…the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. I read today a collection of words that exude wisdom. I share it with you because the purpose of this blog is to do create value through education. Peggy Girshman was an award-winning health journalist. When ill with a life-limiting illness, she wrote her own eulogy. […]
Category: Doctoring
Some of my most poignant moments in medicine happen after the ablations and devices are finished. That’s when I go visit with patients up in the medical wards. My legs are fried from standing all day. So I sit, a key move because then you are ready to listen. One good thing about computers in […]
I head to Chicago this weekend for the 4th Annual Lown Institute Conference. The Lown Institute seeks to catalyze grassroots movements for transforming healthcare systems and improving the health of communities. For those of you who want to be on the right side of the street of history, Dr. Bernard Lown, a cardiologist, activist, and […]
In my last post, I wrote my initial thoughts of an important new study on how the decision to take a medication or have a screening test in the name of prevention is similar to playing the lottery. I promised to think and write about the study more carefully. My latest thoughts are now published […]
A new study published last week in an open heart journal changes the conversation about how patients and doctors think about and discuss preventive therapies–such as statins. Dr. Richard Lehman may be the smartest doctor on Twitter. This is what he said: This is a game-changer https://t.co/WgGdLlodbL — Richard Lehman (@RichardLehman1) March 20, 2016 Most […]
When I heard Justice Antonin Scalia had died suddenly, presumably of cardiac causes, I spent time reading and thinking about the famous judge. Three themes seemed worth putting down in writing. Read more here: Justice Scalia’s Death: Three Lessons for the Healthcare Community JMM
Bernie Sanders has intensified the debate about US healthcare. Specifically, he has people talking about a single-payer government-controlled system. Critics, uninformed as they are, point to the VA system as an example of inferior care. A well-conducted study refutes such misthink. Yale researchers performed a massive cross-sectional study to compare outcomes among older men in […]
The purpose of this post is to introduce my most recent column over at theHeart.org | Medscape Cardiology in which I address recent concerns about the drug rivaroxaban (Xarelto). — In 2014, Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) was the most prescribed new oral anticoagulant (NOAC). Millions of patients have atrial fibrillation, so it’s fair to call it a […]
I’ve got a good story for you. One that goes back to the early days of this blog, a time when I wrote about cycling. It turns out that the biggest medical news thus far in 2016 has a connection, albeit slight, to the recent doping news out of Belgium. You’ve heard the news from […]
Here is my most recent column on theHeart.org | Medscape Cardiology: Mandrola’s Top 10 Cardiology Stories 2015 What follows below is a short-writing summary of my ten picks. The hyperlinks go to earlier columns I wrote on the topic. 1. The FDA approved two new (injectable) cholesterol drugs. The problem with the PCSK9-inhibitors: the study […]
Last night I talked with one of my partners about a few terrible cases of medical harm from unnecessary procedures. He said, “John, people get this stuff done to them because they fear not being healthy. People are scared.” My answer was that people should fear healthcare more than they do disease. That sounds like […]