As their roles change, Pharmacists need new Regulations, Norms, and Freedom from Corporate Interests

Pharmacists play an essential role in the healthcare system today, one that is ever-expanding.  They check for drug interactions, watch for signs of opioid over-prescribing, and try to determine whether a drug for one condition prescribed by one doctor will negatively impact the patient because of another diagnosis the patient has.  In hospital units, their roles have become yet more complex- often serving on various quality committees, managing daily dosages of medications like warfarin and vancomycin, and more.  I rely upon them in the hospital daily- to catch mistakes, and to advise on drug dosages and choices.  Many in the community give flu vaccinations, and some are even trying to gain "provider" status under Medicare, allowing them bill directly for treating patients.  This has been accompanied by a drastic change in the preparation of the average pharmacist- where once it was a 5 year bachelor's degree, now it is a graduate degree- a change recent enough that as of 2014, over 60% of pharmacists practicing had trained under the old system.

"Gun Control" Ideas that Might Actually Pass and Reduce Mass Shootings, From a Doctor and a Gun Owner

I am a resident physician in General Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine, and I work and train a great deal at Ben Taub- one of only two Level I trauma centers in Houston, and thus one that sees an extraordinary number of Houston's victims of gun violence. But I am also a gun-owner, who took up shooting in the Boy Scouts. And, I am the son of immigrants who refuse to touch firearms, but yet who were free to immigrate to America because of their invention. Like most of Houston, I am thus a study of contradictions, and this gives rise to some unique ideas and perspectives on how to prevent mass shootings and gun violence that may actually find support from both sides in this divided time.

How Much is a Human Life Worth: A Question we Need to Answer

With the election of Donald Trump, there has been much speculation about his plans for the ACA- speculation that rose again after the announcement that Dr. Tom Price, MD, is to be appointed as his Secretary of Health and Human Services.  But the reality is that any health plan in the United States- Trumpcare, Pricecare, Obamacare, Hillarycare, and someday perhaps Warrencare or Bidencare will not work because of our collective failure as a society to answer a question that every foreign health system has answered in some way:

Trump's 7 point healthcare plan is actually just as stupid as everything else he says

Donald Trump's healthcare plan has started to make the rounds.  People are impressed!  It seems simple.  It seems to make sense.  It gives hope to those who hate Democrats but are disheartened by Trump's stated policies to ban Muslims from the US, build an ineffective wall to keep out Hispanics, torture prisoners, and commit war crimes by targeting the families of suspected terrorists.  I am actually no fan of the ACA, but Trump's healthcare plan is far, far more dumb than most people realize- like almost everything else he does and says.

On Electronic Health Records and Meaningful Use Incentives

Many medical students, particularly pre-clinical medical students, do not understand the utter insanity and horror that is electronic health records/electronic medical records (EHRs/EMRs).  Instead, you will find many that endorse such programs as the be-all end-all and cure to the terrible days of handwritten records.  In such EMRs, we are promised, is the potential for limitless medical discovery and efficiency.  This ethos is shared by many in healthcare administration and others who are not clinicians.  The Federal government has bought this hook, line, and sinker and is poised to impose financial penalties upon any healthcare provider who does not use EMRs.  As an aside, this is not attributable to the ACA/Obamacare- the EHR companies have their tendrils into US Department of Health and Human Services, and it was under Bush that the first meaningful use incentives began to come out if I recall correctly.  However, Obama has continued this trend with his ACA, and his recently announced initiative to use large scale data collection from EMRs combined with genetic data- which he is calling Precision Medicine.

I fully support the use of big data, but I think EHR incentives/penalties are a terrible idea.

I support vaccines- but I am somewhat surprised that more parents don't

As a medical student, I strongly support vaccination. It works, it's safe, and it doesn't cause autism. But I also understand why many parents don't believe me and the medical community when we beg them to vaccinate their kids.

Medicine has come a long way from "Do No Harm". Now we talk about risks and benefits: and none of our tests, medicines, or procedures are without risks. Increasingly, pharmaceutical companies have been caught concealing those risks from doctors and the public.