Category: Science and Medicine

Geriatric Preventive Medicine Appointments Covered by Medicare

Medicare offers free preventive medicine visits for those over 65: the Welcome to Medicare visit and the Annual Wellness Visit. Increased awareness of these benefits would improve health care, save taxpayer money, and reduce inequities of preventive medicine care for underserved populations.

/ November 8, 2022

Letter to a Medical Student: You Erred. You Are Owed an Apology.

While you are an adult who is responsible for your own words, the editors of Sensible Medicine did you a grave disservice by letting you publish your article.

/ November 6, 2022

Was Closing Schools an Obvious and Colossal Mistake?

Maybe it was a mistake to close schools. However, those who make this claim should honestly grapple with what would have happened had nothing been done rather than indulge an absurd fantasy that everything would have been fine and dandy.

/ November 4, 2022

A Popular Home Remedy Causes Severe Burns in Pediatric Patients

Garlic has been used medicinally for thousands of years, but the evidence for benefit isn't great. And topical use, particularly in young children, can cause severe burns. Stick to using garlic as a recipe ingredient rather than as a remedy.

/ October 28, 2022

Does “therapeutic ultrasound” actually work?

Ultrasound, a commonly used rehabilitation technique, may offer little benefit.

/ October 27, 2022
Ducks quack

The making of COVID-19 “contrarian” doctors

In 2009, I tried to answer the question: How do doctors become quacks and antivaxxers? A Twitter encounter suggested to me that an update to that post is massively overdue.

/ October 24, 2022

Cutting through the Lies and Misinterpretations about the Updated Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People

The new WPATH standards of care have sparked controversy and intensified debates around gender-affirming care for trans children and adolescents.

, / October 22, 2022

Audience Capture: When COVID Influencers Follow Their Followers

Young doctors take heed.  Be careful not to develop a brand and cultivate followers you must continually impress. Because instead of leading your followers, you might become their follower.

/ October 21, 2022

The Bobath Concept for Cerebral Palsy and Stroke Rehabilitation

The Bobath approach, also known as Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT) is widely used for cerebral palsy and stroke rehabilitation, but it's not supported by good evidence.

/ October 18, 2022

Science-Based Satire: Experts are Warning Parents About a New and Highly Potent Synthetic Sugar

Is there an epidemic of extremely potent synthetic sugar sweeping the nation and putting our children, and first responders, at risk of hyperactivity and ruined dinners? No, there isn't. At least not yet. This is satire. Some people are getting pretty ridiculous when it comes to fentanyl though.

/ October 14, 2022