Bird Flu: Emergence, Dangers, and Preventive Measures

Bird Flu: Emergence, Dangers, and Preventive Measures

In the United States in January 2025 alone, approximately 20 million commercially-raised birds, mostly egg-laying hens, were affected by the highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1). These numbers are staggering yet barely scratch the surface of a potentially larger...
Inhospitable Hospital Food 

Inhospitable Hospital Food 

What do hospitals have to say for themselves about serving meals that appear to be designed to inspire repeat business? “Hospital food needs a revolution.” I was surprised to learn that most inpatient meals served in hospitals are “not required to meet national...
Gaming the System: Cardiologists, Heart Stents, and Upcoding 

Gaming the System: Cardiologists, Heart Stents, and Upcoding 

Cardiologists can criminally game the system by telling patients they have much more serious, unstable diseases than they really have—fraud that results in unnecessary procedures, unnecessary costs, and unnecessary patient harm. “The history of medicine abounds with...
Why Use Stents When They Don’t Work? 

Why Use Stents When They Don’t Work? 

Again and again, studies have shown that doctors tend to make clinical decisions for patients based on how much they themselves will get paid. In 2007, we learned from the COURAGE trial that angioplasty and stents—percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)—don’t reduce...
Do Heart Stents Benefit Angina Chest Pain? 

Do Heart Stents Benefit Angina Chest Pain? 

Sham surgery trials prove that procedures like non-emergency stents offer no benefit for angina pain—only risk to millions of patients. Angioplasty and stents—percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)—for stable, non-emergency coronary artery disease are among “the...
The Risks vs. Benefits of Angioplasty and Heart Stents 

The Risks vs. Benefits of Angioplasty and Heart Stents 

What do physicians and stent companies have to say for themselves, given that they promote expensive, risky procedures with no benefit? “Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)”—angioplasty and stent placement—“continues to be frequently performed for patients with...