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Monthly Archives: November 2012
Preventing disease by taking pills is easy. You pop the pills, and expect the benefits, and you’re done – no changes needed.
An equally important, but much more difficult way of preventing disease is by changing dangerous lifestyle behaviors. Examples of these behaviors are smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, drug abuse, overeating (which can result in obesity), and too little physical activity all produce harmful effects in your body.
Many patients can improve their behaviors just…
I’m often asked whether or not a person should take vitamins. You probably have asked yourself this very question. You’ve also likely read countless articles say why you absolutely should take vitamins, and heard just as many reports about why you should absolutely never take vitamins. What is a person to believe?
Dr. J. Gaziano and coworkers studied over 14,000 male physicians for a period of over 14 years. Half of them took multivitamins, and…
You can find out what is in your doctor’s medical notes about you, and reading it can save your life. In a recent study by Dr. Tom Delbanco and coauthors, patients were invited to see their doctor’s record of a recent office visit. About 80% of patients looked at the notes. Compared to patients who did not look at…
Every patient has experienced this, leaving a message at the doctor’s office, expecting the doctor to call back. They never do, or worse, they call much too late. You’re frustrated, stressed, angry and just confused. Really, how hard is it to call back with an answer?
Responding to you calls, questions and concerns is part of a…
Sandy has hit the east and life as well as health care has been disrupted. While we all hope all is ok with our friends and family affected by the storm, we all should realize the impact of an emergency could have on our own health care.
First, you should always have an emergency plan in place for you and for your family. Who is a contact person? Where should you go if evacuated? Do…
In my book Surviving American Medicine and in this blog, I offer a plethora of health tips and advice. The positions I take are my own – not influenced by an organization or elected body. I may come of as negative or a curmudgeon, but that is for a purpose. In the following paragraphs, I’ll explain where I stand regarding the current state of American medicine.
First, I should let…