Category Archives: Elpern, David J.

The Care of Patients

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More humanism and less science, that’s what medicine needs. But, humanism is hard work,and a lot of science is just Tinkertoy. Robertson Davies, The Cunning Man David J. Elpern, MD Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2002;47:317-8. Author’s note (July 2015): I wrote this report based on an office study I did in 2000. Originally, it had a number of tables, but the editors truncated the paper, thus confirming the saying, “A camel is a horse designed by a committee.” Still, I often reminisce on the research’s findings: that almost all of our patients need our specialized knowledge and our comfort and caring, while only some require our technical … Continue reading →

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Academy-PhRMA Liason

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This flier came attached to the July issue of The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.  Topicort Spray is hardly a unique product and it will run a patient ~ $600 for what appears to be a 60 ml bottle.  The business of PhRMA is business.  The business of a professional society should be knowledge and service. Sir Thomas Browne famously wrote:  No one should enter the Temple of Science with the soul of a money changer. The leaders of our professional societies should follow that precept. Also see AMA-Dermatology July 2015 cover. July 29, 2015:  Late Breaking! The Topicort rhino was seen today on two new publications. 1. … Continue reading →

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Meet Mr. Marsh

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To talk of disease is an Arabian nights experience. Osler David Elpern’s Book Review with Excerpts of: Do Not Harm by Henry Marsh You are invited to spend some time with Mr. Marsh, an eloquent neurosurgeon who escorts us into his operating theatre, his parent’s home as his mother lies dying, interminable maddening administrative meetings in his NHS hospital and to accompany him to Ukraine where he has volunteered as a surgeon for over 20 years. You’ll share his triumphs and suffer the sadness and humiliation of his mistakes and failures. His war stories are captivating; as are his anecdotes about his family, his education and his jousting with the … Continue reading →

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My Narrow Road Through Cyber-Medicine

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by David J. Elpern This essay is the basis of a talk delivered at the Jag Bhawan, M.D. Research Symposium held on July 6, 2015 at the Boston University School of Medicine. Abstract: Herein, I chronicle  a 25-year medical odyssey through the universe of personal and professional cyberspace. These explorations continue, but the author does not know the next ports-of-call;  He can only “hope the voyage is a long one,/full of adventure, full of discovery.” Keywords: cybermedicine, blogs, pathography, Cell 2 Soul, MedFlix, Pathography Blog, VGRD Word File:  My-Narrow-Road-Final PDF: The Narrow Road Through Cyber Medicine 7.15 PowerPoint: The Narrow Road – Jag Talk (this may take ~ 20 seconds … Continue reading →

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A Fish Named Heather: Another casualty in the drug wars

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We have had a crazy drug policy in the U.S. since 1914, and we dictate it to most of the world. The War on Drugs is masterfully covered in Johann Hari’s important new book, “Chasing the Scream.” The small players in the drug wars are easily entrapped. Witness the sad case of Heather Alfonso, a Connecticut nurse practitioner who has been indicted for getting kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, the maker of the powerful pain medication, Subsys. Ms. Alfonso is being pilloried while thousands of physicians give worthless CME lectures on medications every day in the U.S. She was a dupe to her handler (a PhARMA product manager) in the company’s … Continue reading →

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Akamai Skin Works

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Announcement: Coming Soon to Havi Welcome to The Akamai Skin Works (ASW). Our new suite, in the penthouse of the Third Millennium Medical Building, houses the vanguard of 21st Century dermatologic care. It is a model endorsed by the Global Academy of Skin Physicians and Minimally-Effective Physician Extenders (GASP-MEPE). We are at the cutting edge of efficient, rapid and profit-driven dermatology and minimally-effective, but maximally lucrative, medical care. Akamai’s founder, Dr. Liam Ganifski, and his team of associate dermatologists, physician extenders, medical assistants, front desk greeters, billing specialists, scribes, cosmetic consultants, estheticians and lawyers are here to address your every cutaneous need. Just bring a valid insurance card, credit card … Continue reading →

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My Narrow Road through Deep Cyber-space

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This road – no one goes down it – autumn evenings. Basho  PDF for easier reading: The Narrow Road Through Cyber-Medicine Abstract: This essay describes a 25-year medical odyssey through the universe of cyberspace. It chronicles the author’s adventures with teledermatology, the medical humanities and the online medical literature. The explorations continue but the author does not know the next ports-of-call. He can only “hope the voyage is a long one,/full of adventure, full of discovery.”1Keywords: cybermedicine, blogs, pathography Forty years ago, when I decided to make dermatology my life’s work, the specialty was a far cry from what it has become. It was not then what I call and … Continue reading →

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Hot Spots 2.0 Syllabus

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This is the syllabus for the 2015 Hot Spots 2.0 program.  Links to the talks are included for those presentations that the authors wish to share. Hot Spots West Vancouver Introductory Remarks It is fitting to begin with Osler, a Canadian, who wrote: “No class of men needs friction so much as physicians; no class gets less. The daily round of a busy practitioner tends to develop an egoism of a most intense kind, to which there is not antidote. The few setbacks are forgotten, the mistakes are often buried, and then years of successful work tend to make a man touchy, dogmatic, intolerant of correction, and abominably self- centered. … Continue reading →

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Plastic Surgery – Gangnam Style

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“We want to have surgeries while we are young so we can have our new faces for a long time,” About Face by Patricia Marx New Yorker, March 23, 2015 This is a fascinating essay about Plastic Surgery in South Korea, the current world capitol of plastic surgery.  Full Article. Excerpts: If you want to feel bad about your looks, spend some time in Seoul. An eerily high number of women there—and men, too—look like anime princesses. South Koreans do not merely brood about their physiognomy. They put their money where their mouths—and eyes and noses—used to be. It has been estimated that between one-fifth and one-third of women in … Continue reading →

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