News, Policy & Economics

Injunction Slows CA’s Physician “Gag” Law

By Erik Goldman

Advocates for medical freedom of speech won a significant, if limited, victory in late January when Senior US District Judge William Shubb issued a preliminary injunction that hinders the implementation of AB 2098—a new California law aimed at stopping the spread of Covid-19 “misinformation” and “disinformation.” The law, which passed the California legislature last summer […]

Food Insecurity Drives Healthcare Spending

By Erik Goldman

Food insecurity, which currently affects more than 60 million Americans, is a serious problem in its own right. But it is also a major driver of increased healthcare spending, according to data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Deepak Palakshappa, MD, an internist at Wake Forest University, led a team that analyzed data from 14,666 […]

Webinar: Understanding the Impact of California’s AB 2098 on Practitioners and the Natural Product Industry

By Erik Goldman

Last summer, the California legislature passed a new law (AB 2098) deputizing the state’s medical board to take disciplinary action—including revocation of licenses—against MDs and DOs who spread Covid-related “disinformation” or “misinformation.” While clearly intended to target doctors who question or criticize federal and state vaccine policies, AB 2098 is based on a broad definition […]

Confronting the Challenge Of Pharmaceutical Pollution

By Erik Goldman

The world has a drug problem. A drug pollution problem, that is. Infiltration of potentially bioactive drug metabolites into waterways and groundwater is a widespread and growing phenomenon affecting nearly every region of the planet. According to a recent worldwide study, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) have been detected in streams and rivers on every continent, […]

BAPP Program Moves Ahead to Reduce Herb Adulteration

By Erik Goldman

With the release of its long-awaited Standard Operating Procedure for Disposal/Destruction of Irreparably Defective Articles in November, the Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) has taken a major step forward in its ongoing effort to rid the nutrition and herbal medicine industries of adulterated or otherwise fraudulent ingredients. The “BAPP SOP” guidelines, as the new document […]

Nearly 15% of All Healthcare Dollars Wasted on Useless Admin

By Erik Goldman

Administrative waste—defined as unnecessary non-clinical expenses that have no beneficial impact on patient care—accounts for roughly 15% of all US healthcare spending, according to a new analysis by the policy journal, Health Affairs. Up to one-third of all money spent on healthcare in the US goes toward non-medical administrative costs. That’s nearly twice the level […]

Herb Experts Challenge CA Coroner On Mulberry’s Role in McClintock Death

By Erik Goldman, Editor in Chief

Botanists and herbal medicine experts are challenging the Sacramento County coroner’s conclusion that white mulberry (Morus alba)—an herb with a long record of safe use—caused the death of Loretta McClintock, wife of Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA4). Mrs. McClintock, died unexpectedly on December 15, 2021, at the age of 61 years. Her husband had returned home […]

FDA & AMA Team Up to “CMEar” Dietary Supplements

By Erik Goldman, Editor

If you want to understand why so many Americans distrust the Food and Drug Administration and the medical mainstream, look no further than the FDA’s new online medical education program on dietary supplements. Produced in collaboration with the American Medical Association, this three-part continuing medical education (CME) course—and I use that term loosely—is part of […]

In Memoriam: Stephen Sinatra, MD

By Erik Goldman

We at Holistic Primary Care are saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Stephen Sinatra, on Father’s Day 2022, just four months shy of his 76th birthday. A trailblazer in the field of metabolic cardiology, Dr. Sinatra was an exemplary physician, healer, and teacher. Though trained in the conventional biomedical paradigm, he realized early […]