re: Has any profession ever lost as much respect as doctors in the last 5 yrs?

Do you think it should be legal for, let's say, a group of orthopedic doctors to go in together and own an imaging center?

Would that pose the possibility of an ethical conflict when all of their patients are referred there for scans and MRI's whether needed or not? I know that insurance/medicare has to approve all of these tests but I would think that the Dr. could word the request where it was approved.

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spend more time talking about the importance of losing weight, not smoking, and limiting foods that you couldn’t make yourself (can’t even broach the subject of ‘yeah, corn isn’t the best choice for a vegetable…’ because the majority of my patients buy their food through a window and think a ‘well-colored plate’ means four shades of orange).

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It was a good policy.

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Parts of it were good policy, parts were catastrophically bad.

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I genuinely believe politards would be vaxmaxxing had Trump won in 2020 and liberals would have been the vaccine skeptics because they didn't want the "rushed trump vaccine"

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There would've been a different twist to the CARES act related inflation as well.

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It’s so hilarious to me to watch you of all people cast judgment on others. Especially law enforcement. Remember, you couldn’t stay out of jail because you kept snorting pills. That’s a YOU issue, not a police issue.

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junkie but still smarter than your average low Iq meat head LEO

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Darwinism is the only positive to come out of this explosion of self-educated health hobbyists. The more dumbasses who trust TikTok or YouTube more than their doctors, the more dead dumbasses who will no longer be wasting our oxygen.

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At least I didn't give myself heart problems because Rachel Maddow told me to.


dumb dumb

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Last time I went to my PCP I asked what I could do better and he looked like a deer in headlights. I run 30-40 miles per week, don't drink anything besides coffee and water, and mostly cook at home

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Congratulations on being someone who’s actually interested in their own health. It’s rare. And you’ve already won the game. Don’t get me wrong. You’re going to die one day. And so will my two year old. But you’re setting yourself up for success. But there’s very little to add to you (from that brief history) that would change your health in a more positive standpoint (until you have palpitations and are told to cut back the coffee, but as a fellow fiend, carry on)


I specifically pointed that one out because it’s so controversial. It’s pro-arrhythmic. But there are dozens of studies showing all kinds of weird benefits to coffee.


As far as supplements, we get into a couple problems:


1) there’s very little data to show any supplement taken not in light of some deficiency (with vitamins in particular) or problem (like saw palmetto for the older guys who have trouble peeing) has profound impact (those who are healthy who want to be ‘more healthy’). In fact, the last time I read a Cochran review on vitamin supplementation , taking them was associated with a slight increase in mortality.
2) almost no publication is done out of scientific interest. It’s nearly all money driven. And there’s almost always some bias involved to find something, so a surprising number of publications wind up just being disregarded to the discerning eye, though applying them to an individual has to invite in the bias of the physician (on top of the bias in the information they’ve been fed).
3) when it comes to supplements specifically, the regulation is far less. There’s a recent study (please question anything I said and I’ll find what I’m referring to or tell you when I’m making it up/assimilating belief rather than referring to/summarizing an article, but I’m far too lazy to cite myself on this nice vacation day as i sit and type how I approach a standard work day in my brain) on melatonin supplements and the various supposed doses vs actual doses (and one or two of the brands actually had CBD with 0 melatonin in them). The studies are also far less rigid because there’s much less on the line for those making them to get them to market. So there’s generally lower quality data and lower quality (compared to pharmaceuticals where when it says it’s 100mg, you’re a lot more likely to get 100mg than with something that’s labeled “10mg melatonin.”) actual products. I don’t tend to naysay supplements. Some do have associated harms that have relatively decent backings (Vitamin E oral and CV risk. It’s not a guarantee. But all the data I’ve come across indicates more associated harms than benefits).
So when someone asks what to start just the be “healthy,” I have very few recommendations. When someone is on one and asks if it’s ok, I very rarely am able to tell them “no,” but usually at least broach the topic of “do you feel better with it?” Because there are far too many “All natural” online supplement marketing ads that are expensive and people are buying that don’t really have, from what I’ve seen, a justification to do so.

Now, as you’ve said, it would be nice if I could sit around and read all day long and pontificate on how to be healthy, but getting 10% of the population to your level would have a tremendous impact on public health. Far more than, sadly, finding people like you and making small tweaks to improve an already well-oiled machine.

I trust the doctor that used a drill, plates and screws to fix me up. The others just ordering tests and making educated guesses, not so much.

I'd say old, doddering members of Congress tops the list


They were terrible a lot longer than 5 years ago.
---But it's gotten worse. Think about the half-dead leaders on both sides.

There ain’t much difference in the average American doctor and your street drug dealer.