Nicholas Regush, the founder and editor of Red Flags died October 14.

[Guest guest]

" Admin " <redflags

 

MEMO TO ALL RED FLAGS SUBSCRIBERS

Fri, 15 Oct 2004 19:33:29 -0700

 

Important Memo To All Red Flags Subscribers

http://www.redflagsdaily.com

 

Greetings to all Friends and Subscribers,

 

As many of you know, Nicholas Regush, the founder and editor of Red

Flags, was hospitalized after suffering a serious heart attack on

September 29. It is with great sadness that I share the news that

Nicholas

died, early Thursday morning, October 14.

 

Over the past two weeks, I have received hundreds of e-mails from Red

Flags rs expressing their support and concern about Nicholas

and myself. I was deeply touched and comforted by the comments you made

about how much the site has meant to you, how much you admired Nicholas

and how very important it is to you that Red Flags continue as one of

the few " trustworthy " sites devoted to health and science. I will try to

reply to each of you personally over the next few weeks.

 

Those of us behind the scenes at Red Flags have been talking about how,

without Nicholas, we will continue the mission of Red Flags: - " To

Advise You Of Health Safety Issues, Help You Discover and Interpret

Important Health Trends, and To Encourage You To Explore Hot

Controversies and

New Ideas. "

 

It has been decided that we will search for two or more people who will

serve part-time (initially) to fulfill the editorial function for Red

Flags.

 

To that end, a " job description " will be sent to various people who

work in the area of science and medicine, including Red Flags rs

(some of whom may be interested themselves in working for Red Flags).

 

Candidates who are interested, and who feel that their life purpose is

aligned with Red Flags, will be invited to send us their CVs for

consideration. There will be a special e-mail address for these

responses, so

please do not send CVs to Red Flags until you have received the job

description and the proper e-mail address.

 

At Red Flags, we will make every effort to choose people who will

continue this work with a spirit of integrity and with the persistent

search

for truth.

 

In a newspaper interview, Nicholas said: " Journalists should be

thinking people who raise questions. They should not have financial

ties or

set up close relationships with the people they cover. Journalism is

going the wrong way, especially in the field of science and medicine.

There

are too many believer journalists and too much self-censorship on the

part of journalists who are frightened of offending the people they

cover. "

 

Thank all of you very much for your interest in Red Flags. Your

feedback, suggestions and support make our efforts worthwhile. Thank

you in

advance for a bit more patience as we make this transition. New stories

and columns continue to be added daily. Please take the time to enjoy

the new sections on Women, Heart and Diet. Red Flags will be a stronger

and more effective advocate for you in the future.

 

 

My best,

Barbara Lewis

Special Projects Editor

http://www.redflagsdaily.com

[Guest guest]

I am very sorry to hear about the premature death of

Nicholas Regush. His following writing reflects his

willingness to state the obvious and to champion

truth.

 

I hope many others will pick up the staff and run with

the effort to expose the truth and to reform our

medical system.

 

Although I did not know him, he has touched my life,

and I feel a gratitude to him for his work and

sacrifice.

 

 

http://redflagsweekly.com/regush/hypocrisyP.htm

 

HYPOCRISY OATH

 

THE GREAT DIVIDE BETWEEN PRINCIPAL AND PRACTICE IN

MODERN MEDICINE

 

By Nicholas Regush

 

There is a disconnect between idealized physician

conduct and actual medical practice. Recent efforts

over several years to create a charter for medical

professionalism is unfortunately an exercise in

fantasy.

 

This month, in both the Annals of Internal Medicine

and The Lancet, two prominent medical journals, a

report was published that consists of three principles

and ten commitments to give " medical professionalism "

a boost " in the new millenium. "

 

It’s called a " physician charter " and is essentially a

fleshing out of the Hippocratic Oath, in one version

or another sworn by medical students about to become

doctors.

 

The charter is the product of several years of labor

by various medical leaders and was spurred, in order

to deal with " changes in the health care delivery

systems in countries throughout the industrialized

world " that " threaten the values of professionalism. "

 

The lead-in to the publication of the article, in the

Annals, refers to the 4-page " chilling brevity " of the

charter and the belief of the charter’s authors that

" the conditions of medical practice are tempting

physicians to abandon their commitment to the primacy

of patient welfare. "

 

The idea is to tack on the charter to the current

versions of the Hippocratic Oath being sworn by

students at most medical schools — and it is hoped

that this will somehow provide an invaluable moral

package to further medical professionalism.

 

The old Hippocratic Oath — one of the most famous

documents of antiquity — is actually rather vague. It,

for example, speaks to treating the ill to the best of

one’s ability and to preserve the privacy of patients.

I particularly like the exhortation that, " Into

whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the

benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every

voluntary act of mischief and corruption. "

 

(See the link below for the classical version of the

Hippocratic Oath.)

 

Because of the brevity of this oath and changes in our

society, many medical schools have created their own

mini-versions of the oath. For example, some have made

references to Godliness and only few of the oaths

insist that the new physician should be held

accountable if he or she does not abide by the oath

( " But should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the

reverse be my lot. " )

 

On the subject of abortion, the classical oath says:

" I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce

abortion. " As it turns out, only a few percent of the

modernized versions of the oath renounce abortion.

 

I can imagine many medical students swearing to

something that they either cannot comprehend

sufficiently because it is too vague and out of date,

or swearing to something that they cannot even believe

in.

 

Hence the new charter for medical professionalism. It

refers to principles such as:

 

1. The primacy of patient welfare — in other words,

serving the interest of the patient.

2. Having respect for patient autonomy — " doctors

must be honest with their patients and empower them to

make informed decisions about treatment. "

3. Making an effort to " eliminate discrimination in

health care, whether based on race, gender,

socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religion, or any

other social category.

 

And the new charter refers to commitments such as:

 

1. Being honest with patients.

2. Maintaining patient confidentiality.

3. Improving quality of care.

 

Nice talk and no doubt some food for thought for all

those medical students who are going to be descended

upon by the pharmaceutical industry the moment they

call themselves " Dr. "

 

Sorry. This charter is so much out of line with modern

reality that those who are now going to try to foist

this piffle on medical students deserve our contempt.

What Medicine needs is some straight talk such as:

 

1. Under no circumstances should a physician make

deals with drug companies that might interfere with

thorough consideration of potential treatments.

 

2. Under no circumstances should a physician accept

any sort of gift or favor from a corporation —

including items for the medical office.

 

I’m sure you get the picture. Every feature of modern

medicine has been corrupted by cash — patient

treatment, particularly drug prescription, clinical

trials, diagnostic services, and, of course, surgery

(with its extraordinary high rates of useless,

dangerous, untested and inappropriate procedures).

 

Medicine is awash in corruption. It has become more

and more difficult to detect which doctors are working

in the public interest or their own financial

interests. The practice of psychiatry is an obvious

example with its penchant for creating phantom

diseases and prescribing mind drugs to anyone — adult,

teenager and infant - who hints at being emotionally

unstable.

 

To think that some charter, offering moral guidelines

in the absence of a complete overhaul of a rotting

medical system, will do anyone any good stretches the

imagination.

 

What these probably well-intentioned people who put

this charter together should do is get out of their

ivory towers and look smack into the hypocrisy that is

killing medicine.

 

 

 

Classic Hippocratic Oath

 

The Charter on Medical Professionalism

 

 

 

 

_______________________________

 

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[Guest guest]

What did Nicholsas Regush die from?

 

Kelly

 

as <glkbreeze wrote:

 

 

 

I am very sorry to hear about the premature death of

Nicholas Regush. His following writing reflects his

willingness to state the obvious and to champion

truth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Regarding the demise of Nicholas Regush, the news was

posted at the Alternative Medicine Forum Group on

Friday. October 15. He died of a heart attack. I

believe he was only 56 or so at the time of death.

 

http://www.redflagsweekly.com/premium.html

 

 

“Nicholas Regush is an award-winning and

Emmy-nominated investigative medical and science

journalist at ABC News. He also writes the popular

“Second Opinion” column for abcnews.com. Regush was an

investigative reporter for the Montreal Gazette for

twelve years. He lives in Montreal and New York City.”

 

 

 

" Admin " <redflags

 

MEMO TO ALL RED FLAGS SUBSCRIBERS

Fri, 15 Oct 2004 19:33:29 -0700

 

Important Memo To All Red Flags Subscribers

http://www.redflagsdaily.com

 

 

Greetings to all Friends and Subscribers,

 

As many of you know, Nicholas Regush, the founder and

editor of Red

Flags, was hospitalized after suffering a serious

heart attack on

September 29. It is with great sadness that I share

the news that

Nicholas

died, early Thursday morning, October 14.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_______________________________

 

Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today!

http://vote.