The belief that health insurance and the increased use of primary care associated with it leads to fewer hospitalizations has played an important role in the recent health care reform debate.

The cost of healthcare to society is important, but protecting the doctor-patient relationship is paramount.

The governments of U.K., Ireland and Greece have embarked upon ambitious, sometimes painful efforts to restore their economies Of the three, the U.K. and Ireland took their medicine, while Greece decided the taste was just too awful, and its irresponsibility threatens every euro-zone country.

Of the many factors that make improving the health system difficult, few challenges are greater than the misty-eyed recollection – often from genuinely distinguished practitioners – of how great things used to be.  Doctors were highly regarded authority figures, pure and beloved, while patients were meek and grateful in the presence of such brilliance and expertise.

At this event, panelists discussed U.S.-Syria policy.

The Obama health reform plan, embodied most clearly in a bill now before the Senate, rests on a fiscal deception when it comes to the way Medicare pays America's doctors.

Expect longer waits for appointments as physicians get pinched on reimbursements.