Over the past several years I have written about the evolving changes in medicine that have occurred with the replacement of traditional medical ethics—think the Hippocratic Oath for example that is almost never used anymore at Medical School graduations, with a secular humanistic ethic that early in the nineteen sixties evolved into medical consumerism and […]
People who have followed my articles regarding Medicaid and Medicaid expansion will recall that five years ago, and early in the game, I sited the “Oregon Medicaid Experiment” as proof that the claims of The Affordable Care ACT (Obama Care), specifically as they were applied to Medicaid and Medicaid expansion, were untrue. In a series […]
We have two types of medical care in our country. The first is that given by the godless corporate hospitals and the second is that given by the independent physicians who don’t have to depend on corporate rules and regulations that seem to have crept into our medical system. We have shifted from a physician […]
According to The American Medical Association (AMA) Master File and The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) the supply of physicians who are actively participating in patient care is 9.3% higher in 2020 than it was in 2009. This trend has continued through 2024—the numbers for that year are not yet available. There are currently 1.1million […]
A Conversation with Dr. John Livingston & Tea Party Bob Listen here: idahoradio.com How Healthcare Lost Its Soul Recent data from Pew Research shows a disturbing trend: public confidence in medical scientists has plummeted from 40% in 2020 to just 29% in 2022. A 2021 survey by the American Board of Internal Medicine found that one […]
I correspond regularly with about 30 doctors and nurses, most of them still in practice. Most live in Boise, but a few of them I spent time with on active duty in the Navy. The perspective that they have given me as they have looked into their own practices, their own concerns about the direction […]
I am convalescing at home this evening after having undergone my second and hopefully my last total hip surgery. I related in an article 2 months ago how grateful I was to the entire OR crew at St. Luke’s in an article in The Gem State Patriot. My surgeon and friend Dr. Ron Kristenson led […]
I have been following health care polling by Rasmussen, CNN, and Gallup since March 23rd, 2010, when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Since 2018—before Covid, the general public’s feeling about the insurance system and health provider networks has become increasingly more negative. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/health/us-health-care-poll-gallup/index.html Beginning early this year, the patients who have […]
I have spent the last week getting “pre-oped” before I undergo bilateral hip replacements at St. Luke’s. The nurses, doctors, and technicians who have taken care of me have been magnificent—as they have always been. My criticism of Luke’s has always been about its management and the Board of Directors who remain, according to many […]
I am John Livingston and I have practiced surgery and medicine in Idaho and the Military for over 47 years. On July 1st I retired from the practice of Medicine and surgery. I am Board certified in Internal Medicine and General Surgery. I was appointed and served on The YHI Health Insurance Exchange Board for […]
It was back in 2015 that we along with the Idaho Freedom Foundation warned Idahoans about the problems with containing costs if Medicaid Expansion was approved in our state. It was eventually passed by referendum and is now chewing up tax dollars beyond belief. Why are we subsidizing those who are capable of paying for […]
Everything is getting bigger. In my profession, the doctor-patient relationship has been all but destroyed by “vertical and horizontal integration” with hospital systems buying up medical practices and then employing physicians and physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Then the hospital systems are bought up by insurance companies or vice versa, and then the mega company […]