Healthcare Policy
    15 hours ago

    MODERNIZING MEDICAL EDUCATION

    I have written about medical education on numerous occasions over the last 7 or 8 years. It’s an important subject…
    Human Interest
    2 days ago

    READING—THE MENTAL SPARK

    You may remember the 1972 slogan, ”A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” It was part of a public…
    Human Interest
    3 days ago

    INDIANA BEATS (?) MICHIGAN

    This week’s commentary on Indiana University football will be brief. The 2026 version of the IU offense is terrible. It…
    Drugs & Medications
    3 days ago

    FOREIGN DRUGS HARDER TO GET

    The cost of medical care is outrageous. Health insurance premiums, co-pays, professional fees, inpatient hospital charges, and prescription drug prices…
    Drugs & Medications
    6 days ago

    MANAGING BENIGN PROSTATE SYMPTOMS

    The prostate gland is one the more common anatomic structures to cause older men problems. Usually, around age forty, sometimes…
    Diabetes
    7 days ago

    EVERYONE WANTS THEIR GLP-1 TO BE THE ONE

    The two big players in the GLP-1 market are the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, and Indiana-based Eli Lilly and…
    Gastrointestinal Diseases
    1 week ago

    WHAT TO DO ABOUT HEMORRHOIDS

    Hemorrhoids are a very bothersome problem. Bothersome from the standpoint of pain, bleeding, and difficulty having a bowel movement. And…
    Drugs & Medications
    1 week ago

    SIDE EFFECTS OF STATINS

    I have always downplayed the side effects of statins. In my mind, the benefits of statin drugs are so important,…
    Healthcare Policy
    1 week ago

    ”MEDICARE FOR ALL” GAINS POPULARITY

    According to a news release from Reuters, two-thirds of US adults say they are in favor of a health care…
    Human Interest
    1 week ago

    IU SUFFERS TOUGH LOSS

    I hate to admit it, but, yes, I’m a fair weather fan. When it comes to Indiana University football, I…
    Drugs & Medications
    2 weeks ago

    TIRZEPATIDE WINS!

    GLP-1 medications are all you read about in the medical literature (journals, newsletters) these days. The benefits of better control…
    Human Interest
    2 weeks ago

    DIET DRINKS VINDICATED—SOMEWHAT!

    Diet drinks, in particular, diet soda, have been in the crosshairs of the weight loss industry for decades. All sort…
    Drugs & Medications
    2 weeks ago

    THE OZEMPIC ERA

    The GLP-1 Receptor Agonist with the most recognizable name is OZEMPIC. The manufacturer of semaglutide, the generic name for Ozempic,…
    Bone & Joint Problems
    2 weeks ago

    LOW BACK PAIN

    Medscape.com, the medical information website I have mentioned many times, just published a very practical essay on Low Back Pain.…
    Drugs & Medications
    2 weeks ago

    MIGRAINE DRUG CAUSES WEIGHT LOSS

    As you undoubtedly know, most drugs are developed for one specific purpose only to learn during clinical trials they have…
    Human Interest
    2 weeks ago

    NEBRASKA BECAME NEBRASKA AND IU WON

    This year’s Indiana Hoosiers football team decided yesterday that it’s time to remind IU fans what it was like to…
    Heart Disease
    3 weeks ago

    BLOOD TESTS PREDICT HEART DISEASE RISK

    The information I’m about to present is a big deal in my opinion. To think there might be (or actually…
    Surgery
    3 weeks ago

    VASECTOMY MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN TUBAL LIGATION

    Vasectomy is the male counterpart of tubal ligation. In both genders, there is a tube through which the gametes, or…
    Human Interest
    3 weeks ago

    NUTRITION MYTHS REVEALED

    For some unknown reason, food and nutrition are subjects about which misunderstandings have developed and somehow get carried along as…
    Drugs & Medications
    3 weeks ago

    GLP-1’S: MUST THEY BE TAKEN FOREVER?

    GLP-1 drugs are truly worthy of being called miracle drugs because of the massive societal impact they have had, and…
    Human Interest
    3 weeks ago

    THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!

    The Indiana Hoosiers football team went on the road for the first time this season traveling to New Jersey to…
    Preventive Medicine
    4 weeks ago

    CANADIANS GET FLU SHOTS EARLY

    Canada has its counterpart to our Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). It is the National Advisory Committee on Immunization,…
    Infectious Diseases
    4 weeks ago

    RABIES VACCINE FOR ALL!

    When I was a kid, one my childhood friends was bitten by a stray dog and had to get rabies…
    Drugs & Medications
    4 weeks ago

    BENZO’S, ANTIBIOTICS, AND ASPIRIN

    A recent article on medscape.com, a very informative medical website, had a lot to say about three classes of drugs…
    Drugs & Medications
    4 weeks ago

    MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY DRUGS REDUCE CVD

    MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY DRUGS REDUCE CVD It’s no secret a lot of patients do not tolerate statin drugs. They have side…

      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
        May 4, 2026

        CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND STENTS

        I just read an article on medscape.com that referred to changes that may be coming in the long-term prevention and…
        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.…
        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…
        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…
        Heart Disease
        October 14, 2024

        WHAT DO I DO ABOUT PALPITATIONS?

        As unsettling as they may be, palpitations aren’t necessarily a bad thing! Palpitation is the common term applied to that…
        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…
        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…
        Heart Disease
        May 25, 2023

        CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY STAGNANT, RISK FACTOR PREVALENCE WORSE!

        Most of us are aware of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We hear about them in public service announcements,…
        Heart Disease
        December 10, 2025

        THE WATCHMAN PROCEDURE

        I’m starting this post “right off the bat” with my opinion. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That’s a…
        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…
        Healthcare Policy
        November 19, 2025

        NEW BLOOD PRESSURE GUIDELINES

        In the healthcare realm, policies and guidelines for just about everything are constantly being re-evaluated. One such re-evaluation occurred recently…
        Cancer
        November 12, 2024

        MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS #23

        Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: To operate or not to operate? That’s the question: Carpal tunnel syndrome is compression of the median…
        Heart Disease
        August 11, 2022

        SWOLLEN LEGS: NO SIMPLE ANSWER!

        It’s fairly common for a person over age 65 to, at some time, experience swelling of one or both legs.…
        Heart Disease
        April 15, 2020

        CHOLESTEROL

        What is it and how does it cause harm? Everyone has heard of cholesterol. Everyone has cholesterol. Everyone should worry…
        Heart Disease
        January 2, 2021

        HYPERTENSION AFFECTS COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

        An article I read today had some disturbing information about hypertension and the effect it has on memory, verbal expression,…
        Heart Disease
        March 20, 2020

        BLOOD THINNERS AND ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: Who Should Take What?

        Since 2014, the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the Heart Rhythm Society have recommended a set…
        Cancer
        October 14, 2025

        LOW-DOSE ASPIRIN AND CANCER PREVENTION

        Is there no end to the creative imagination of medical researchers? Some amazing revelation of a new, life-altering use for…
        Blood Diseases
        June 6, 2019

        BLOOD CLOTS: Some are Good, Some are Bad!

        The human body is an amazing organism. The amazing brain allows us to think, reason, and remember; the amazing heart…
        Drugs & Medications
        July 24, 2025

        LIPITOR: THIRTY YEARS OF BENEFIT

        Lipitor (atorvastatin) has been in use in the U.S. since 1997 (28.5 years). It has been one of the most…
        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,…
        Heart Disease
        June 26, 2021

        CORONARY CALCIUM SCORING TEST: Should you have one?

        For decades physicians have been searching for the ideal, non-invasive test to diagnose coronary artery disease early enough to prevent…
        Heart Disease
        February 6, 2026

        hsCRP: BETTER THAN CHOLESTEROL

        C-Reactive Protein, or CRP, is a substance produced by the liver in response to the presence of a serious infection…
        Diabetes
        October 8, 2024

        MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS #20

        Rates of Sudden Death After Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction): After an acute heart attack (myocardial infarction), sudden death rates have…
        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
        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…

        DAY-IN-THE-LIFE SCENARIOS

          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          August 21, 2026

          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

            3 weeks ago

            NUTRITION MYTHS REVEALED

            For some unknown reason, food and nutrition are subjects about which misunderstandings have developed and somehow get carried along as…
            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…
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