| The medication wars
There's a war raging in the world of medicine as many people are opting for the path of "natural" or "herbal" remedies, as opposed to taking prescribed medicines from their medical practitioner. Many doctors are perplexed as to why patients would stop taking prescribed medication and opt for the "natural route". Their advise is not to. They say that while natural remedies may have their place, they may not be the safest bet. Dr. Martin Brown, a general practitioner cautions that while natural medicines have their uses, they have just as many side effects as natural ones. The difference he says is that pharmaceutical medicines have been researched and the side effects noted. In fact the drugs have to be approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they are put on the market, which is not the case for natural medicines.
What ineffective treatments should we stop funding?
At the 2020 Summit, I will be arguing that Australian taxpayers should stop paying for medical treatments that don't work or are of only marginal benefit. The Medical Benefits Schedule should be reviewed, so that ineffective interventions can be removed from the list of treatments receiving government subsidy. Treatments whose public funding should be reviewed include: Hospitalisation for back painArthroscopies for knee painSurgery for chronic back painVertebraplasty (operations in which cement is injected into fractured vertebra). What are some other ineffective treatments, devices and procedures whose public funding should be reviewed? Should we also review the level of funding for operations which become easier and quicker to perform such as cataract surgery? Should we be paying more to primary care providers such as GPs, and less to proceduralists? .
World in brief: Bushfires in Colorado; Sex-slave saviour honoured
ORDWAY Three people, including the pilot of a firefighting aircraft, have been killed by bushfires which have spread to a town and military base in Colorado. At least 20 buildings were burnt and 1,200 residents evacuated after winds of up to 50mph (80km/h) helped flames to spread to Ordway, Chris Sorensen, a fire information officer, said. Two people died in the fire, which spread across 11sq miles (29sq km) of the front range of the Rocky Mountains and the eastern plains. A pilot who was fighting the blaze, which had burnt 14sq m of land near the Fort Carson military base, died when his aircraft crashed. People living near the base had to be evacuated after the accident. Two homes were damaged and a victim was injured when a third fire broke out near Carbondale in the western Colorado mountains.
The challenge of Passover
Everyone has a favorite recipe for Passover brisket, passed down through the generations or discovered online. But dessert is another matter. Dietary laws forbid the use of yeast, flour and baking powder at Passover. It's a restriction that stumps beginning bakers and challenges even the most experienced. That explains why nearly 45 women (and three men - two husbands and a son) signed up to sip wine, sample hors d'oeuvres, and learn from the James Beard-award-winning chef and cookbook author Aliza Green, who conducted a class on baking for Passover last month at the kosher restaurant Max & David's. Green, who lives in Elkins Park and served as a culinary consultant for Max & David's there, was a key player and one of the few women involved in Philadelphia's 1970s restaurant revival.
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