is in practice, he/she enjoys a solidly established identity that places the him/her in…
    Physician Office Issues
    4 weeks ago

    DOES DIRECT PRIMARY CARE REDUCE BURNOUT?

    I’ve read numerous articles on physician burnout, the causes, the warning signs, and the solutions. Rarely do those articles address…
    Office Practice Info
    4 weeks ago

    MY DOCTOR WAS IN A BIG HURRY!

    When people know you’re a doctor, they never fail to tell you about their doctor and the interactions they have…
    Gastrointestinal Diseases
    4 weeks ago

    CYCLOSPORIASIS: REVISITED

    Epidemics are big news! Pandemics are even bigger news! The media loves a good outbreak of an infectious, contagious disease…
    Physician Office Issues
    4 weeks ago

    FAMILY PHYSICIANS DEVELOP LONG TERM BOND

    Any family physician will tell you the relationships they develop with their patients are worth much more than money. In…
    Human Interest
    August 14, 2026

    CROSBY, STILLS, NASH (AND YOUNG)

    As long as I’m on the subject of music, I want to talk about another of my favorite groups, Crosby,…
    Human Interest
    August 13, 2026

    THE BEATLES CHANGED AMERICAN SOCIETY

    Did you like the Beatles? I did. I loved their music, their personalities, and their “comical and irreverent” manner. Why…
    Bone & Joint Problems
    August 12, 2026

    SACROILIAC JOINT PAIN

    The sacroiliac (SI) joint is not like most other joints. Although it is comprised of two bones,  unlike other joints…
    A Day in the Life Scenarios
    August 11, 2026

    MEDSCAPE SPECIALTY SURVEY

    Medscape is an online source of medical news and information used by DrGOpines.com nearly every day. Officially, Medscape is a…
    Aging
    August 10, 2026

    FALLS IN THE ELDERLY: A BIG CONCERN

    Nursing homes are filled with old people living there after suffering a fall. Falling has serious consequences especially if you’re…
    Healthcare Policy
    August 7, 2026

    CROWDED HOSPITAL, BULGING EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

    Three and a half years ago I experienced first hand the situation about which this blogpost is written. The situation…

      COVID-19
      October 27, 2025

      MEDICAL “MISINFORMATION”

      I fear I may be “wading into shark-infested waters” when I approach the subject in the title of this article.…
      COVID-19
      September 23, 2025

      LONG COVID STILL AFFECTING DOCTORS, NURSES

      The serious, deadly phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended along with the frequency of acute cases. It’s been over…
      COVID-19
      September 3, 2025

      VACCINES PROTECT CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

      COVID-19 and the vaccines developed to combat it did more to erode trust in old, well-established, standard vaccines than any…
      Cancer
      July 27, 2025

      COVID-19, VITAMIN D, CANCER, GLP-1’S, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

      MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS #29 COVID-19 has a greater effect on kidneys than pneumonia: Natural aging causes a gradual decline in…
      COVID-19
      September 16, 2023

      CDC RECOMMENDS ALL AMERICANS 6 MONTHS AND OLDER RECEIVE AT LEAST ONE DOSE OF UPDATED COVID-19 VACCINE

      The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved “reformulated” COVID vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. That prompted a CDC Advisory…
      COVID-19
      March 18, 2023

      MOST COVID-19 DEATHS WORLDWIDE WERE AMONG OLDER PEOPLE.

      The high mortality rate from COVID-19 among the elderly was a fact everyone knew, but a lot of people ignored.…
      Preventive Medicine
      January 18, 2023

      STROKE AND PFIZER VACCINE

      Have you heard the latest about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster? There’s always something, you know! This time, there are serious…
      Healthcare Policy
      December 26, 2022

      LIFE EXPECTANCY LOWERED—AGAIN!

      The CDC just announced the life expectancy of Americans recently dropped to a 25-year low. People born in 2021 have…
      COVID-19
      May 27, 2022

      mRNA VACCINE EFFICACY

      Who really knows how effective mRNA vaccines are for COVID-19. All degrees of outrageous claims about them are made back…
      COVID-19
      February 4, 2022

      MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES: What are they? What do they do?

      This is a difficult subject to write about. Difficult because to understand it, you must possess basic knowledge of the…
      COVID-19
      January 23, 2022

      “COVID-19 VACCINE BOOSTERS SAVE LIVES”

      Yes, they really do! And The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is proud to report that fact. Two…
      COVID-19
      January 5, 2022

      COVID-19 VACCINE-MYOCARDITIS LINK INSIGNIFICANT

      Last summer, there was a lot of fuss about a link between mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 and the occurrence of…
      COVID-19
      October 11, 2021

      NATURAL IMMUNITY TO COVID-19: IS IT A REALITY?

      Why can’t today’s viruses play fair? Why can’t viruses like SARS-CoV-2 behave like the viruses of old—the varicella-zoster virus or…
      COVID-19
      September 28, 2021

      PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE AND MYOCARDITIS

      In July, I wrote a blog about the incidence of myocarditis in young males after vaccination with Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine.…
      COVID-19
      September 17, 2021

      COVID-19 VACCINATION AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

      I’m having a bit of trouble with the current attitude of a lot of people. I’m referring to the 80…
      COVID-19
      August 15, 2021

      VACCINE HESITANCY: WHY PEOPLE REFUSE COVID-19 VACCINE

      I’m old enough to remember what life was like before vaccines. As a child I had measles, mumps, and chicken…
      COVID-19
      July 12, 2021

      MYOCARDITIS AFTER COVID-19 VACCINE

      Much ado has been made on cable news programs about the adverse effects attributed to COVID-19 vaccines. In particular, there…
      COVID-19
      March 6, 2021

      SIX COVID-19 VACCINES IN PHASE III TRIALS

      We’ve heard repeatedly about the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for COVID-19. Those are the two vaccines in use locally; if…
      COVID-19
      March 5, 2021

      ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO PFIZER-BIONTECH VACCINE

      Today’s media seems to have difficulty reporting the good news that comes from developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. Such is…
      COVID-19
      January 12, 2021

      COVID-19 VACCINE: MY EXPERIENCE

      The Maricopa County (Arizona) Health Department began administering COVID-19 vaccine in late December. Maricopa County has the bulk of the…
      COVID-19
      December 5, 2020

      AT-HOME COVID-19 TESTING

      These days news travels fast so you may already know the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the…
      COVID-19
      November 21, 2020

      PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE 90% (95%) EFFECTIVE!

      By now you’ve surely heard the good news about the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company in collaboration…
      COVID-19
      July 5, 2020

      HERD IMMUNITY? What’s That?

      Lately, there have been many references to the term HERD IMMUNITY. Public health officials use it in their communications about…

      CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

        Heart Disease
        June 25, 2020

        SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART DISEASE

        We’ve known for decades that high blood pressure and heart disease go hand in hand. The higher a patient’s blood…
        Heart Disease
        May 11, 2026

        CHOLESTEROL GUIDELINES CHANGE AGAIN

        We’re all keenly aware of the role cholesterol plays in the development of arteriosclerosis. It forms the core, or the…
        Heart Disease
        April 29, 2026

        THE CORNEAL REFLEX

        There is an important, but simple, diagnostic procedure doctors do frequently but don’t talk about very much. This procedure, called…
        Heart Disease
        June 3, 2019

        AN EPIDEMIC OF A DIFFERENT COLOR: Atrial Fibrillation

        I have at least 8 or 10 personal friends who have had episodes of Atrial Fibrillation. My wife and I…
        Drugs & Medications
        January 21, 2026

        COMBINATION DRUGS FOR HIGH BP

        I have written this many times before, but policies and protocols in medicine are always changing. After several years of…
        Drugs & Medications
        April 3, 2025

        ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR CHOLESTEROL MANAGEMENT

        If you are unfortunate enough to be on the maximum dose of a statin drug and still not have your…
        Heart Disease
        August 8, 2018

        CHOLESTEROL: What is it and how does it cause harm?

        Everyone has heard of cholesterol. Everyone has cholesterol. Everyone should worry about cholesterol. But what is it, why do we…
        Preventive Medicine
        June 22, 2022

        CAROTID STENOSIS AND STROKE

        Carotid stenosis is a narrowing of the artery in the neck that sends blood to the brain. When blood flow…
        Heart Disease
        September 21, 2023

        WOMEN WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT THAN MEN

        As I’ve reported before, it seems like atrial fibrillation exists in epidemic proportion. If you don’t know someone who has…
        Drugs & Medications
        March 28, 2022

        TYLENOL AND BLOOD PRESSURE: THERE’S MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!

        Most people think of Tylenol (acetaminophen) as a safe drug. They substitute if for aspirin because they are continually reminded…
        Blood Diseases
        July 28, 2020

        BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS ARE MORE THAN JUST BLOOD!

        Donating blood is a good-hearted thing to do. In medical school, I did it 2 or 3 times a year,…
        Drugs & Medications
        October 16, 2022

        STATINS ARE “MIRACLE DRUGS!”

        I’m going to beat the statins drum once again! Very few drugs have had the impact on cardiovascular disease than…
        Heart Disease
        April 3, 2019

        HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: It’s Still The Silent Killer!

        HYPERTENSION: High blood pressure (HBP) has for decades been called “the silent killer.” It works insidiously while you’re completely unaware…
        Heart Disease
        August 3, 2022

        HEART TRANSPLANT: FINDING DONORS IS DAUNTING!

        A heart transplant is unquestionably the most serious operation a human can have. Removing a person’s heart is a terminal…
        Preventive Medicine
        March 19, 2023

        FRUITS AND VEGGIES IN YOUR DIET

        If you’ve ever watched “My 600-lb Life” on The Learning Channel (TLC) you are familiar with the comments I’m about…
        Drugs & Medications
        November 6, 2025

        POST-MI BETA BLOCKER USE SHOULD CEASE

        On August 6, 2025, DrGOpines.com posted an article titled “Post-MI Beta Blockers Questioned.” In it, the routine prescribing of Beta…
        Preventive Medicine
        April 24, 2021

        EXERCISING TO PREVENT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

        Ever since I can remember, moderate intensity Aerobic exercise has been recommended by the American Heart Association and the American…
        Preventive Medicine
        May 16, 2022

        ASPIRIN NOW OK FOR PRIMARY PREVENTION!

        Two years ago, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the agency of record for preventive health care recommendations,…
        Heart Disease
        October 4, 2024

        HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND DEMENTIA

        Here’s some more good news. A recent scientific study suggests that “more time spent in a healthy blood pressure range…
        Drugs & Medications
        June 5, 2024

        SALT SUBSTITUTE REDUCES CHANCES FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

        Substituting regular table salt (100% sodium chloride) with salt substitute (62% sodium chloride, 25% potassium chloride, 12.5% flavorings) reduced the…
        Preventive Medicine
        September 21, 2022

        TOO MUCH HDL-CHOLESTEROL?

        For decades we’ve been told about the cardio-protective benefits of the “good cholesterol,” High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C). We were…
        Heart Disease
        September 17, 2020

        ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: Benefit of Early Rhythm Control

        In the past, the emphasis for treatment of Atrial Fibrillation focused on control of the heart rate. A rapid heart…
        Heart Disease
        February 20, 2026

        FINDING HEART DISEASE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

        Many years ago, I was troubled by a situation involving a man in his 30’s who had every indication he…
        Heart Disease
        October 19, 2020

        PREVENTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: Decades of Learning and Progress!

        For decades, Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), and heart disease, in particular, has been the number one killer of American adults. Heart…
        Preventive Medicine
        August 5, 2022

        BREAKFAST HELPS US LIVE LONGER!

        It used to be said, breakfast is the “most important meal of the day.” “They” said eating a good breakfast…

        DAY-IN-THE-LIFE SCENARIOS

          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          4 weeks ago

          RETIRING CAN BE A TOUGH TRANSITION

          During the many years a physician is in practice, he/she enjoys a solidly established identity that places the him/her in…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          August 11, 2026

          MEDSCAPE SPECIALTY SURVEY

          Medscape is an online source of medical news and information used by DrGOpines.com nearly every day. Officially, Medscape is a…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          July 9, 2026

          PHYSICIAN BURNOUT

          Today, the medical media, meaning medical journals and physician newsletters, have an incredible degree of concern about physician burnout. Under…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          June 11, 2026

          PATIENTS LOSING TRUST IN DOCTORS

          The medical profession, and in particular family physicians, remain among the most respected professionals in the U.S. According to a…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          May 15, 2026

          ABNORMAL LAB RESULTS

          Every day, family physicians have patients with abnormal lab test results. Most of the time, the abnormal results can be…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          March 27, 2026

          PHYSICIANS ARE NOT “PROVIDERS”

          Finally, someone besides me has taken offense at physicians being called providers. Since today’s world contains all levels of folks…

          YOUR WELLNESS MATTERS

            August 8, 2025

            FASTING FOR BLOODWORK IS OUTDATED

            Here’s something that might brighten your day. “It really doesn’t matter if you’re stomach is empty” [when you have blood…
            July 5, 2024

            PRIORITIES IN GERIATRIC CARE

            In spite of statistics that show the average life expectancy of Americans has been declining over the past 5-10 years,…
            January 9, 2024

            WHITE TEETH

            Many people today have a significant focus on personal appearance. You might not think so from the way segments of…
            September 1, 2023

            MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS NO. 5

            Cancer Among Younger Americans is Increasing    A study published on JAMA Network Open using data from the National Cancer…
            August 25, 2023

            WATER FLUORIDATION, CREST TOOTHPASTE

            There’s little or no disagreement with the statement that fluoridation of community drinking water supplies has been one of public…
            August 5, 2023

            MORE ABOUT SUGAR IN OUR DIET

            Recently, I reported information that certain amounts of sugar in our diet were tied directly to increased risk of a…
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