My point in highlighting subspecialists is that I'd rather seek out the insight of a relative expert than a generalist. The term "proficiency in many things, mastery of none" applies where a generalist is concerned, especially in medicine. If you needed a pacemaker would you go to an electrophysiologist or an internist?
Healy ran for a Senate seat in '94 but lost to Mike DeWine (which should give you a portrayal of her "brilliance"). She's been on infotainment networks like CNN and MSNBC for years advancing conspiracy theories rather than using her influence to advance modern medicine. She differs from Dr. Phil only in that she has better hair and can't get a talk-show deal.
The notion that autism is a man-made disease created by practitioners to make money is as twisted as it is ridiculous and scholarly research publications (a category in which US News frankly doesn't fit) won't even dignify such assertions with a response. Asserting a causal relationship is one thing but this notion of willfully perpetuating a debilitating disease is another.
Another example of something that is widely, widely accepted in other parts of the country being a source of controversy for people in the Valley. Stories/comments like these remind me of that movie "Pleasantville," where this whole town is stuck in the '50's...not all that pleasant, though, is it?
Look at it this way: health service organizations and practitioners would make much more in billing for services if more people fell ill with the diseases that they are vaccinating people against. It is a sophomoric and stripped down slant on a complex issue but when you really break it down it is true. Would you choose to give them $20 for a vaccination or $12,000 when they admit you for inpatient care?
I’ll start by saying that I respect your POV and don’t think that it is possible to study such things in enough detail. I don’t discount Dr. Healy’s expertise in medicine, but the fact remains that she doesn’t appear to be a pediatric subspecialist. Her POV is well-known given her Senate run in Ohio and her emergence as somewhat of a media darling through her consulting work with various entertainment media outlets. One could argue that her departure from the roles you mention were self-serving to a certain extent, especially when you consider the accolades she’s received specifically for her interest in a causal relationship between autism and childhood vaccines; thus her desire to perpetuate the perceived existence of such a relationship seems…well, to use your term, like a form of self-preservation. There are big bucks in consulting with media conglomerates, way bigger than in scholarly and/or vaccine research…gotta keep earning, right?
The VSD case control study will be published in January, it is a comprehensive study that has been underway since 2005 and will likely shore up a foundation on which further research will be conducted. I’ll check that out for info instead of waiting for proclamations from Dr. Healy, Dr. Phil or other supposed “expert non-specialists” on TV.
You contend that someone who is fellowship-trained and boarded in Peds and Genetics has never read research about vaccines and autism. That's ridiculous. I understand the self-preservation slant and whether one considers it valid or invalid it is nonetheless a school of thought; the notion that this man is unfamiliar with the research in spite of his training is an insult to him as an individual and his profession as a whole.
concerned -- Dr. Wegner is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Medical Genetics and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics; you and I blog opinions on a newspaper website.
Posted on November 6 at 2:33 p.m.
Wait, is that a song posted above? Right on.
Posted on November 6 at 12:06 p.m.
My point in highlighting subspecialists is that I'd rather seek out the insight of a relative expert than a generalist. The term "proficiency in many things, mastery of none" applies where a generalist is concerned, especially in medicine. If you needed a pacemaker would you go to an electrophysiologist or an internist?
Healy ran for a Senate seat in '94 but lost to Mike DeWine (which should give you a portrayal of her "brilliance"). She's been on infotainment networks like CNN and MSNBC for years advancing conspiracy theories rather than using her influence to advance modern medicine. She differs from Dr. Phil only in that she has better hair and can't get a talk-show deal.
The notion that autism is a man-made disease created by practitioners to make money is as twisted as it is ridiculous and scholarly research publications (a category in which US News frankly doesn't fit) won't even dignify such assertions with a response. Asserting a causal relationship is one thing but this notion of willfully perpetuating a debilitating disease is another.
Posted on November 6 at 11:44 a.m.
This is what happens, Larry.
Posted on November 6 at 10:07 a.m.
Sickening. Absolutely sickening.
Posted on November 6 at 10 a.m.
Another example of something that is widely, widely accepted in other parts of the country being a source of controversy for people in the Valley. Stories/comments like these remind me of that movie "Pleasantville," where this whole town is stuck in the '50's...not all that pleasant, though, is it?
Posted on November 5 at 3:42 p.m.
Look at it this way: health service organizations and practitioners would make much more in billing for services if more people fell ill with the diseases that they are vaccinating people against. It is a sophomoric and stripped down slant on a complex issue but when you really break it down it is true. Would you choose to give them $20 for a vaccination or $12,000 when they admit you for inpatient care?
Posted on November 5 at 3:16 p.m.
Is Lionel Hutz now the prosecutor for the county?
All kidding aside this is disappointing.
Posted on November 5 at 3:03 p.m.
I’ll start by saying that I respect your POV and don’t think that it is possible to study such things in enough detail. I don’t discount Dr. Healy’s expertise in medicine, but the fact remains that she doesn’t appear to be a pediatric subspecialist. Her POV is well-known given her Senate run in Ohio and her emergence as somewhat of a media darling through her consulting work with various entertainment media outlets. One could argue that her departure from the roles you mention were self-serving to a certain extent, especially when you consider the accolades she’s received specifically for her interest in a causal relationship between autism and childhood vaccines; thus her desire to perpetuate the perceived existence of such a relationship seems…well, to use your term, like a form of self-preservation. There are big bucks in consulting with media conglomerates, way bigger than in scholarly and/or vaccine research…gotta keep earning, right?
The VSD case control study will be published in January, it is a comprehensive study that has been underway since 2005 and will likely shore up a foundation on which further research will be conducted. I’ll check that out for info instead of waiting for proclamations from Dr. Healy, Dr. Phil or other supposed “expert non-specialists” on TV.
Posted on November 5 at 2 p.m.
You contend that someone who is fellowship-trained and boarded in Peds and Genetics has never read research about vaccines and autism. That's ridiculous. I understand the self-preservation slant and whether one considers it valid or invalid it is nonetheless a school of thought; the notion that this man is unfamiliar with the research in spite of his training is an insult to him as an individual and his profession as a whole.
Posted on November 5 at 11:38 a.m.
concerned -- Dr. Wegner is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Medical Genetics and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics; you and I blog opinions on a newspaper website.
That is all.