Hypocrisy of Healthcare reform

The altruistic rhetoric of health care reform is alluring. However, I still cannot understand some of the glaring hypocrisies. If the goal is to reduce the healthcare burden, then why wouldnt tort reform, which has been proven to reduce costs on the system, be aggressively included in this bill? The absence of a bottom line item such as this is a direct reflection of politics. How is anyone to believe motives , positioned as altruistic, to help patients and doctors, when Obama and staff are clearly influenced to not include this issue in the bill. Credibility is lost. You cannot have it both ways. One cannot claim to be motivated by the greater good once you demonstrate politics by excluding tort reform.
Even more distressing is the notable absence of an aggressive approach to help medical students with their debt burden upon graduation. Too little action with no significant answers for our young and promising future of doctors. How can we expect to attract the talent we need , have them graduate from the best medical schools (that happen to be the most expensive) and then not help them get rid of the debt. If you were a medical student graduating today with over 200k of debt how could you possibly budget to reduce that debt when all future income expectations are in flux . Politicians still refuse to fix the Medicare cost decrease. So, on the one hand, you reduce the payment expectations for these doctors but do not help them with their costs of becoming docs. Medical students are incentivized to attend "cheaper" medical schools at bargains rather than the best schools at premiums. Obama should subsidize 75 % of the cost of a medical school education if he is insistent on lowering the cost of health care.
Two glaring issues whose absence is remarkable: the absence of tort reform and medical school costs subsidization stain the motives and the rhetoric to reflect the real driver behind health care reform.

Skinstore.com acquired by Drugstore.com

I am excited about the recent acquisition of the company I started in my house many years ago. Skinstore.com has grown to become a house hold word. It's enduring nature is rewarding.
In 1996, when I first named and started the company, I believed in the need for people to find reputable skin care products and advice on the Internet. I remember writing the business plan and the content for the first pages of the first Skinstore.com website. I knew I was on to something special. I was particularly excited about creating the "education center". In 1997, I created the "education center" on the site. There were not many places for people to learn about skin care issues and then buy their skin care products that addressed those issues. This remains important today. Skinstore.com has helped over a million visitors in the last fourteen years.

Doctors can create a successful business by understanding the needs of their patients. My patients wanted doctor recommended skin care products without having to visit the office every time they wanted a new product. That was the value proposition.

I am back

Sorry for the absence. I was busy wrapping up the sale of PassportMD. I am eager to share my experience of being a practicing physician and a medical entrepreneur. It is not easy and it is not for the faint of heart. I will use this blog to share my thoughts, experience and advice for doctors that are interested in becoming entrepreneurs too.