Category Archives: Medicine

Educational Thought of the Day – E Coli in Germany

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th July 2011

Thirty one people in Europe recently died from contamination of  bean sprouts by E coli, many more were sickened. The sprouts were grown on an organic farm in Bienenbüttel south of Hamburg  in Germany. The strain that causes problems is E. coli O157:H7. This variant of the bacteria produces a toxin that causes the hemolytic-uremic syndrome a disorder…


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Specialization

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 15th June 2011

These article is adapted from a talk given at the graduation dinner for the residents of the Department of Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock on May 27, 2011 Specialization is when people concentrate on one thing or another at which they are good. I will limit my remarks to…


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Social Welfare Programs and Drug Addiction

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th June 2011

The current debate over how Medicare should be structured has seemed to me to be nothing more than each side declaring that their federally funded healthcare program is better than the other side’s. Paul Ryan’s plan to make Medicare (10 years hence) into a voucher system has been hailed by many as a serious and responsible modification…


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Massachusetts Medical Society Releases 2011 Study of Patient Access to Health Care

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th May 2011

The Massachusetts Medical society released its 2011 study of the state’s medical insurance plan, often called Romneycare. It’s a pretty damning description of the plan. Wait times for a new patient to see a primary care doctor have increased. Similarly, wait times to see a specialist have also increased. The number of primary care doctors who accept…


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Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th May 2011

The treatment of prostate cancer has been uncertain for some time. A paper in the May 5th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine examines two approaches to the disease – watchful waiting versus radical prostatectomy. A Scandinavian group observed 695 men with early prostate cancer for 15 years. They conclude that Radical prostatectomy was…


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Medical Costs and Wrong Assumptions

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th April 2011

Bob Duffy is Director of Ipsos Social Research Institute, is a true believer in governmental social planning.. In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal he opines that people are now ready for the government to help us make the “right” choices that will benefit our health. He’s particularly interested in getting people to…


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To Be or Not to Be

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd April 2011

To those looking to the federal government for the solutions to life’s problems, reality is is a constant lance in the side. Retirees have been told that there was no inflation in 2010 which is why there was no  cost of living increase in Social Security benefits for 2011. Yet seniors have been hit with…


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Cancer survivors in United States increasing by hundreds of thousands per year

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th March 2011

The above is the title of a story published by the AP. Why are there more cancer survivors? Here is the explanation offered by the story: More people are surviving cancer, in part, because of earlier detection and better treatment, they (health officials at the Centers for Disease Control) said. In 2007, there were about…


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Reform School

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th March 2011

If you would understand why reform of our medical system is so difficult consider the case of the angiogenesis inhibitor Avastin. The drug had been used in combination with other therapies to treat metastatic breast cancer. “The FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients that it is recommending removing the breast cancer indication for bevacizumab (Avastin)…


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Hemodialysis – 2011

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th February 2011

There are two short, but informative, articles about hemodialysis in the February 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine – here and here. The first by the journal’s national correspondent, John Iglehart, outlines the various maneuvers  that Medicare is performing in an attempt to reduce costs. The second by Richard Retig from RAND…


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