Politics and Medicine

Hospital Infection Prevention Week

The first line of defense against hospital infections is clean hands. Seems simple, right? Yet millions of Americans are infected in hospitals every year. 100,000 Americans die from them. Read that carefully — yes — 100,000 Americans go to the hospital because they are sick, or they need surgery. They die — NOT because they […]

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Bush, Congress and SCHIP: Remember, Children Will Vote Someday

I’ve been asked for weeks to weigh in on the SCHIP bill (State Children’s Health Insurance Program.) I had to give it some thought because I just couldn’t fathom that there could be any opposition without some good reason. So I’ve read commentary by President Bush, commentary by John McCain, coverage by CNN, Fox and

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Oprah Takes on Health Insurance

Oprah took on healthcare, insurance and the lack thereof today. While I think she did an astounding job of moving the discussion forward, I think a major point was missed — and needs to be pointed out. Joining Oprah were Michael Moore, the director and producer of Sicko, Karen Ignagni who is the top lobbyist

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Stossel, 20/20, Bait & Switch, Naivete

Did you watch John Stossel’s take on the future of health care on 20/20 Friday night? If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you’ll want to link to ABC’s review of the show here. If you watched it, and you’re curious about my opinions, here they are: First — can you say “bait and

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Doctors are Blamers or Fixers, too

A week ago, I posted about Blamers and Fixers. Blamers are those people who have been hurt by our healthcare system in some way, and can’t get beyond the hurt. They are stuck in the anger, frustration and pain. It’s understandable, certainly, especially in cases where some permanent horror has come from it. From the

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Kudos to Cancer Society

What’s the number #1 reason patients don’t seek medical care? Because they can’t afford it. Recognizing that all the great technology, drugs, therapies and other cures in the world can’t help patients if patients can’t afford to go to the doctor for diagnosis or treatment, the American Cancer Society has decided to go out on

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Trisha Torrey
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