The Emergency Crossroad
Words and thoughts on the state of emergency medicine in the US
Tag: healthcare
A Different Kind of Pipeline
A meditation on the failure of emergency medicine when faced with psychiatric crisis
The COVID Resurgence (or Revenge of the Sick)
As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic raged across the country over the summer of 2020, there was no shortage of public health officials, epidemiologists, medical practitioners and statisticians warning that a second wave of the virus could be expected. They implored the public to minimize social gatherings, continue wearing masks when around people and prepare for the […]
Taking Care
No one in their right mind would support the thesis that the American healthcare system, as it exists currently, is not in need of immediate and tremendous repair. The disagreement, as it is with so many issues, comes not from a contention over the issue itself but rather what can or should be done to […]
The EpiPen Saga: Vol. II
This has been going on most of this year. . .
It’s the Practitioners, Not the Practice
Sometimes Twitter can be the catalyst for serious reflection and consideration. In response to a tweet I made about Purdue Pharma (makers of OxyContin and other potent opioid analgesics) being at least partially responsible for leading the United States into its current hellscape of opioid abuse, a fellow Twitter user “liked” my post, but then […]
What Doesn’t Kill You …
Over the past 48 hours there has been a significant amount of discussion surrounding an NPR story that says that most pharmaceuticals are safe and effective long after the manufacturer’s expiration date. For those of us who have worked in any retail setting that deals in product freshness and sell-by dates (e.g. supermarkets or pharmacies) […]
Care: Right or Privilege?
In all the discussion, debate and hyperbole surrounding the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and its efforts by reactionary forces in the US Congress to dismantle and/or replace it, there seems to be one issue left out that, I believe, is the core issue in the entire conversation over healthcare in America: is healthcare a […]
Antidote Notes 