Not Certified, Just Certifiable

From The Courier-Journal:

U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul says he is a “board-certified” ophthalmologist — even though the national clearinghouse for such certifications says he hasn’t been for the past five years.

Rand Paul, who practices in Bowling Green, says he is certified by the National Board of Ophthalmology, a group that he incorporated in 1999 and that he heads.

But that entity is not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, which works with the American Medical Association to approve such specialty boards.

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What Tom Coburn does when he’s not birthin’ John Ensign’s babies

From TULSA WORLD:

WASHINGTON – Armadillos, marshmallows and American liberty.

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn managed to connect those three in a speech Thursday on the Senate floor to explain how he traps armadillos that visit his yard in Muskogee and what Americans could learn from their fate.

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Good Medicine

From the Los Angeles Times:

President Obama announced Monday that he would nominate Dr. Regina M. Benjamin — a family physician who founded a health clinic in a small, shrimp-farming town in Alabama — to be the nation’s surgeon general.

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Bad Medicine

From the Los Angeles Times:

The Bush administration announced its “conscience protection” rule for the healthcare industry Thursday, giving doctors, hospitals, and even receptionists and volunteers in medical experiments the right to refuse to participate in medical care they find morally objectionable.

“This rule protects the right of medical providers to care for their patients in accord with their conscience,” said outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.

The right-to-refuse rule includes abortion and other aspects of healthcare where moral concerns could arise, Leavitt’s office said, such as birth control, emergency contraception, in vitro fertilization, stem cell research and assisted suicide.

The rule, to be published today in the Federal Register, takes effect the day before President Bush leaves office.

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