A doctor in a modern medical office reviews electronic health records on a desktop computer. The room features medical equipment, an anatomical chart, and a digital tablet on the desk. The atmosphere is professional and clinical.

Can AI Reduce Doctor Burnout?

I lived and worked through the transition in medicine from completely paper-based documentation to completely digital-based – using an electronic medical record (EMR). There is no question, the EMR system is much better. Access to information, communication, ordering tests, tracking results, and documenting visits are all much easier with an EMR. But modern doctors and other health care providers are not exactly...

/ January 29, 2025
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Well Well Well, We Want Them Infected Doctors Are OK With Censorship After All

Doctors who mourned the loss of a single speech or YouTube video are fine with the the mass censorship of public scientists.

/ January 28, 2025
National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The attack on the NIH has begun

Donald Trump has been sworn in, and his new administration has immediately turned its sights on the NIH. The danger to US biomedical research has never been more acute.

/ January 27, 2025

Dr. Vinay Prasad 2025 = Dr. Kelly Brogan 2015

In 2017, Dr. Vinay Prasad said an anti-vaccine doctor was a "quack". What changed?

/ January 24, 2025
Close-up of assorted red gummy candies with various textures and shapes, resembling berries and fruit.

Why Did the FDA Ban Red Dye #3

The FDA recently removed FD&C Red No. 3 from the list of approved food additives. This was not based on any new data or interpretation of the data, but rather was a response to a petition from food safety and environmental groups. Their argument was in turn based on the Delaney Clause, a 1960 law saying that the FDA must ban any...

/ January 22, 2025

Old Doctor Yells At Clouds

I’m at that age, 67 going in 68, where it is reasonable to yell at the clouds. Which, come to think of it, may be a good title for another collection of my SBM essays. Aging does indeed suck, but it is, usually, better than the alternative. As we, and by we I mean my family and me, age we get the...

/ January 21, 2025
Trouble in Paradise

Trouble in (MAHA) paradise?

Even as President Donald Trump is inaugurated today and his pick for HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. prepares to face confirmation hearings, there is trouble in "make America healthy" paradise.

/ January 20, 2025

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya Was Nice to Someone During a Debate. That Doesn’t Erase the Consequences of His Misinformation.

This is what it looks like when doctors treat the pandemic as an intellectual parlor game.

/ January 17, 2025
A stylized illustration of a virus particle with three overlapping circular halos, each colored differently: red, green, and white. The background is a solid dark blue.

COVID Is Still Here, But Changing

My hospital just reinstituted mask mandates for all staff working with patients. They also advise patients to wear masks while in the hospital, but have not made it a requirement. I still have a stash of N95 masks so it was easy, and all too familiar, for me to comply, but I admit it created an unpleasant flash-back. All things considered, I...

/ January 15, 2025