Why I am So Over Dr. Oz

The newest media Doc on the block is Dr. Mehmet Oz. When he was first seen on Oprah, he seemed engaging and answered some interesting questions in a real and professional way. The audience loved his blue scrubs and boyish clean cut open style.

That was then.

Let's face it...the media spotlight seems to corrupt even the best physicians. Dr. Oz now has his own show and website and production company. That is a pretty big infrastructure to maintain and we know that the public is fickle. So what does he do?

His "Real-Age" website got 27 million people to sign up and take a health quiz. That information was sold to pharmaceutical companies who used the direct emails for marketing. Real-Age also sends the participants a series of emails about conditions they may (or may not) have and drugs they can use to treat it, based on their answers to the on-line health quiz, sponsored by drug companies of course.

He does pieces on "men's health" and tells men to do male breast checks once a month. No research I have read would support this advice. On his website he says "By the time women reach their 20th birthday, they are at risk for developing osteoporosis". Really? An upcoming show asks "Can you climax from intercourse?" Gee, is this a health question that needs an answer by an expert?

With his busy production schedule, book tour and daily talk show on Sirius XM radio, can Dr. Oz be spending much time as the director of the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital? Do you think I could get an appointment with him?

His website shows how I can be on the show. Maybe that is how patients get their questions answered. I know I could get tickets for the show and find out if I am"Getting old too fast" (Yes!) or "Do your parents need to lose weight". (No!)

His website deals with topics like "What his erection is telling you" and "Dangerous health secrets men keep". Could what his erection is telling you be a dangerous health secret?

Enough Dr. Oz. Please stop embarrassing our profession. See a patient with atrial fibrillation and do something important with your skills.

Haiti Disaster

I am so frustrated about the disaster in Haiti and have been actively engaged in relief efforts for the past 60 hours. I have been asked to lead the efforts for helping Haiti for my employer, a large hospital provider of health care in Northern California. I am proud to say that within the first 72 hours, Sutter Health has committed $1 million to Doctors with-out Borders and $250K to MedShare to get needed medical supplies to Haiti. Both organizations are on the ground providing this help right now and we chose them as partners because they can get the job done.

Getting needed professional help to Haiti is another story. The outpouring of volunteers wanting to help is huge. Our employees and doctors, nurses, engineers and computer experts are ready and willing to volunteer. But at this time the destroyed infrastructure makes sending this needed help impossible.

I know from my experience on the ground at Katrina that volunteers cannot just "show up". Volunteers need food, housing, transportation, meaningful deployment to areas of need. It stresses an already fragile system to have well-meaning people just milling about. What was lacking at Katrina is even more absent in Haiti...a well coordinated relief effort.

The situation in Haiti is much more dire than other disasters because Port au Prince was the capital and there is no functioning government. The port is closed and the airport is now under U.S. military guidance. That is a good start but bringing volunteers in by plane is impossible. They have no fuel for planes on the ground and no control tower.

I will spend the weekend continuing to investigate partnerships in Haiti. I have been in contact with a number of Haitian physicians and hospitals that are overflowing with patients. They need the help that we can provide, especially surgical teams. The logistics are a challenge.

Medical Blog Awards

Head on over to Medgadget to see the nominees and categories for Best Medical Blog Awards. I am happy to report that EverythingHealth has been nominated. I don't know how the winner is picked but if you scroll down on the site you can "nominate here" and maybe it is done by the most comments posted. The competition is stiff but it would be cool to win. All the of various nominees are great and it is a good way to find other blogs.

Ostraceous Psoriasis

The answer to yesterdays Medical Challenge is #3: Ostraceous psoriasis. That was a stumper, but some of you got it. Of course, the dermatologist knew!

Psoriasis can present with many different appearances. It is a common, recurrent immune mediated disease of the skin and joints. It is found worldwide and has a strong genetic component. The scaling papules and plaques are circular with grey or silvery-white appearance. They usually appear on the scalp, elbows, knees,lumbosacral area and in body folds. The term Ostraceous psoriasis refers to the thickened plaques that have concave centers similar in shape to oyster shells.