Opinion
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Sealing the envelope
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
How we practice medicine is focused on what we do for the patient, but lost in the shuffle sometimes is...
Opinion
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The problem with samples
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
In many cases, the time you save handing out samples isn’t worth the time you have to spend on them down the line.
Opinion
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Death from despair
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
In a world where major advances have been made in many areas of medicine, including mental health, suicide shows no sign of abating.
Opinion
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Is common courtesy no longer contagious?
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
It is distressing that the amount of rudeness is increasing to the point where we need to remind grown-ups about its consequences.
Opinion
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The ripple effect
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
Our care may set off a chain reaction we can’t see.
Opinion
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The waiting room: Then and now
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
Placing limitations on the numbers of family members in the waiting room makes the difficult environment of being there easier for all to deal...
Opinion
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Hanging on to the memories
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
In a world where we can often keep people physically up and around, our ability to do the same with their minds and souls is still desperately in...
Opinion
![](https://qa00.mdedge.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
It’s time to retire the president question
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
A simple, time-honored, cognitive assessment question has become so polarizing that it is clinically worthless.
Opinion
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A ‘scary’ side effect
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
Once something is in a chart, whether it is accurate or not, it’s impossible to get it out.
Opinion
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Nota bene: Don’t change a note
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
A chart is a legal document; once a note has been signed off on, it cannot be changed.
Opinion
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Is board recertification worth it?
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
If I’ve already passed the neurology boards three times, hopefully that means I know what I’m doing.
Opinion
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The fax that got under my skin
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
Pushing cash-pay procedures that are outside my specialty is flat-out wrong.
Opinion
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Reminders of our mortality can come when physicians least expect it
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
Sometimes life will throw us a surprise that makes us remember how important every minute really is.
Opinion
![](https://qa00.mdedge.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
Mental health illness needs appropriate care
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
The ER, and the inpatient setting, are often the worst possible places to be managing functional disorders.
Opinion
![](https://qa00.mdedge.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
How much is enough?
- Author:
- Allan M. Block, MD
The real question should be ‘How much money do I need?’ Rather than ‘How much should I be making?’