More rules are needed to curb drug firms' attempts to influence physicians - Washington Post

Nearly a decade ago when I was newly settled into private practice in Memphis, a drug representative for a new and powerful antibiotic stood in my office and asked whether I would like to attend a consultants' meeting about the drug in Washington. Read More

Mandatory flu shots for hospital staff a no-brainer - Commercial Appeal

Published: October 18, 2010 
A nurse who tracks hospital infections displayed her name tag with a green dot. "It means I have had my flu shot this year."

We were at a meeting strategizing on how to reduce hospital infections through initiatives such as hand-washing and isolating certain infected patients. She talked about how flu shots for health care workers at Saint Francis Hospital had become mandatory this year.Read More

Compassion can move us to break cycle of violence - Commercial Appeal

Published: October 11, 2010

I was standing at the bedside of a patient who was having shaking chills with a temperature of 103. Sweat covered his balding scalp like dew, then coalesced and rolled down his neck like raindrops. Just 20 minutes earlier, a specialist had visited him and talked with him about his dire prognosis of metastatic cancer. No family was in the room. Read More

Honoring a Surgeon

Like many people, I sometimes find myself in buildings or grand auditoriums that are named for individuals whom I know little about. But that was not the case last Thursday when I attended the inauguration of the Dr. H. Edward Garrett Sr. Auditorium at Baptist Memorial Hospital- Memphis.
Fifteen years ago, as a young infectious disease doctor, I cared for Dr. Garrett before he died of hepatitis, an illness he almost certainly acquired while performing surgery. His wife was our real estate agent and sold us our first house. His son, Dr. Edward Garrett Jr., is my colleague, directing the only heart and heart-lung transplant program in the city. The program celebrates its 25th anniversary next month.
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Auditorium celebrates surgeon's life's work - Commercial Appeal

Published: September 20, 2010 

Like many people, I sometimes find myself in buildings or grand auditoriums that are named for individuals whom I know little about. But that was not the case last Thursday when I attended the inauguration of the Dr. H. Edward Garrett Sr. Auditorium at Baptist Memorial Hospital- Memphis. Read More

Viewpoint: Good doctor-patient relationship reduces lawsuits - Commercial Appreal

Published: September 06, 2010

My medical partner, a soft-spoken and caring man with more than a decade of clinical experience, has encountered patients who have threatened to sue him.

So when I told him I'd received a letter from a patient's widow who intended to sue me, he suggested I reply with a letter. Read More

Viewpoint: Threat of malpractice lawsuits means medicine is a balancing act - Commerical Appeal

Published: September 05, 2010 

Some months ago at my office, my receptionist handed me a registered letter. The name on the envelope seemed familiar.
"Dear Sir," I read. "Please be advised that this letter serves as official notice that I am considering a potential claim against you in a medical malpractice claim in regard to my husband..." Read More