VA Makes It Easier for Veterans to Get Continuous Glucose Monitors
The VA’s new prescribing guidance for continuous glucose monitors significantly expands the number of veterans with diabetes who are eligible for the devices.
Only One Rule in Medical Ethics Need Concern You
“Only one rule in medical ethics need concern you – that action on your part which best conserves the interests of your patient.” — Martin H. Fischer (1897-1962)
My mother, who I give complete credit for my abilities to manipulate the English language to craft these editorials, recently sent me an article by Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters, Aug. 14, 2020) entitled, “U.S. to make coronavirus strain for possible human challenge trials.” Mom, who is not one to mince words, included the email comment, “OMG! Crazy … ” I believe my mother’s remark was able to convey the meaning behind this month’s quote by Dr. Martin H. Fischer, but she managed to do so with just 12 characters. Although my mother is not a healthcare professional, she understands a foundational medical ethics concept of which I, Dr. Fischer, and all healthcare providers are familiar with—primum non nocere.
Bad things are about to happen
“It feels like writing ‘Bad things are about to happen’ on a napkin and then setting the napkin on fire.” ~Colin Carlson
This month’s quote comes from Dr. Colin Carlson, a research professor specializing in infectious disease from Georgetown University who commented to reporter Ed Yong in The Atlantic magazine article entitled “The pandemic experts are not OK—many American public-health specialists are at risk of burning out as the coronavirus surges back” July 7, 2020. This comment struck me, because it sums up the last several months of watching SARS-CoV-2, dubbed COVID-19) spread out-of-control around most of this country. It has been heart-wrenching to watch exhausted healthcare workers, battling on the front lines of this pandemic, pleading with Americans to take this viral epidemic seriously.
VA Touts Lower CLC COVID-19 Rates vs. Community Nursing Homes
WASHINGTON—While attention has been focused on the challenges VA faced during the first wave of the pandemic, the department has logged two notable successes compared to its civilian counterparts: Low infection rates in its community living centers (CLCs) and low...Many COVID-19 Crisis ‘Helpers” Wear Military Uniforms, VA Badges
With both a movie and a documentary in recent years about television personality Fred Rogers and his neighborhood, nearly everyone knows the advice he was given by his mother. “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”