SCV Physician Report

Medicare “Disadvantage”  It’s Medicare Open Enrollment time again, and I provide my annual warning of the major pitfalls of Medicare HMO “advantage” plans. When our family first came to California … Continue Reading →

If you build it, they will come The clouds are wispy, and the breeze drifts toward the sunset. The dusky colors of the coming evening signify the end of the … Continue Reading →

Lying displaces trust What if your doctor lied to you? “I can fix your spinal cord so you can walk again,” or “This drug will keep you from getting wrinkles … Continue Reading →

A terminal disease intercepted by modern medicine I have been a physician for over forty years with an office practice and providing geriatric house calls in our community. Now, I … Continue Reading →

A “Senior-friendly” 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles The Paris Olympics have ended, and watching two weeks of events on television was, as usual, captivating. As most of you know, this … Continue Reading →

Hope for those who give up their car keys When you are older, you are a threat to other drivers. Reflexes are dampened, muscle responses are sluggish, cataracts obscure vision, … Continue Reading →

Keeping us in our lane As we get older, one fear is not passing the California driver’s test at the DMV.  Our quality of life depends on hopping into our … Continue Reading →

Passing the torch One difficult responsibility as a physician is to recognize physical frailties especially those indicating patients are incapable of driving.  Too often in my medical practice, most resistance … Continue Reading →

Teammanship Nothing could have prepared me better for my career and life than playing team sports growing up.  It’s hard to imagine someone now in their 70s pitching a fastball … Continue Reading →

The Meaning of D-Day Robin and I share a family bond. Both our fathers were wounded WWII veterans. Her father was on the water, taken to a British hospital unconscious … Continue Reading →

A Jury of Lie Detectors A trial by a jury of your peers does not mean they will reach the correct conclusion of innocence or guilt. When serving on a … Continue Reading →

Targeting Targeted Cancer Therapy For decades, many patients, their children, and grandkids have strived to answer, “What is cancer? As a doctor and scientist, over the past 16 months, I … Continue Reading →

Emancipation from the Medical-Industrial Complex My grandfather was forced to immigrate from Japan to Canada in 1910. As I learned, he owned many saki factories in Japan, which were nationalized … Continue Reading →

On Being a Doctor and an Advocate I opened my internal medicine practice almost four decades ago to serve a growing urban community. I gravitated toward the underserved geriatric population … Continue Reading →

Disadvantage Plans Continue to Inundate Us  With the primary election over in California, I was hopeful junk mail would lessen. However, the mailbox is still clogged with advertisements targeting older … Continue Reading →

My parents grew up on farms: my mother in British Columbia and my father in Pennsylvania. Both told me how they walked 5 miles in the snow to school. We … Continue Reading →

Telemedicine Can’t Cross State Lines Forty years ago when I first started in medicine, there were no CT scans or MRIs. In the next forty years, I foresee cancer as … Continue Reading →

Nursing Homes:  Diminishing the dignity of older adults Call it what you want: Nursing home, skilled nursing facility, rehab center, convalescent home, or post-acute care. They are all the same … Continue Reading →

As a medical doctor, I have peeked into the lives of many patients who have unique experiences. When I started practice 40 years ago, some of my patients had parents … Continue Reading →

Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury and I attended Los Angeles High School separated by 15 years. He once spoke there and quelled the rumor he failed English: “I got a … Continue Reading →

The slowing of technology by the medical-industrial complex How I practice medicine has changed for the better because of technology.  In the future I foresee no pandemics, cancer becoming a … Continue Reading →

We worry about politicians who trip over sandbags, walk gingerly down rain-soaked stage ramps, or have “episodes” during press conferences or Congressional meetings. Typically, these frailties are attributed to “old … Continue Reading →

Parades are for memories Raising children is not an easy task. But as parents, we try to provide occasional life experiences they will preserve as memories for decades to come. … Continue Reading →