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Medinnovation - Richard Reece a pathologist, editor and author

  I notice I have not posted a blog since June of 20\17.   I’ve been busy writing a book and doing research on my new book “A Physician’s Notes  on Health Reform.” I plan to market it on Amazon. At the moment,  the health reform world has gone silent.  The political parties are in gridloack.  Other issues -  the government shutting down, sexual harassment,and tax reform - have dominated the headlines.  Last week, however,  the CEOs of Amazon,  Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan made a big splash,    They announced they were forming a news company,  as yet unnamed, to bring down costs and increase costs and to kill the health cadre tapeworms.   They were short of details, but indicated technologies, led \by Amazon, would play a big role, at least for the 1.2 million employees of the 3 companies.  Kevin Pho, MD,  has made a smaller splash by announcing he has formed at Physician Speaking Group to help physician...
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Music Is Medicine

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  Music Is Medicine No, the title is not a cliche.  It's the name of a fabulous  organization founded by the daughters  of one of my colleagues here at Johns Hopkins.  Leora and Ariella are musicians themselves, and they firmly believe that music can truly help in the healing process.  Founded when the girls were still teenagers, Music is Medicine is now an organization with national reach.  Quite a feat for two sisters from Baltimore. Last year, I  wrote about a visit  one of my patients had from Drew Seeley, her favorite singer.  He wrote her a  song , and I'll never forget the look on her face when he showed up in her hospital room to sing it for her. Yesterday, lightning struck twice, when my patient, Bo, received a visit from  Savannah Outen , who flew to Baltimore to serenade him with a song she wrote just for him.  Bo is a musician himself.  In fact, I've seen him play at a fundraiser to help raise money t...
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Dr. Wes - Standing up for the practicing physician

  The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that certifies "internists and (medical) subspecialists who demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for excellent patient care."   According to the IRS , "In general, no organization may qualify for section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying). A 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status." In April of 2015, Kurt Eichenwald  wrote an opinion piece  in  Newsweek  that exposed the ABIM's tax-reporting discrepencies concerning its lobbying activities: Start with ABIM's Form 990. This is the document a nonprofit organization has to file with the Internal Revenue Service to disclose its activities and prove it deserves tax-free status. In Part IV, which appears on Page 3 of the document, the governmen...
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