Dan Frith

Maybe you, your spouse or your children have suffered through a bout of the flu this season. It is not a lot of fun! The aches, chills, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. But for all of the terrible symptoms of this dreaded illness…it is rarely fatal to otherwise healthy Americans. However,…

Four recent deaths at Our Island Home nursing home in Nantucket, Massachusetts are being blamed on a respiratory virus typically found at day care centers. The patients ranged in age from 71 to 96 and all died over the span of one week. Officials at the nursing home say the…

It never ceases to amaze me! The FDA just does a lousy job protecting Americans from the pharmaceutical industry…also known as “Big Pharma.”The FDA has proposed a rule to get around a law passed by Congress that helps hold negligent drug companies accountable for injuries to consumers caused by prescription…

Yes, we are all vain…we all want to look young and vigorous! Medical professionals perform all kinds of procedures and surgeries to make us look younger…including face lifts, tummy tucks, body contouring, liposuction, collagen, and on and on.Botox injections are popular as well. These injections are marketed as a simple,…

The Roanoke Times ran an excellent editorial on Sunday, February 10. The editorial entitled, “Pull the Plug on TV Drug Ads,” was a rational and detailed analysis as to why the American Pharmaceutical Industry should not be allowed to market their drugs on television without strict oversight. The editorial focused…

We have all heard about that wonderful drug, Vioxx, a miracle drug which effectively controlled pain allowing for a normal and full life. However, we soon learned that the drug also caused heart attacks and strokes….information kept from the consuming public.The latest news is that Merck & Co., the drug’s…

The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has just released a list of over 4,000 U.S. nursing homes which are providing substandard care as it relates to pressure sores/decubitus ulcers and the over-use of physical restraints.I live in Virginia and many of our nursing homes are on the…

We are using today’s blog to announce an excellent conference, open to all, on medical care issues and the elderly. The conference will be held in Charlottesville, Virginia on February 26 and 27. The official announcement follows: First Annual Conference on Geriatric CareJointly Sponsored by the University of Virginia, VCU…