CNN vs. the Mayo Clinic: Did an American Hospital Imprison a Patient?

In an astonishing story, CNN claims that the famed Mayo clinic imprisoned an adult patient there against her will.  In an unusual move, the patient's family signed a consent form for the hospital to respond without concern for HIPAA privacy protections, and even more unusually Mayo released a statement so scorching that it all but accused CNN of committing blood libel.  CNN stood by it's story and claimed multiple Mayo spokespeople were shown to have no grasp on the details of the case, and spent an inordinate amount of time accusing Mayo of significant shadiness with whether a meeting was "on-the-record".  But, as with so many problems in medicine, this situation too boils down to a failure to communicate on Mayo's part, and a failure to understand medicine on the part of CNN.

The strange saga of Dr. Eugene Gu- #Resistance hero to accused Rapist

To many active on social media the saga of Dr. Eugene Gu, from #Resistance figure to accused rapist, is a long and strange one that holds some lessons for many physicians in the social media age.

Alfie Evans: A Reasonable Economic Decision Disguised as a Horrific Moral Determination

The tragic case of Alfie Evans has roiled Great Britain and the world. Alfie was a 2 year old child in the United Kingdom with an unknown degenerative brain disease who eventually deteriorated to the point that he required life support- his brain had become mostly liquid, and he could not see, speak, or hear. Alder Hey hospital decided his condition was terminal and irreversible, and wanted to stop further treatment. His parents disagreed, and wanted to transfer care to another hospital in Italy which was willing to accept him. Alder Hey went to court, arguing that it was better that the child be allowed to die because keeping him alive was cruel and harmful. They ultimately won, and Alfie Evans passed away. This has sparked a great outcry, particularly among the pro-life movement in the US. And indeed, the idea that the state can literally declare that death is better than life for anyone should be horrifying to everyone.

But the decision to take Alfie off life support was a reasonable and ethical one- if it was justified as being fair to all patients. It is even a reasonable one for individual doctors to conclude that further treating a patient in front of them is harmful and not ethical. But when court decided it had the right to decide that the child should die rather than live, it became an abomination.

"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.

The Resident: Learn the Lessons, Laugh at Everything Else

A new medical TV show, The Resident, made a big splash in the social media- largely for a perceived negative portrayal of physicians.  One EM physician even published a long editorial on NBC news condemning it as reducing trust in the entire medical profession.  The creator of the show, Amy Holden Jones, has been viciously attacked on twitter for the show, and even accused of causing patient deaths by decreasing trust in the medical establishment.

The LA Times's crucifixion of Dr. Puliafito is not appropriate, and has left the most important question unanswered

Two weeks ago the LA Times broke a story that Dr. Carmen Puliafito, former Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, had been abusing drugs and keeping company with a group of younger individuals who engaged in drug use and illicit activity.  Much of this activity occurred while he was Dean, and it is a shocking story- a 66 year-old titan of the field of ophthalmology, renowned for inventing a device that revolutionized the field and forging both the 1st and 2nd ranked programs in the country (University of Miami's Bascom-Palmer and previously USC's Doheny before its split)- found partying with a prostitute and her friends while taking methamphetamine and other drugs.

As an Intern, I Support the ACGME's Increased Duty Hour Limits

Last month, the ACGME formally increased its work-hour limits for resident physicians, a change that was widely covered in the press.

This decision has also been significantly mis-reported.  While it may seem like all residents will now work for longer hours, in reality, only first year interns will be allowed to work longer 24 hour shifts, where the previous maximum was 16- a limit adopted in 2011.  2nd year and up, the restrictions will not change: 24 hour shifts, no more often than every 3rd day, with an 80 hour per week average which were the restrictions adopted in 2003.