Now on ScienceBlogs: Rhodes Secretary: Wall Street Megabonuses Draining Our Young Talent
Musings on the intersection of science, medicine, and culture
PalMD is a practicing internist in the Great Lakes region of the U.S.. Aside from the great joy he finds in his family and his work, he likes communicating some of that joy to others. He has a special interest in the ways patients---and we are all patients at one time or another---are deceived by charlatans. He aims to change the world, one reader at a time. Previous writings can still be found here, and here. I also write twice a month for Science-Based Medicine
Please read the DISCLAIMERS.
Subscribe to my feed today!
November 21, 2009
Category: meta-blag
The latest Skeptics' Circle is up at Beyond the Short Coat. The Giants' Shoulders #17 is also up at scibling Eric Michael Johnson's place. Go and read!\...
Posted by PalMD at 1:24 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
Opponents of science-based medicine like to accuse the rest of us of failing to be "holisitc", of failing to see the whole individual who comes to us for health care. I've argued many times that this is not only wrong,...
Posted by PalMD at 8:32 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 19, 2009
Category: Medicine
In November, the citizens of my home state approved a medical marijuana law. The very next day, I started getting calls from patients (often not may own) asking how they could get it. I'm not fan of draconian laws that...
Posted by PalMD at 3:06 PM • 48 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
Basing medical practice on science helps us avoid the pitfalls of relying on our own reasoning and experience. If I want to start a patient on a new medicine, the individual characteristics of the patient are important (Is the drug...
Posted by PalMD at 1:47 PM • 15 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 18, 2009
Category: Absurd medical claims
There are a couple of quotes circulating widely claiming that major players in flu vaccine development are "denouncing" the vaccine. From (shudder!) mercola.com: "Dr. Anthony Morris, a distinguished virologist and former Chief Vaccine Office at the U.S. Federal Drug Administration...
Posted by PalMD at 7:57 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
In a piece written for health reporters, journalist Jane Allen gives some useful advice about covering alternative medicine, but there are some gaps that are are hard for a non-medical professional to recognize (and frankly, for many medical professionals as well). She...
Posted by PalMD at 8:36 AM • 45 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 16, 2009
Category: Medicine
Hat tip to the incomparable, contentious, pain-in-the-ass-who-we-are-all-better-for-having-around scienceblogs regular becca for pointing out this site (from google of course) that helps locate flu shots in your area (in my area, everyone is "temporarily out of stock"). While you're visiting, check...
Posted by PalMD at 1:54 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 14, 2009
Category: Medicine
An easy way to kill a debate on health care policy is to use the "R" word. We saw this early in the HCR debate with overheated talk of "death panels" and other nonsense. But we ignore the real issue...
Posted by PalMD at 8:14 AM • 32 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 13, 2009
Category: Medicine
The resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases is a fascinating, if unwanted, phenomenon. Pertussis, measles, and now mumps are cropping up after long periods of quiescence. Mumps has been generally very well-controlled since the adoption of wide-spread vaccination, with no nation-wide outbreaks,...
Posted by PalMD at 1:59 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 12, 2009
Category: Absurd medical claims
There's a number of dangers in carrying an analogy too far. One situation may be analogous to another without being identical, or they may not in fact be analogous at all. Forgetting this principle can get you into a wee...
Posted by PalMD at 6:09 PM • 20 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
