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HOWARD GOLDSTEIN

Author Profile

Dr. Howard Goldstein is a recently retired Toronto-area GP. His blogs offer personal perspectives and reflections on the many facets of medical practice, informed by his 49 years of experience.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

  • 8/21/2023

    The ‘tipping’ point

    What if doctors were allowed tipping terminals in their offices? A chalkboard menu of available goods and services could be wall-mounted in the waiting room, prices listed in bold cursive and brilliant colour, modified with every PSA negotiation.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 7/9/2023

    The perils of patient portals: lost in translation

    My doctor began by stating the purpose of the call—to review my MRI report. I advised that I'd already read the report in MyChart and had a copy in front of me for our collective review. “That shouldn’t happen,” he said. I couldn’t have agreed more.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 5/30/2023

    Sorry I can’t take your call, please leave a message

    Of cottages, pancreatic cancer and a strange little "phone booth" in the Ontario wilderness.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 5/28/2023

    In the afterglow

    My barber of more than 40 years asked me whether I missed being a doctor. After a few years in retirement, only now do I feel the loss of what medical practice has meant to me for so long.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 3/7/2023

    Three doctors in a waiting room having coffee

    Three docs, three bagels, three stories of going from doctor to patient in one fell swoop.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 2/15/2023

    Cousin Stan the 'detail man'

    I spoke with my cousin, now 85, about his decades as a pharmaceutical sales rep—known in his day as a 'detail man'—and about how the industry is barely recognizable today.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 1/26/2023

    Face-time vs. FaceTime

    The pandemic left a major gap in the formative education of our medical students, relegating them to a virtual bedside. The core tenets of the classic physical exam: percussion, palpation, auscultation and even inspection were all casualties of virtual medicine.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 12/13/2022

    Merry medical memories of the holiday season

    Leaving the ice rink a CityTV reporter asked to interview my children. My daughter boldly stepped forward, looking directly into the camera lens said: “I want to wish Merry Christmas to my mummy who’s working in the emergency department tonight.” Not bad for a three-year-old who'd just celebrated Chanukah.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 11/22/2022

    Designated survivors

    The treasury of knowledge held by doctors who are no longer technically practicing is going terribly overlooked. And in our current crisis, we're not a resource the healthcare system can afford not to use.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera
  • 10/30/2022

    It’s about time—it’s always about time

    The time read 12:45 p.m. on the analog Victorinox watch, the division of the Swiss Army company dedicated to time-keeping. An hour later, the time is still 12:45.
    HOWARD GOLDSTEIN
    a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera