When the Middle Class Goes to Sleep

Anyone that is a reader of my blog knows that my subject matter goes to any subject and from several   points of view. I am mildly political, speak to dental excellence and any subject that catches my interest that just doesn't seem right. In the biggest picture, I speak in terms of doing the right thing for the right reason.

CNN had a story this afternoon about the National Football League voluntarily giving up its not-for profit tax status because it gives people the appearance of wealthy companies taking advantage of the rest of us. The article states:


The league saved only about $10 million a year from the tax break, according to the Citizens for Tax Justice. That's a rounding error for an enterprise the size of the NFL.

Can you imagine billionaire sports team owners thinking that 10 million dollars is a petty amount of money? What does this mean for the rest of us middle class folks? It means that  when the big boys don't pay their fair share, you and I must make up the shortfall by paying higher taxes.

Remember what billionaire Leona Helmsley said before her trial for tax evasion:
"Only the little people pay taxes." (Then she went to prison.)

When you and I , the middle class, stops paying attention, lots of things happen to us and the country that does not meet the standard of "Do the Right Thing."

Doing The Right Thing is Never Easy...and it Comes with Risks

I love people that have the courage, integrity or ethics to Do The Right Thing.

Dr. Irwin Shatz, just four years out of medical school in 1972 criticized the the authors of a Federal study to see what happened when syphilis was left untreated for a long period of time even though we knew how to treat/cure the disease.

The study, known as the Tuskegee Study, followed uneducated black men in Tuskegee, Ala. who were infected with syphilis.

Dr. Shatz said:

"I am utterly astounded  by the fact that physicians allow patients with potentially fatal disease to remain untreated when effective therapy is available. I assume you feel that the information which is extracted from observation of this untreated group is worth their sacrifice. If this is the case, then I suggest the United States Public Health Service and those physicians  associated with it in this study need to re-evaluate their moral judgements in this regard."

The Government said nothing until a health Service Interviewer revealed the study to the Washington Star and later the Wall Street Journal.

We need more people like Dr. Shatz who passed away on April 1.

If you would like to read Dr. Shatz's obituary in today's New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/health/irwin-schatz-83-rare-critic-of-tuskegee-study-is-dead.html?ref=obituaries&_r=0

People Will Pay for What They Want 2

I just caught this on CNN.com

Nick Woodman started GoPro cameras and his compensation for one year including the GoPro Stock package was???????

$284.5 MILLION

Nick Woodman, the surfer turned billionaire, is about to become the highest paid executive in America. 

The 39-year-old GoPro (GPRO) CEO was awarded a package of restricted stock units that at the end of 2014 was valued at an eye-popping $284.5 million. 

That makes Woodman the No. 1 American executive in the Bloomberg Pay Index, a daily ranking of executives based on their compensation. Technically, Woodman hasn't received all of the stock awards yet. He got them "on paper" in early 2014, but they are paid out monthly over the span of several years, according to filings

Obviously the American people feel that ole Nick is worth that since they purchased a sufficient number of GoPro cameras to justify a salary of $284.5 million. Let's put this in perspective; the median pay for a dentist according to Salary.com is $150,194.

So the American people will pay virtually anything for a GoPro camera but complain bitterly when they go to the dentist.  The camera CEO earns 1893 TIMES more than the dentist.. The dentist charges too much but the camera guy doesn't

Something to think about.

People Will Pay for What They Enjoy

People have a right to spend their hard earned money on whatever it is that they want to buy because it is THEIR money. What I always find interesting is HOW people spend their money.
SuperBowl Sunday events? Yup the sky is the limit.
Tickets at the Times Union Center for their favorite band? Yup
Leasing a BMW 535? For Sure
Mrs. London's pastries...Without a doubt. A small 8 inch cake (my estimate) is $38.00. But if you WANT that fabulous cake, you will buy it.

Joshua D. did a great review of Mrs. London's and confirmed just what I said above...I want it. It tastes good. I have to have it.

When it comes to necessities, many people's FIRST response is, "That cost too much" or just as common, " He charges too much." People will not pay for things they don't want (to pay for) or don't value. A relatively small group of American's truly value their teeth and great American dentistry. We might not want to pay for dentistry but we know that we must.

Just something to think about.

An Incredible Week

This has been an incredible week.

I returned to work on Monday.

I had really hard work outs at physical therapy with Tony DeMatteo at Saratoga Physical Therapy. He told me yesterday that I have made incredible strides in my recovery and that I have reached every goal that my surgeon set for me.

I can now get dressed by myself including socks.

I can cut my food and feed myself with my right hand.

Everyone tells me that I am more like my old self.

My surgeon and everyone involved in my recovery tells me what an devastating injury that I sustained but that has never really sunk in for me.  The day after my car accident (1976) I realized that my injuries could prevent me from being a dentist, could cost me my leg and at worst, my life. I have never been the type of person who asks, "Why Me?"  As I laid in my hospital bed almost 40 years ago, I remember thinking, "Ok, I have been injured. How am I going to get better so that I can return to my senior year of Dental School?"

From the second of my injury 7 weeks ago, the only thing that has been on my mind is, "Am I going to be able to go back to work and WHEN?"

I am so grateful for everyone's help during this crisis in my life. I feel that I am about 95% through this blip in the road...And this too shall pass.

Yesterday Was A Really Good Day

If your read my last post, you know that I spent the entire day at my office treating patients. I did not make money but that is not important. I also did not do anything that was extremely challenging. My staff and I are pacing ourselves so that we can evaluate how I do every minute of the day. Our goal is to make sure that I am at my best when I take care of my patients. I have passed every challenge with flying colors so that you can have the quality of care that you want and are used to. We do this by carefully selecting our patients and allowing more time for everything that I am scheduled to do. I am not being rushed or pushed so that quality is the same as always without regards to how much income  I produce.

My staff, which has far more clinical knowledge and expertise than any other dental assistants that I know are paying very close attention  not WHAT   I am doing but HOW I am doing it.

Everything that I have done the last week, whether in actual treatment for our patients or in our practice sessions without patients, has been geared to making sure that I am at my best without any concern whatsoever about how much money I am making...

Our concern for YOU, our patient, is the most important thing in our office. I waited to return to work until I was absolutely certain that I was physically capable of taking care of you. This is an extremely high ethical standard but it is no different than what we do or how we do it on a daily basis.

I care about you more than you could ever know...as it should be.

Thank you, as always, for being our patient.

I am Not the Only One

I am a very strong believer in finding the very best people to take care of you. A doctor is not a doctor  and it is most important to spend some time looking around to locate the finest physicians that you can to diagnose, treatment plan and provide care for you. I was reading  a post on CNN a few minutes ago (yes I still don't sleep through the night and it is 2:24 AM) in which an actress was told that she did not have breast cancer but a friend told her that it would be wise to seek another opinion. She said:

"I am recovering and most importantly, expected to make a full recovery. Why? Because I caught this early, have excellent doctors and because I got a second opinion."

It is critical to understand that unless you live in a moderately large and vibrant city, the chance that you will find a world class physician is virtually zero. Oh yeah, you might find a "good" doctor but when you life depends on it, you will have to make an effort to seek out excellence in medical treatment some distance away...And that is why I traveled to Manhattan to have my Reverse Shoulder Replacement. I am NOT saying that the doctors in the Capital District are not good but I am saying is that knowing dentistry as well as I do, I know that  there is a large difference among physicians as far as education, skill, talent, passion, and diagnostic capabilities. 

Whether you live or die or even have a quality of life that you are use to, will depend on how you have selected your doctors.

I traveled farther than I needed and spent far more money than I would have had I remained close to home, but I found THE BEST person that I could to repair my shoulder...And yesterday I worked my usual schedule.

Encouragement

At this stage of my recovery, I need the encouragement and reassurance that I am still able to do what I do for my patients. Nothing is more important to me than doing my best work each and every time that you are in my chair.

I posted a direct resin mockup on a dental forum that I joined last week. One very knowledgeable and talented dentist commented:

Gerald 

Unfair 

You have michaelangelo hands   

Rare talent

Yes, the work that I showed was done 4 months ago but I have practiced that technique this past week and the results are the same as they have always been so that I know that nothing has changed.

I am so blessed to be able to return to work. I am also grateful that my hands , nervous system, brain and eyesight have not be injured in my fall.

Once again, thank you for all your support and for your patience in waiting for me to heal. Other dental patients might have asked to have their records transferred because they would not want to be inconvenienced by waiting for me to return. 

You are a big part of why I am me.

THANK YOU!!!

BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was always my intention to return to work after my devastating accident 6 weeks ago. The issue was going to be whether my injury was so severe, or the repair inadequate that I could never return to do what I love to do.

Have no worries. Today, I passed Part 2 in my pre-return to work when I placed two bonded restorations for my assistant, Jeanine. Tricia, was my evaluator to determine if I was prepared to see patients. I passed with flying colors as you can see for yourself:

I will return to work on Monday on a somewhat limited schedule and take it from there.

Thanks again for your prayers and good wishes...They have been answered!

Progress

I have been making significant progress in my recovery from a fractured shoulder and a Reverse Shoulder Replacement. Like everything else, recovery happens in a series of small steps that culminates the completion of an activity that I could not do before.
I am about 1.5 weeks ahead of the range of motion goals that the surgeon set for the first 6 weeks post surgery. And so today I sat down with Tricia and we practiced passing instruments and  using the handpiece in several areas of the mouth so that I could make sure that we were in the realm of ready to return to work. Tomorrow, I will actually replace some old fillings for one of my staff members as my next test prior to returning to work.

My goal is to ALWAYS be at the top of my game when treating a patient...It is the least that I can do for YOU.

I am very excited about my return to work next week.

Mentoring Does Work...For the Very Few

I have lectured to and mentored many young dentists during these last 10 years. Oh yes, these young dentists are now aware that a higher level of dentistry exists (AKA: Excellence) but not one of the local dentists has latched on to the concept of Excellence  and wanted to make it their own.

None other than my good friend Dr. Ashok from Bangalore, India. Many years ago on his first visit to Saratoga Springs, he saw excellence and demanded more. Dr. Banchs and I told Dr. Ashok that the dentistry that he was then doing was unacceptable if he truly wanted to pursue excellence. We told him that he would have to start all over again both in his thought process of diagnosis and treatment planning and in his execution (or how he actually performed dentistry for his patients) and his documentation (photography.) I also told him that after he learned dentistry he would have to start showing the world what he was capable of by posting his work on local (Indian) dental sites and on international dental sites.

Today, I received the following email:

"Hi Dr.Gerald, i loaded this case 3 days back. Tell me honestly how many DDS can work and document like this with passion?, i learnt this art from you. My cases and pics are very famous in India. All this transformation has happened with in me after visiting saratoga and from now onwards it is non-stoppable. Hats off to your passion which has a tremendous capacity to ignite the same in others. Regards, Ashok."

The email contained an implant case that he recently completed as well as 10 or so fabulously photographed pictures of his work.

As I wrote to Dr. Ashok...His willingness to pursue excellence says so much about him and not so much about my influence on him..

Congratulations Dr.Ashok for all your hard work these past 7 years and your desire to take care of your patients at a very high level.

I Am Not the Only One Who Believe This

Twenty five years ago the medical insurance industry was plotting how to take over the Medical Industry in America. They wanted to make every physician a participating doctor and  to be able to totally control what physicians were paid. One of the first things the insurance industry did in their scheme to control medicine was to stop referring to physicians as 'doctors' and started to refer to them as HEATH CARE PROVIDERS. Why? Because you pay a health care provider less than you pay a doctor. When insurance companies wanted to pay even less to doctors, they then started to refer to physicians in their ads on TV to 'PRESCRIBERS'  again because a 'prescriber of medicines' can be paid less than a doctor and patients can now feel free to belittle their 'prescriber' which is something that they would never do to their doctor.

If you don't think that this was part of the 'big plan' of the Medical Insurance Industry and Big Pharm...You are fooling yourself.

At least the physician who wrote this article fully understands the message of today's insurance companies. Remember how I recently told you that a large medical office associated with a local hospital no longer referred to us as 'PATIENTS' but now calls us 'CUSTOMERS?'  WHY? 

Because you treat a 'PATIENT' with dignity and respect and a person of value where a 'CUSTOMER' is merely someone that you want to sell something to.

This is shameful!!!!

Please read what this PHYSICIAN says even though you have already heard it before from me.

(This letter to the editor appeared in today's edition of The New York Times)

The Language of Medicine

APRIL 6, 2015

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To the Editor: 

“Facing Early Death, on Their Terms” (front page, March 29), about adolescents having a say in their own end-of-life planning, is poignant and powerful. There is arguably nothing more intimate and profound than how we are cared for and how we care for others in the hours of our mortal need.

So when you repeatedly use the term “provider” to describe those professionals in the caring arts — and yes, on our best days, the healing arts — it becomes an eloquently sad commentary on the state of medical care.

Language is so powerful that it not only reflects what and how we think of things, but it also directs what and how we think of things. The term “provider” for clinical caregivers, like the term “client” for patients, depersonalizes and commodifies that which is neither and so very much more.

The more we use these commercial terms to refer to intimate and personal care, the more that care becomes commercial and impersonal. Such is the power of language.

BARRY L. FARKAS

McKeesport, Pa.

The writer is a geriatrician and family physician.

This Is The Way It Should Be!

Susan and I returned to 18 Division Street after having lunch at Compton's (Have I told you that I hate my temporary forced retirement?) and there was a young man in the lobby who was telling everyone that would listen that he had just had a root canal by Dr. Banchs and it was fabulous. He could not believe that the "dreaded" root canal could be not only pain free but an actually pleasant experience.

As you know, I believe that Dr. Banchs is one of the best endodontists in the world so hearing his patient's experience is nothing new for me or unexpected.

This IS the way health care should be, especially when it involves dentistry.  You should ALWAYS find the BEST physicians and dentists to take care of you...regardless of whether they participate with your insurance company.

You deserve the best care. You deserve to have a great experience. You deserve to have the fabulous outcome that you paid for.

Do you disagree?

A Really Good Week

I think this week marks the beginning of my true recovery. For me, it takes about a month for all of the anesthetics administered for my surgery to finally leave my body. That, in and of itself, means a dramatic change in my attitude and how I feel about life.

Yesterday (Thursday) my physical therapist told me that my improvement this week was  incredible and that he was very optimistic about my recovery.

At home, my 5 time a day exercise regiment has produced a range of motion that that 10 days ago seemed unattainable.

I need to get better and this week I turned the corner towards recovery and meeting my goal to return to work. For the first time since my accident on February 24, I am happy, optimistic and can see myself back at work doing what I  love to do...Taking care of you.

Is returning to work about the money? ABSOLUTELY NOT. At this stage of my life, I work because I love what I do. I still believe that my best work will be done in the future which is pretty incredible considering the body of work that I have  done the last 2 decades.

Thank you for your concern and support during these last 5 weeks.

"And this  too shall pass."

What Ever Happened to Bright, Talented People?

What ever happened to all the smart people that used to run our country? 

What kind of fool would make the following statement? This is not about Democrats or Republicans, Liberals or Conservatives...It is about voting for ignorant people to lead our great country.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear's administration is arguing the state's ban on same-sex marriage isn't discriminatory because it applies to straight people, too.

"Kentucky’s marriage laws treat homosexuals and heterosexuals the same and are facially neutral. Men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, are free to marry persons of the opposite sex under Kentucky law, and men and
women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, cannot marry persons of the same sex under Kentucky law," the Democratic governor said in a brief filed with the Supreme Court on March 27.

Do you think that I have too much time on my hands?

My physical therapist was very happy with my progress today and says that I am a week ahead of where he expected me to be at the one month mark. I promise you that I am working very hard at my PT sessions and doing my home exercises so that i can return to work to take care of you.

Thank you again for all the cards and good wishes hoping that I return to work. Trust me...no one wants me back at work more than me. I have hated this month of recovery/retirement.

I will return and I will be as good as ever.