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