Dr. Sanjay Gupta caught exaggerating his surgical exploits

July 9, 2015- CNN’s fame-seeking Dr. Gupta has been caught exaggerating his “life-saving” surgical exploits. Like fellow TV-doctors, such as Dr. Oz and Dr. Snyderman, this TV doctor gave up medical ethics long ago in order to be sensational and famous. Read more »

Is cath lab fluoroscopy radiation exposure dangerous?

Interviewed by Steven E. Greer, MD

With former President George W. Bush receiving a coronary stent and cardiac chest CT-scan, the topic of cath lab radiation, and whether it is dangerous, has been discussed within small circles, but not not widely in the mainstream press. Coincidentally, Emory cardiologist Reza Fazel published the first analysis of cath lab fluoroscopy time distributions from a  database of more than 1,000 hospitals. We interviewed Dr. Fazel to learn the factors associated with unnecessarily long fluoroscopy times, and the associated dangers.

Comparing radiation leaks from major nuclear events

Otis Brawley, M.D, Keynote speech at the 2012 AHCJ meeting

Otis Brawley, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for The American Cancer Society received rave reviews from the journalist who attended the 2012 AHCJ meeting. He was critical of the wasteful spending in oncology, among other problems.

 

 

Reza Fazel, MD: Radiation exposure from medical imaging studies

Produced and interviewed by Steven Greer, MD

Dr. Reza Fazel of Emory discusses his NEJM paper that determined the level of radiation exposure to patients undergoing routine medical imaging studies. They assessed nearly a million patients from a private insurance database and determined that millions of Americans receive significant and unsafe levels of ionizing radiation from tests such as nuclear stress tests and CT scans.

Courtney Coursey, MD: The utility of pre-op CT scans in rule out appy

Produced and interviewed by Steven Greer, MD

The HCC has reported in a series of stories about the hazards of radiation exposure from medical imaging and cardiology tests. Recently, portable ultrasound technology was featured on The HCC as a non-radiation alternative.

A February original paper in the journal “Radiology” looked retrospectively at the preoperative use of abdominal CT scans to diagnose appendicitis, or to correctly diagnose other pain-inducing ailments and prevent unnecessary appendectomies. Are pre-op CT scans to “rule out appy” useless, harmful, and done for legal reasons, or do certain groups benefit?

We interviewed the lead author, Courtney Coursey, now at Emory.