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Hed-pov Perspectives from Doctors, Patients, Policymakers
interview
Douglas Farrago

Q: Why are drug companies among Placebo Journal’s favorite targets for satire?

A: I don’t dislike drug companies. We need their products, and they need to make a profit. But how can you resist making fun of their creating the impression that your problems will go away if you take a pill?

“A patient’s mother told me, ‘You know, I did notice she had more trouble breathing after her dad punched a hole in the wall.’”
Letter-th

Homeless Health Care

Peter L. Slavin and David F. Torchiana explain how physicians have taken to the streets to help some of the most vulnerable among us.

Second Opinion

Proto readers assess drug shortages' ripple effect, explain how afterbirth is not an afterthought and describe treating trauma.

letter channel

Palliative Care: Treating the Whole Patient

Peter L. Slavin and David F. Torchiana explain how focusing on more than just curing a disease can greatly improve a person's quality of life.

Burke

When Social Ills Become Medical

To treat her young patients, Nadine Burke uses research on how adverse childhood experiences affect health.

Second Opinion

Proto readers tout metabolomics, advocate residency hour restrictions and describe an intriguing personal connection to a past story.

ambulance

A New Era in Medical Education

With tighter resident-hour limits starting in July, Peter L. Slavin and David F. Torchiana discuss the challenges ahead to train physicians in the confines of a 16-hour workday.

milestone

Lacking a standardized test to assess a baby’s health at birth, anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar created a simple rubric that persists more than a half century later.

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second opinion

“When I opened my spring issue of Proto, I was startled to see an X-ray of a baby with open safety pins in his esophagus. As I turned the page of the article I got a second shock. There was a photo of some of the 30 objects taken from an infant named Joseph B. I knew this was my father, Joseph Burke.”