Women’s Health
March 30, 2026
Confused About Alcohol Safety? I’ll Try to Help. Say, “Moderate.”
Moderate consumption of alcohol by adults is low-risk but fundamentally safe. I provide a review of the supporting research as well as detailed behavioral guidance.
December 30, 2025
Better Late Than Never — Correcting Hormone Therapy Misinformation After 20 Years
FDA Commissioner Makary just approved hormone therapy as safe for menopause symptoms in women. This is a welcome announcement though 20 years overdue.
October 2, 2022
New Hair Restoration Treatment With Old Drug
An obsolete blood pressure pill, minoxidil, appears to safely promote hair restoration in low oral doses. This is likely to be of interest to many. We can talk at scheduled visit.
June 5, 2022
Where We Are With Covid-19 in Summer 2022
In June 2022 we are living with Covid-19 and likely will do indefinitely. I provide a compact comprehensive look at the current state of the disease and how it affects us, prevention and available treatments, and advice about how to prudently enjoy your summer.
February 7, 2021
Covid-19 Shots Starting for >75, Distribution Improving, Confusion Still Reigns
Covid-19 vaccines began last week for everyone over 75 in Massachusetts. The state distribution program includes websites to sign up, outreach calls from major health care organizations and pharmacies, and a new 211 call center. Most all elders should be started on vaccination this month and finish by late March. The over-65 population and younger…
January 3, 2021
Why Do We Fail With Covid-19? Antibody Infusions Not Realistically Available
Two monoclonal antibody treatments are conditionally approved by the FDA, seem to substantially help moderately severe cases of Covid-19, and are supposed to be available for use as outpatient infusions to prevent hospitalizations and deaths. In practice they are not actually available, as I found out this weekend trying to arrange an infusion for a…
October 12, 2020
Covid-19 Q&A
We provide multiple brief updates about the state of the Covid-19 pandemic, the vaccines, the treatments or lack thereof, how you isolate, and what the future holds. Stay the course. Keep your guard up. Get your flu shot. We are in this for a long time.
August 16, 2020
C19: Updated Self-Care and Risk Advice
We are still in the midst of a pandemic that has subsided in Massachusetts but is still very much with us and could easily rebound. We need to remain vigilant in our self care. No real good news. US infections and deaths are at high levels and increasing. An effective and proven vaccine is not…
March 23, 2019
Aspirin Less Helpful Than We Thought for Prevention, More Risky
Low-dose aspirin appears to have little if any benefit in primary prevention of vascular events in older patients while inducing more frequent serious bleeding episodes based on good recent studies. We will advise many (but not all) of you now taking baby aspirin to stop.
October 27, 2018
79,000 Influenza Deaths in 2017. Opioids Close Behind
Influenza killed almost 80,000 people in the US last year, more than opioid overdoses, more than breast cancer, more than car accidents. The flu vaccine works and is benign. Get your flu shot with us before Thanksgiving!
September 4, 2018
Generic Drugs Are the Standard
Generic drugs are equally effective and safe as brand name pharmaceuticals. Prior authorization for expensive brand names is difficult to obtain and hard to justify. If a brand name is desired, the member will be asked to help provide the rationale for the approval process.
September 3, 2018
Premium Hearing Aids at Costco Prices
Hearing aids are essential devices for many older people, but often are not obtained because of the persistently high expense. I recently explored Costco as a source of high-technology major-brand hearing aids at dramatically lower prices.