Medical Bits – Vol. 1.1: Staying In Touch
Physicians strive to improve communication with patients and often worry that the limited time allowed by brief, intermittent interactions at the office are not enough to achieve the best possible results. Therefore, I have decided to reach out to all of you through a monthly newsletter, which does not intend to be comprehensive but will provide some useful information about common ailments and problems. Another intention of this newsletter is to help clarify what may be helpful, “high-value medical care” and what is not.
As you know, “fake news” and relativism is not a recent phenomenon. It has always been part of humanity and evidence can be found in all civilizations, going back to the times of Socrates and beyond. You may remember the Tyranny of the Thirty responsible for his execution in 399 B.C. Resistance to progress and change is one of Humanity’s traits. In every kingdom and every form of power, there has been and there is a struggle for the heart and minds of the people. That reality has only become magnified in the 21st Century as a result of the Information Age.
Most of you decided to join my SMD program to ascertain timely availability and enhanced communication. You want answers to your health issues as they arise. I do not profess to know all or even most solutions to clinical problems, but trust that through good communication, we can achieve excellent results, finding solutions and devising strategies that we hope will help you solve or relieve most ailments.
But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.
Medical News
I want to help you receive medical care that is supported by the evidence, non-duplicative, harmless, and necessary. We have all discussed the opportunity for harm derived from excessive testing. A good resource from the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation can be found here: http://www.choosingwisely.org/
Debunking Myths
Every day, we read articles or hear people promoting new techniques, procedures, and interventions purporting to extend one’s life and vitality. I just received a multipage brochure promoting “integrative medicine” with new “cutting-edge” healing tools. Please, be careful, as the “cutting edge” may harm your pocket and may not actually improve your health at all. Some of these proposed “tools” include: hormone treatments, IV vitamin infusions, IV chelation therapy for detoxification, regenerative medicine with stem cell therapy, ozone treatment, colon hydrotherapy, infrared sauna, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and chiropractic interventions. We will address each one of these separately in a future newsletter. In the meantime, keep cool, eat a nutritious and diverse diet, and stay active. The only fountain of youth proven by science, experience and millennia is exercise and a good dose of laughter and humor. Don’t take your life too seriously! You know it is too short!