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When the Psychiatrist is a Bully

(Find a follow up to this post, Lessons Learned) What you are about to read is my own personal experience, having taken place over the past 10 days with a psychiatrist from Naples, Florida who works in addiction psychiatry through his “Healing Institute.” Many of you regular readers know that my blog used to be […]

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Health Net Pays $9 Million for Canceling Patient’s Policy

Put yourself in Patsy Bates’ shoes. She is a hairdresser who had health insurance coverage with Health Net, a large insurer in California. In 2004, Patsy was diagnosed with breast cancer, and part way through her chemotherapy treatments, Health Net decided to cancel her insurance. At the point where she owed almost $130 thousand for

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Jarvik’s Lipitor Commercials – Was Any of It True?

Questions began circulating about the Pfizer TV and magazine commercials for Lipitor earlier this month. You’ve seen them — Robert Jarvik, the supposed “inventor of the artificial heart” touts his use of Lipitor as his way of controlling his cholesterol levels so he won’t have a heart attack like his father did. He runs. He

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Three Cheers – Cardiology and Second Opinions

This New York Times letter to the editor caught my eye… Second opinions are so very necessary in a case of a difficult diagnosis, or when treatment will be needed for chronic recurrences of a disease, or in particular when a patient needs surgery. Patients are way too often intimidated at the thought of telling

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Reader’s Digest “Outrageous” Tells Michael Skolnik’s Story

The subtitle reads, “Good physicians know the bad ones in their midst. Why don’t they point fingers?” Good question, don’t you think? The article, entitled Doctors Who Do Harm, tells about doctors who maim and kill — as their colleagues stand by, watch, and don’t tell a soul. Why? According to Arthur Levin, of the

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Taxes and Medical Deductions — a Heads Up

My friend Sharon Feder from Lynxcare sent me this article from the LA Times about taking your fair share of medical deductions when it comes time to put together your tax return this year. (OK– detour here — why do they call it a tax return when it’s so rare that they return much of

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Trisha Torrey
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