This week Andy was reported to the Maryland Board of Medicine by a local cardiology group because some studies he included in his practice newsletter offended them. These were major studies, peer reviewed, but did not coincide with the dogmatic messaging they seek to spread, and thus they accused Andy of spreading dangerous misinformation. They want the Board to silence him or take away his medical license, merely for sharing medical data with which they disagree. These cardiologists, as well as many specialists, practice by using protocols that are written by self-interested specialty societies and by drug companies. Such protocols are usually buttressed by garbage observational drug company studies and do not include more robust data that gets in the way of their narrative. Many specialists, including the local cardiology group that wants to censor Andy, robotically follow the protocols and denounce any study or doctor who dares question them. But isn't science, isn't medical care, all about dialogue, divergent arguments, nuance, concern about the whole person rather than his/her organ of interest or numerical measurements? Not according to the cardiologists, and we'll see if the Medical Board agrees. But if we must simply be AI robots who obey flawed protocols and are punished for using our brain and common sense, what is healthcare becoming? As Osler said: "The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism." And as Einstein reminded us (likely thinking about the cardiologists who are so offended by facts and data that they seek to censor another doctor): "Great spirits always encounter violent from mediocre minds." Sadly, in our system, the mediocre minds run the show!

We also discuss a documentary Andy was in recently, and a link to that documentary is: https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/video-series/healthcare-decoded-6006002?=epochHG

The first half of American Medical History ends at the Flexner Report, which entirely morphed American Healthcare into a monolithic corporate entity under the complete control of the AMA. Every aspect of healthcare transformed, from education, to payment, to philosophy, to licensing, to dogma. The Medical Racial Script, long unspoken and oft ignored, became the law of the land. What are the repercussions of Flexner today? We will discuss some of the ramifications of the AMA's cooptation, and the corporate ownership of, healthcare before moving on two the second part of the course.

Dementia tells us a great deal about our healthcare system. Not even noted to be a disease at the time of Medicare's birth in 1965 it is now one of the most onerous and common diseases of the elderly. Why? And why is the incidence so much higher in the United States than the rest of the world? We have tried to medicalize dementia and memory loss and created a multi-billion dollar industry around it including useless drugs, unhelpful tests, and far too many specialist visits. But we've missed the point. Dementia can't be prevented or treated by throwing money and drugs at it. It is a disease of lifestyle, and only by improving inflammation through diet, exercise, and other lifestyle changes can we seek to prevent and mitigate it. We'll discuss all of this in our podcast.