Volume
56, Number 1Winter 2005
To purchase this issue, complete
the
subscription
form or visit Sawyer's, Copperfield's, or other San Francisco Bay
Area newsstands.
FEATURE ARTICLES
Personalized Medicine
Personalized Medicine
“The genetic basis for individuality is the
mere 1% of our gene sequence that contains variations in the DNA. Here
reside the polymorphisms that make each individual genome unique.”
By Stacey Kerr, MD
Genetics, Evidence, and Bach: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
“If we conceive of medicine as a symphony
orchestra, the emerging area of personalized medicine promises to be the
conductor. Consider evidence-based medicine as the concertmaster, the
best violinist and a player without whom the orchestra is incomplete.”
By David Schneider, MD
Is Perfect Possible in the Genetic Age?
“Once a particular gene has been shown to
be related to a particular disease, testing on fetuses or embryos is theoretically
possible to prevent having a child with that disease.”
By Jennifer Ratcliffe, MD
Can a Molecular Fingerprint Reveal a Mole’s Biologic Behavior?
“Comparative genomic hybridization is a recently
developed molecular technique for distinguishing melanoma from its benign
counterparts.”
By Jeffrey Sugarman, MD
Hematology and Genetics: From Heredity to Molecular Biology
“The study of genetic abnormalities affecting
red blood cells, white blood cells, and coagulation has piloted our understanding
of the genetic basis of disease.”
By Marek Bozdech MD
DEPARTMENTS
Local Frontiers: Clinical Research in Private Practice
“Since I came from an academic background
before entering private practice in cardiology, clinical research always
has been an interest of mine.”
By Stephen Halpern, MD
Practical Concerns: Preserving Patient Confidentiality Under State Law and HIPAA
“HIPAA did not replace California’s
privacy laws; in fact, HIPAA specifically says that where state laws concerning
patient privacy are more stringent, the state law will apply.”
By Larry McLaughlin, Esq.
Practical Concerns: How To Become—and Stay—Cal/OSHA Compliant
“Cal/OSHA inspectors do not look kindly upon
blatant, willful infractions that put your employees at risk of illness
or injury. Fines for major infractions can reach $25,000 per day per infraction,
with a $1.5 million cap.”
By Denis O’Connell
Outside the Office: It’s Not Fish I’m After
“What motivates grown adults to stand, and
sometimes immerse themselves, in ice-cold water for several hours at a
time in hopes of hooking a few trout when they can easily purchase trout
in any fish market for one one-hundredth the cost required to catch them?”
By Tom Bertolli, MD
Current Books: A Poet for the American Soul
“Snyder makes the big questions personal:
beauty, redemption, harmony, and compassion are all contained in his coiled
lines about sisters and brothers, friends and lovers, and mountains and
rivers without end.”
By Rick Flinders, MD
