“There is one aspect to medicine that we have too easily given up on—time. Time allows for the full range of information to be collected, weighed, reviewed, analyzed, refined, and finally agreed on. Medicine desperately needs to create a better temporal space for the patient and doctor to work in. My final hypothesis is that doctors who practice in a time-rich environment provide better care—and more carefully thought through decisions—than doctors who do not. The one “treatment” doctors can, but rarely do, offer a patient is their time. One could design a clinical trial to test this theory. Patients with chronic disease could take part in a study in which they are randomized to receive care either in a time-poor setting (the current standard) or in time-rich setting. The benefit, if there truly was one could easily be measured. (

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There is growing concern that the internet might become a significant source of tobacco products for minors. Recent studies suggest that 2–3% adolescent smokers were purchasing cigarettes through the internet. Minors appear to have easy access to tobacco via the internet because most vendors do not have adequate age verification methods. Improved regulation of sales …