So, with less than 48 hours left to 2010, what’s the verdict? Good year or bad year, as far as healthcare and all that goes with it?

In my mind, its definitely a mixed bag. A very mixed bag.

Some good news is that the Center for Safety battled Monsanto (the evil empire) in the U.S. Supreme Court – and were victorious in maintaining the ban on the planting and sale of GMO alfalfa. They also won another major lawsuit against USDA, Monsanto, and a number of other biotech companies this August, which halted the sale of GMO sugar beets.

The bad news is that our healthcare system is still a mess. Nothing has changed for the better. It’s gotten more expensive, and care has not improved.

Oh, and our esteemed Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, has finally issued her first report. And guess what she wasted taxpayer money on–drum roll….the dangers of cigarette smoking. Like lady, don’t you know that the Surgeon General issued that same report 40 or 50 years ago. But to be fair, Dr. Regina took the opportunity to sensationalize it a bit, and publicly state that even smoking one cigarette can kill someone with underlying heart disease. Or was it one puff on one cigarette?

Is the woman so disengaged from life that she can’t find a public health issue to beat her drum to? Smoking is unhealthy, but we’ve been there, done that. It is an ongoing issue, and with so many other public health issues to choose from, it is incredulous that this woman will drag out a topic that has been studied to death (pardon the pun). She has taken the office of the Surgeon General to a new low and she is clearly not suited for the job.

What can we expect in 2011? I’ll be back with my predictions…

Merry Christmas All! And yes, I am being so politically incorrect by actually saying those two words.

But you know, it is Christmas tomorrow and tonight is Christmas Eve. Santa is coming. It is not “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings.” it is Christmas.

Trying to be politically correct because of the perceived offense to those who don’t celebrate Christmas just adds the generification of holidays. It’s bad enough that we see Christmas supplies appearing in stores in September, mixed together with Halloween and Thanksgiving. The holidays aren’t even given a chance to breathe and stand on their own.

If you celebrate the Solstice, then say “happy Solstice.” If you celebrate Hannukah, the say “Happy Hannukah.” Ditto for Kwanzaa, or any other holiday that happens to fall around this time. I won’t be offended if someone wishes me a greeting for a holiday I don’t celebrate. I think it is very kind of them, and I will wish them the same.

So Merry Christmas! And I hope you’ve all been good boys and girls.

And special thanks to all of the nurses, doctors, and other healthcare personnel who are working on Christmas. I hated having to work on holidays, even though it was time and a half pay. But thank you for being there, for as all of us in healthcare know, its a 24/7 job that doesn’t take time out for holidays, weekends and birthdays.