By: Dr. Frank MacMillan – January, 2015 I’d like to be funny and say that my end of the year article is typically on the year’s major breakthrough in health and wellness, but I have never done a year-end health column before, so here are my thoughts on a major breakthrough that I believe is […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan – December, 2014 While I consider myself well read and I work hard to remain connected to and aware of changes happening in medicine, I have only recently become knowledgeable about a new program being rolled out by CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) on January 1, 2015 that may […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan, MD Back in April, I wrote about anticipated new treatments for Hepatitis C viral infection. The first all-oral treatment was FDA approved on October 10, with additional new medications expected before this year’s end. These new medications not only treat, but they actually cure Hepatitis C in almost everyone who takes them […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan – October, 2014 Over the past several months, I have tried to bring to the Valley Patriot readers a mix of what’s new in medicine, and what is happening in the world of healthcare from the perspectives of patient access, business and politics. Since this edition of the Valley Patriot is […]
By: Dr. Fran MacMillan – Sept. 2014 Did you know that If you live in Massachusetts, and have an HMO health plan, your plan has been getting a whole lot more restrictive regarding your ability to get care outside of the network of hospitals and physicians that are determined by your primary care doctor’s network […]
By. Dr. Frank MacMillan – August, 2014 Health care consolidation is a bad deal for Massachusetts’s consumers. Over the past two decades, our hospitals, physicians, and health plans have been concentrating market power to a degree that is unprecedented, and this trend has been stimulated and accelerated by government intervention. This has led to monopoly […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan – July, 2014 Without my even asking, people will say to me that they don’t drink coffee for health reasons. I have always found this perplexing, since I typically drink 2-3 cups in the morning, almost every morning since I was in high school, and never considered it to be a […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan – June, 2014 A decorated General resigns, a President is besieged, and a certain Arizona Senator is fit to be tied. Newspapers say the VA is in scandal, people die waiting for care. What happened? The Department of Veterans Affairs is an agency of the federal government that does a lot […]
By: Dr. Frank Macmillan – May, 2014 It seems as though everyone I know is on or has been on medication for acid reflux symptoms. Over-the-counter antacids, histamine H2 blockers, and acid-pump (proton-pump) inhibitors are among the most widely used medicines in the history of modern medicine. Why is everybody seemingly on this stuff? First, […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan “Another one bites the dust” was a catchy tune in the 80’s popularized by the British band Queen, whose band leader Freddie Mercury ultimately succumbed to complications of AIDS, caused by the HIV virus. Basic research, clinical research and drug development in the mid 1990s turned an infectious disease from a […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan – March 2014 Forget for a minute, the ongoing debate over national health care, and the endless shouting that never seems to persuade anyone to think differently than they already do. There are much more important topics that could affect your health and your enjoyment of living than the things the […]