Stanford Report, July 12, 2006

Media monitor

"I'm a big believer in common sense. And consumers need advocates in today's health care system."

—Paul Auerbach, MD, clinical professor of surgery, on ways that patients can make visits to the doctor's office more productive. Florida Today, June 11.

"As doctors, we should have the final say as to how to best care for and treat our patients …'First, do no harm,' is what we learn in medical school."

—Emmet Keeffe, MD, professor of medicine, expressing his concerns with a policy change at Blue Cross of California that will change the way physicians screen patients for severe and often life-threatening diseases. San Francisco Chronicle, June 29.

"Sure, it's very exciting … but we aren't reversing the process of aging, and by the time we use these drugs, some of that eyesight is too far gone."

—Michael F. Marmor, MD, professor of ophthalmology, on the FDA's approval of the drug Lucentis for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, a major cause of vision loss. Oakland Tribune, July 1.