Is there a bell curve for doctors? How hard would it be to evaluate the performance of doctors and should this information be publicly accessible?
posted by rks404 on Dec 27, 2004 - 40 comments

More fallout from the Winona trial: Dr Jules Lusman, a 'celebrity doctor' who (over)prescribed painkillers to Winona Ryder, has had his California medical license revoked. 'The Medical Board said Dr Lusman became known in celebrity circles for his willingness to make out-of-hours calls at homes and hotels and write prescriptions for opiates and hypnotic drugs, as well as syringes...' The Smoking Gun has also posted the entire Ryder probation report, which details more sad, depressing facts which surfaced during the trial, including these about celebrity basket case Courtney Love.
posted by Sonny Jim on Dec 10, 2002 - 6 comments

The Access to Essential Medicines Campaign is an initiative by Medecins Sans Frontieres that seeks to "lower the prices of existing medicines in developing countries, to bring abandoned drugs back into production, to stimulate research and development for neglected diseases that primarily affect the poor, and to overcome other barriers to access." HIV is one target disease. The Campaign's press releases, press clips and reports on HIV give a good picture of recent developments. In light of this evidence, does anyone care to step up and defend "big pharma" and the governments of the wealthy North? Have we/they "done enough"? What would "doing enough" look like, given the scope of the crisis?
posted by stonerose on Dec 1, 2002 - 5 comments

Paracelsus: the mercucial mage. The Fortean Times' David Hambling on one of the 16th's century's most colorful figures. A rabble-rousing non-conformist medical genuis who arguably was centuries ahead of his time, but also an egomaniac, drunk, alchemist and self-described "Prince of Philosophy and Medicine" and "Monarch of all the Arts"
posted by skallas on Aug 30, 2002 - 5 comments