Healthcare Policy
    15 hours ago

    MEDICARE “ROBS PETER TO PAY PAUL”

    Medicare is really good at using smoke and mirrors to convince doctors they’re getting paid more when they really aren’t.…
    Drugs & Medications
    2 days ago

    LYRICA INCREASES RISK OF HEART FAILURE

    This article pertains only to patients who take Lyrica (pregabalin) and are over age 65. If you don’t fall in…
    Healthcare Policy
    5 days ago

    DOCTORS RANK MEDICAL SCHOOLS

    Medical schools have traditionally commanded a great deal of respect and appreciation. Few accomplishments garner attention more than being accepted…
    Medical Devices
    5 days ago

    A PACEMAKER TO LOWER HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE??

    I didn’t know this but every year, “more than one million patients are implanted with pacemakers.” Of those millions, over…
    Human Interest
    7 days ago

    DAILY STEP COUNT REPLACES PAIN AS 5TH VITAL SIGN

    For a number of years, pain was designated as “the fifth vital sign.” Unlike the other four vital signs, temperature,…
    Human Interest
    1 week ago

    DIET DRINKS NOT HEALTHIER

    Have you been to McDonald’s and watched people order a Big Mac, large fries, and a chocolate chip cookie then…
    COVID-19
    1 week ago

    MEDICAL “MISINFORMATION”

    I fear I may be “wading into shark-infested waters” when I approach the subject in the title of this article.…
    Drugs & Medications
    2 weeks ago

    ALCOHOL OBSERVATIONS INCORRECT

    Alcohol has a personality disorder, at least in the minds of researchers who study its effects on the human body.…
    Drugs & Medications
    2 weeks ago

    ORAL GLP-1 MAY BE PREFERRED DRUG

    Eli Lilly and Co. is well on its way to bringing to market an oral Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist (GLP-1…
    Healthcare Policy
    2 weeks ago

    ABOLISH THE USPSTF?

    Abolishing the well-entrenched, forty-plus year old, highly-respected, 16-member institution called the United States Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, will…
    Drugs & Medications
    2 weeks ago

    TYLENOL AND AUTISM: UNCERTAINTY REMAINS

    When President Trump and Health And Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. made the announcement about the association of…
    Human Interest
    2 weeks ago

    DEPAUW UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL

    On two recent occasions I have had the satisfaction of writing about the success of the Indiana Hoosier football team.…
    Preventive Medicine
    3 weeks ago

    DENTISTS’ COMMENTS ON WATER FLUORIDATION

    When it comes to matters of tooth decay and water fluoridation, who is better qualified to give  credible answers to…
    Drugs & Medications
    3 weeks ago

    MMRV VACCINE HITS A SNAG

    In my sixty years of association with the health care industry and the medical profession, I have never seen such…
    Human Interest
    3 weeks ago

    AWESOME INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL

    The transition of Indiana University football from perennial doormat to the third-ranked team in the country has been nothing less…
    Cancer
    3 weeks ago

    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…
    Human Interest
    3 weeks ago

    B1G BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY

    For as long as I can remember, TV commentators have talked, and newspaper reporters have written, about the B1G (the…
    Heart Disease
    4 weeks ago

    HEART ATTACKS: WHAT’S NEW?

    In the simpler, unenlightened world of the past, a heart attack was just a heart attack. It was a serious…
    Human Interest
    4 weeks ago

    COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION

    For 80 years, fluoridating the water in communities has been “the Holy Grail” of preventive dentistry. Community water fluoridation has…
    Bone & Joint Problems
    4 weeks ago

    PLANTAR FASCIITIS IS REAL PAIN!

    “My Heel is Killing Me” If you’ve ever had heel pain you know it’s a real nuisance. It hurts to…
    Heart Disease
    4 weeks ago

    TROPONIN LEVELS AND HEART ATTACKS

    If you have had the misfortune of having a heart attack, no doubt you have heard of the troponin test.…
    Preventive Medicine
    4 weeks ago

    HIGH FIBER DIETS IMPROVE HEALTH

    High fiber diets have long been recognized as improving one’s general health in a number of ways. Fiber acts “like…
    Drugs & Medications
    October 3, 2025

    TYLENOL AND AUTISM #2

    President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Department Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have gone and stuck their necks…
    Aging
    October 2, 2025

    IS YOUR FAMILY DOCTOR CAPABLE OF DIAGNOSING DEMENTIA?

    Why, of course, he/she is! Or should be. Family physicians have a responsibility to their patients to educate themselves to…
    Human Interest
    October 1, 2025

    IT DEPENDS ON WHO’S IN CHARGE

    We’ve all experienced situations where things happen we don’t understand. In any imaginable life scenario, things occur that are against…

      COVID-19
      1 week ago

      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

        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
        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…
        Preventive Medicine
        September 6, 2022

        LET’S PUT STATINS IN THE WATER!

        I have written 7 blogs about statins, and I suspect you’re beginning to tire of my persistence. I love statins!…
        Drugs & Medications
        January 2, 2025

        MEDICAL NEWS BRIEFS #26

        Losing weight does not improve health. Really? Yes. Losing weight via GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs will improve your BMI (Body…
        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
        August 2, 2025

        BLOOD PRESSURE TARGET LEVELS EASED

        If you have high blood pressure and you’re worried about the effect it is having on your kidneys, you may…
        Heart Disease
        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…
        Drugs & Medications
        August 6, 2025

        POST MI BETA BLOCKERS QUESTIONED

        For many years, doctors have been told that patients who suffered an acute myocardial infarction, a heart attack, were all…
        Drugs & Medications
        2 days ago

        LYRICA INCREASES RISK OF HEART FAILURE

        This article pertains only to patients who take Lyrica (pregabalin) and are over age 65. If you don’t fall in…
        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
        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,…
        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.…
        Heart Disease
        4 weeks ago

        TROPONIN LEVELS AND HEART ATTACKS

        If you have had the misfortune of having a heart attack, no doubt you have heard of the troponin test.…
        Heart Disease
        August 15, 2023

        SHORTNESS OF BREATH

        Doctors call shortness of breath a single, much shorter name—Dyspnea. The Greek and Latin derivatives of dyspnea are “dys” which…
        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,…
        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…
        Drugs & Medications
        December 8, 2024

        NEW APPROACH TO TREATING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

        For decades, the “step-wise care” approach to treating high blood pressure (HBP) was in vogue. This approach recommended starting with…
        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…
        Drugs & Medications
        March 7, 2022

        STATIN INTOLERANCE OVERESTIMATED

        The use of statin drugs has been challenged for years by the fear of alleged adverse effects. Patients who need…
        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
        August 8, 2021

        DRUG OPTIONS FOR TREATING CHOLESTEROL AND REDUCING CARDIOVASCULAR RISK

        A subject I’ve blogged about several times is cholesterol. The biochemistry of cholesterol, it’s clinical significance, and guidelines for treatment…
        Preventive Medicine
        September 9, 2022

        DO STATINS CAUSE MUSCLE PAIN AND WEAKNESS?

        It’s statins again!  This time it has to do with muscle pain and weakness patients attribute to statin therapy. A…
        Heart Disease
        July 28, 2023

        POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN BEWARE!

        After menopause, women have a lot of health problems to worry about. Besides hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and…
        Heart Disease
        December 19, 2018

        SUDDEN DEATH: A Very Disturbing Event

        Sudden death is always a tragic and terribly disturbing event. When someone who “appears to be the picture of health”…

        DAY-IN-THE-LIFE SCENARIOS

          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          April 7, 2025

          WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT PHYSICIAN INCOME?

          In addition to physician happiness, the Medscape survey quoted previously also questioned participants about lifestyle. Within this category were inquiries…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          April 5, 2025

          PHYSICIAN LIFESTYLE AND HAPPINESS SURVEY

          For some reason, professional organizations are overly concerned about physicians’ lifestyles and whether they are a happy lot. Surveys on…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          December 10, 2024

          DOES YOUR DOCTOR TALK TO YOU?

          Does your doctor talk to you? Oh, sure he asks you why you came to see him and how long…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          September 2, 2024

          ANNUAL PHYSICIAN SURVEY

          In the current issue of Medical Economics magazine, the editors present their “95th” annual “Physicians Report.” Every year, they conduct…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          June 19, 2024

          FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY

          In several previous blogs I’ve written that I completed a two-year residency in Family Medicine. My residency was from August,…
          A Day in the Life Scenarios
          March 8, 2024

          FINDING A NEW DOCTOR: QUITE A CHALLENGE

          Fortunately, finding a new family doctor is a task you don’t have to do very often. When the situation arises,…

          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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