They’ve been doing it since I was a medical student. Drug companies’ patents run out, so they make a new formulation of it and extend the patent.
It is a shell game, and the FDA has played along up to now. I call it the XP version of the drug - for eXtend Patent. [...]

Posted in American Medicine, Rants 6 Comments »

I am not sure if you are absolutely clueless or have a mean-streak, but your “friend,” and my patient came into my office in tears.  She feels betrayed and abandoned in her terribly difficult situation.
Perhaps you have forgotten what it is like to have kids.  Do you think it is easy to see your child [...]

Posted in Rants 8 Comments »

Reimbursement - At least in my field, it is nearly impossible to run a practice off of what it pays.  Most physicians who are on Medicare offset its bad reimbursement with private insurance or procedures that are outside of Medicare.
Prevention is discouraged - A person cannot come in if they are well.  They have [...]

Posted in Rants, Top Ten 12 Comments »