Benitez, now 36, is a lesbian. She sued her doctors under California's civil rights laws, charging that they discriminated against her because of her sexual orientation. Today, the state Supreme Court will consider whether a doctor can invoke his faith to refuse a patient treatment.In reading articles from sources like the LA times, AP, and ABC, the press is spinning this into a gay verses religious issue. They always love doing that. Also, take a look at the LA times comment section - definitely no love lost for docs. The press also like to sprinkle in a little racism undertones to add fuel to the fire.
Benitez's lawyer, Pizer, compared their response to the civil rights era: "I don't treat black patients, but I will refer you to someone who will." "It opened our eyes to discrimination," Clark said. "We knew how black people felt and didn't realize how deep it went and how on-guard it makes you."Here's my take on this case. First of all, fertility services are an ELECTIVE procedure - meaning this is not an emergency situation. The rules are entirely different for an elective procedure. The press is playing this off as the docs refusing "the right" of treatment. And, people are asking on "how can doctors refuse treatment?" "Doctors should be required to do these services or have their license taken away." If this was a doc refusing to treat a unstable and dying patient because of religious or any other beliefs, that would be a lot different. But, this is not the case here.
Bruce Campbell, MD, grew up in the Chicago area, graduating from Purdue University and Rush Medical College. He completed an otolaryngology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a head and neck surgery fellowship at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He has been on the faculty at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin since 1987.Even though this resume is pretty impressive, what really impresses me is the high quality posts that this guy writes. For example, here is one of Bruce's early posts simply entitled "Testimony:"
Several days each year, I teach high school health classes about smoking. The kids, no doubt, understand that a middle-aged physician is going to tell them that smoking is bad. As I begin, they are polite but disengaged. As I run through statistics about teen tobacco use, they look around, stifle yawns, and do their math homework. Then I show them videos I made of some of my patients.I hope you're able to join us for the show, because we're going to have a great time. Following the interview with Bruce, I just be talking about stuff for the last 30 minutes of the show or so. Even feel free to call in, if you like. Check out the blog tomorrow for more details!
One woman in her late 40’s had a recurrent cancer. She is lying in a hospital bed, gaunt, pale, and exhausted. She has a feeding tube in her nose. Her voice is hoarse and her movements deliberate. On the video, I ask her if she thinks her smoking had anything to do with her cancer. “Oh, definitely,” she responds. Then, spontaneously, she continues, “Every time I see someone smoking, I’d just like to tell them about me and how much I have suffered.” She takes a deep involuntary breath and begins to cry. I have watched the scene dozens of times and it still affects me.
As she wipes her eyes, the kids in the classroom are transfixed to the screen and absolutely silent. I honestly do not know if this woman, now long dead from her cancer, has had an impact on individual kids’ smoking behavior, but I like to think that her testimony has made a difference in at least a few of their lives.
My personal best-advice-received was only a few years ago, post-diagnosis, and surprisingly, came from a woman I barely know and don't even like very much. I was at the gym, apologetically trying to fit myself in to the front a crowded aerobics class, when this rather unfriendly Super-Aerobics-Babe sort smirked at me openly and said, "Be bold."Following Amy's interview, I'm going to be starting a new segment of the show - which will be the last 30 minutes of this week's show. I really learned something from last week's debacle of a show (it wasn't that bad, just a little embarrassing to me). And, I'll talk about it at the end of Show 35. So, you'll just have to find out what it is....
At the time I was simply annoyed and a little confused by her words. But since, I've decided that's about the smartest thing anyone ever said to me. No more apologies for being who I am. Having this stupid disease, I'm lucky to be alive. Lucky to be healthy enough to jump around in an aerobics class at all. Lucky to have been able to reach out to so many people via this blog and discover a whole community of like-minded souls.
My name is Theresa Chan. I'm a family physician working in rural Northern California. This blog is about the small triumphs and everyday drama of making a living in medicine.This is really great stuff. So, I encourage you to check out the Rural Doctoring blog and follow her on her twitter feed. I think this blogger has great potential, and I think you will too. And, don't forget to tell her that Doctor Anonymous sent ya!
There are a lot of good medical blogs to read, and many of them are much better than I am at dissecting the policy missteps that have led to the current collapse in primary care, and at criticizing the government policymakers behind them. However, most medblogs have a decidedly urban/academic/policy-centered focus.
What is missing is the voice from small-town doctors such as myself, who are struggling with policy failures in rural settings in which clinical services and political advocacy are severely limited. What is also missing is the personal testimony of individual doctors making career choices that represent disappointing concessions to these same policy failures, all in order to survive financially in the current medical climate.
Are doctors overmedicating kids? Doctor Anonymous raises the issue but keeps his own verdict close to the vest.Interestingly enough, I was mentioned again in this week's Grand Rounds. TBTAM (former guest on The Doctor Anonymous Show 25) made some comments about my recent interview with Paul Levy. Here David Williams' take on TBTAM's post:
Doctor Anonymous interviewed Beth Israel Deaconess president Paul Levy. The Blog That Ate Manhattan was eating it up at least for a while. Here’s an administrator who gets it, who’s empathetic toward docs and generally a good guy.But then she reacts (or possibly overreacts, as she admits) to a comment Levy made about dealing with a difficult doc in a negotiation. In the comments section Levy explains himself further: Doctors should be expected to communicate and negotiate well as part of their jobs, and not just in dealing with administrators.Meanwhile GruntDoc was listening to the podcast, too. He didn’t take umbrage at Levy’s comment. In fact he’s a bit embarrassed that doctors display such “horrible” negotiation skills.
Dr Anonymous asks a simple, yet, controversial question: If someone has used marijuana - even if used for medical reasons - should this prohibit him or her from being considered to be on a transplant list? Hospitals throughout this great nation struggle with this question every day.If you don't know what Grand Rounds is, it is a weekly compilation of the best posts from the medical blogosphere that moves to different sites each week. And, who doesn't like reading about medicine and science? Next week, Grand Rounds moves to the site called Health Business Blog.
Does it mean U.S. kids are being over-treated? Or that U.K. children are being under-treated? Experts say that's almost beside the point, because use is rising on both sides of the Atlantic. And with scant long-term safety data, it's likely the drugs are being over-prescribed for both U.S. and U.K. children, research suggests.What are "anti-psychotic" drugs? Well, according to the article, the most commonly prescribed drugs in the UK in this study have the names of risperdal and thioridazine. Now, I have to tell you that these are medications that I hardly use in adults. And, I have never used these drugs in children.
The new U.K. study, involving 1992-2005 health records of more than 16,000 children, is the first large examination of these drugs in U.K. children. It found the increase was mostly in medicines that haven't been officially approved for kids. They were most commonly prescribed for behavior and conduct disorders, which include attention deficit disorder.Ah, HA! Here we go. The issue of attention deficit disorder is so divisive among the parents, teachers, and docs that I talk to - that this article will continue to fuel the fire. There are some who debate whether this diagnosis even exists. There are others who believe that docs do not medicate these kids enough. So, why do US docs medicate kids more?
A recent report in The Lancet suggested that the U.K.'s universal health care system limits prescribing practices there. The report also said direct-to-consumer ads are more common in the United States. These ads raise consumer awareness and demand for medication.So, again, it's the doctors fault that American kids are overmedicated for attention deficit disorder. What is new about that? It'll be interesting to see how the parents, teachers, and medical blogs will react to this report today. We'll see.
While drug company ties with doctors are common in both the U.S. and U.K., Vanderbilt University researcher Wayne Ray said U.K. physicians generally are more conservative about prescribing psychiatric drugs. Ray co-authored the U.S. study, published in 2004.
The American Heart Association is now recommending children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) should have heart tests - including an electrocardiogram (ECG) - before starting treatment with stimulant drugs. The AAP is evaluating the science behind these recommendations and will offer its guidance in the near future. Meanwhile, parents with questions or concerns about the AHA statement should consult their child's pediatrician.By the way, just to clarify, family docs also take care of kids. Why couldn't they say "consult their child's physician." Sheesh.
