Melvin H Kirschner, BA, BS, MPH, MD

The many shortcomings of the health care arena in the United States have left millions of people with limited health care or no care at all. The United States is rated 37th in the world regarding access,

quality and amount of health care that many of its residents receive. Insurance companies are known to select people who are least likely to need care. Need and quality of care are minimized, and company profits are maximized.

Many uninsured, low income people use the emergency room as their doctor, because they know that they cannot be required to pay for the services.  Emergency rooms have become so jammed with non-emergency patients that truly critical patients may be unable to receive the timely, intense care that they need.

The pharmaceutical industry has been reported to pay generic drug manufacturers to not produce a drug whose patent has expired. That allows them additional years of exclusive production and higher prices than the generics would charge for the same medicine. That was not the intent of the FDA 100 years ago, when it limited the length of time that the original manufacturer would be the sole producer of a new medication.

I agree with the 18,000 Physicians for a National Health Program. They advocate for single-payer, not-for-profit health coverage, Health Care for All.

We are the most advanced industrial country in the world. Our medical technology is the most innovative in the world. Our people should expect to be provided with the top-ranked medical services in the world, not the 37th.

My book, "All Medicines Are Poison!" sets out to remove the fog of confusion that clouds the landscape that the American people must navigate in their search for health care today. The book describes the risks and benefits associated with the use of medicines, and explores the validity of other treatment modalities such as complimentary and alternative care.  It discusses the failings and back room dealings by the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, and highlights possible solutions to many of these current concerns.

The provocative title of the book is not just a "come-on". It's a fact that every physician is aware of. The job of the physician is to decide that prescribing the medicine is less harmful than the untreated illness. All physicians are also aware that every medicine has side-effects which could potentially afflict some patients. But if the patient is dying, they must be willing to risk the side effects that the life-saving medication is capable of causing.

Melvin Kirschner can be reached at mhkirschnermd@aol.com.