Today, after weeks of "radio silence", I have finally added the following banner to the Coronavirus pages of my website: PLEASE NOTE, DUE TO MANY INCONSISTENCIES IN THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE ABOUT THE VIRUS (INCLUDING INFORMATION FROM THE OFFICIAL SOURCES AND FROM THE SCIENTIFIC STUDIES), I HAVE DECIDED NOT TO SHARE ANY ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT THE VIRUS FOR THE TIME BEING.
I WILL RESUME AS SOON AS SOLID DATA BECOMES AVAILABLE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING! IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, I AM STILL OFFERING INDIVIDUAL CONSULTATIONS: HERE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS I STOPPED WRITING ABOUT THE VIRUS IN A Q&A FORMAT: Q: Is the information we hear on the news accurate? A: Not always. (This includes "right", "left", "conspiracy", and "independent" news sources.) Q: Is the information coming from the WHO and CDC accurate? A: Not always. This is my conclusion after reading the actual scientific studies that WHO and CDC are using to make their guidelines. Many of the SARS-CoV-2 guidelines have been inherently flawed. Q: Is the information from the White House accurate? A: Not always. With that said, I believe that it is important to pay close attention and to read between the lines, since in addition to WHO, CDC, and the experts, the White House also relies on intelligence sources. PS: It takes a calm and neutral mind to read between the lines, so I believe it's essential to stay open-minded and apolitical if we want to HEAR anything. Q: Are there fake profiles on Facebook and other social media that propagate misinformation? A: Yes. I've come across them personally. It is important to point out, that the fake profiles are not specific to any one camp - they are present across the board. So just because someone's post aligns with most of what we believe or want to believe, it might not be real and had been simply set up to propagate fear and the division in our society. Q: Are there any scientific studies that are published to propagate a specific agenda? A: Yes, I believe so. Q: Have you been blocked by Google when searching for COVID-19 treatments used in other countries? A: Yes Q: Have you been blocked by Google when searching for SARS-CoV NIH research grants from the mid 2000s? A: Yes Q: Have you video captured being blocked? A: Yes, I have. That video has been blocked. Q: Have any of your neutral, unbiased, posts with apolitical information about Coronavirus been blocked or deleted by Facebook? A: Yes Q: Has Facebook prevented you from adding this website to your FB page? A: Yes Q: Has any of the Coronavirus data you've published been misrepresented and then praised while being falsely inflated by the media? A: Yes Q: Has the same exact information been misrepresented and then discredited by the experts interviewed by the media? A: Yes Q: Have you been falsely quoted by the media (by journalists who never spoke to you or contacted you in any way)? A: Yes Q: Have you come across fake doctor profiles on Facebook that proliferate fear in our society, including among other physicians? A: Yes, it appears that some physician profiles in some of the Facebook COVID-19 doctor groups are fake Q: Have you uncovered any disturbing information about the virus and about the pandemic? A: Yes. I do not feel comfortable sharing a lot of it, but some of this information is beginning to surface on its own. Q: So are the conspiracy theories true then? A: Some parts of what's considered to be "conspiracy theories" might actually be true, yes. Are you worried that you could be discredited as a doctor if you continue sharing what you are discovering? A: Yes. When I started writing about the Coronavirus, my goal was to share unbiased medical and scientific facts with the public and with the healthcare providers. It has become progressively more challenging to discern truth from fiction. The information keeps changing on a daily basis, and I certainly do not wish to share something today that will end up being incorrect tomorrow. I do not wish to add additional confusion in a setting of a wide-spread disinformation. I believe that it is wiser to review what we discovering over time and then to form a scientific/medical view that can be shared. I am taking this time to reflect and to form a more informed opinion. I will share more with you, as I uncover more of the solid facts. SO WHAT CAN WE DO IN THIS CHAOS?
Have questions? Can't find answers? I can try to help - I am still offering individual virtual consultations:
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THINGS HAVE BEEN PRETTY BAD FOR A WHILE...Scroll down to a section in blue below to read one doctor's experience. Thousands are doctors around the country have their hands tied by their hospital administrators. General public is largely unaware or non-medical professionals impact patient care. Doctors have been facing and reluctantly complying with growing impositions from a wide range of sources. Here are some examples: - insurance companies limiting the ability of doctors to prescribe medications that would be ideal for an individual patient and many insurance companies pay doctors laughable amounts for the work they do (trust me on that) - medical coding system (each diagnosis and procedure has an assigned number, and many of the diagnostic code names make very little clinical sense - electronic medical record systems (the vast majority of which have completely altered the normal physician workflow and how we gather, process and share information with each other) - legal field (there is always a possibility of being sewed even if you did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong) - hospital systems that work their doctors to death (if you don't know many doctors, that's because they are probably always at work and only socialize at the expense of sleep or some other vital necessity) - ridiculous board exams, which in no way correlate with whether or not a doctor is knowledgeable and does an amazing job at caring for his or her patients (these exams take many weeks of study of random information we rarely use in real life, and take us away from patient care; not to mention, most of them are over $1,000 each (+ a few thousand for a prep course + $1,000 if you have to retake it) and have to be taken every 5-10 years. For at least a few decades, doctors have been working on fumes (most work 60+ hours/week, many even more - I personally have regularly worked 100+ hours per week). We do not get enough sleep. We often don't have time to eat. I can't tell you how many times nursing staff would sneak in a plate of food in front of me while I was documenting patients histories patient charts, because otherwise I would not eat at all in the 9+ hour shift. I simply did not have time (trust me it was not by choice!). I can't tell you how often, as I was leaving work, I would realize that I have not had time to go to the bathroom. At all, in a 10 hour day! All of this is so wrong and unhealthy, but for many of us, it's our reality. Sadly, I am not an exception... Many doctors around the country will tell you similar stories. The sad part is that things have been getting worse and worse every year. It's true that we now have work hour limitations have been placed onto resident and fellow physicians (doctors in their first years of working as physicians - no more than 80 hours/week and 24 hr/day of patient care [not including charting, lectures, etc, etc]. So yes, resident and fellow physicians do work a little bit less now than before, but as soon as you are done with residency or fellowship, this rule no longer applies. So yes, it's madness. Going back to my point. Things are getting worse every year. Doctors are too busy taking care of patients, simply don't have time to fight the overwhelming force of external forces that ultimately impact how we care for our patients. Thus far, we've been able to adjust, each of us figuring out was to "work around" the system in order to deliver the best possible care to our patients. Today, these major external forces have surpassed every boundary. Today, during this tragic pandemic, doctors are literally being forced to do the wrong thing! Many are threatened by being fired if they don't comply. I literally see hundreds of horrifying posts from doctors in private Facebook groups every day. The vast majority can't do ANYTHING to fight this! Doctors are in a horrible position because they have an obligation to their patients, and even when hospital administrators do not provide doctors with proper masks, doctors are still going in because they can't let their patients die! It is wrong for non-medical professionals to dictate how doctors should do their job. You want doctors, not administrators making medical decisions. It is obvious. It is common sense. And yet, now more than ever, we have reached an unprecedented level of admitrators controlling patient care. Please read one doctor's story below. Please share it. WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW. A DOCTOR'S EXPERIENCE."Mostly venting. And physically sad/angry/upset at my hospital’s response to COVID. Here’s my two specific examples. (I’m FM) [Family Medicine Doctor] 1. Radiology is being told by administration that they can’t use the word COVID in their reports. It’s “scaring staff”. So they can’t say in a CXR [Chest X-ray] report “patchy bilateral infiltrates consistent with COVID,”. They just have to stop at “patchy bilateral infiltrates.” Same for CT scans, which to my knowledge, can be nearly diagnostic of COVID. We do not do this for other diagnoses. We would not hesitate on a mammogram to describe a breast lesions and say “highly suspicious for malignancy” or describe the pancreas on CT and say “consistent with pancreatitis.” Also, if/when our patients get transferred to outside hospitals, and only the imaging report goes, not the images, the receiving doctors will need to read between the lines. 2. There are two small hospital systems in my entire county. On Friday, the media reported that my county had the first positive confirmed case. The two hospitals released a joint statement saying that The case was not at either one of the hospitals. This confused me. Then my Hospital went out of his way to make another statement on Saturday again reiterating that the case was not at our hospital. However, I know that my hospital like we has four or five pending cases. I’m angry that my hospital system is either trying to deceive the public, downplay the situation, or make it look like we are still a safe place to come because COVID “is not here”. Or maybe there’s another tactic that I don’t understand. But I don’t like it." Family Practice physician (Publishing anonymously per doctor's request) Administrators can’t tell us how to do our jobs. If the radiologists stop using the phrase “consistent with...” it may potentially affect clinical decisions that other doctors will be making (those who provide direct patient care based on on the the radiology reports). Which means, if radiologists comply with what hospital administration demands of them, it may cost people’s lives. Our primary obligation as doctors is to our patients, we all gave a “do not harm” oath. This obligation is much stronger than any other duty we have to our employers, or others who impede good patient care. We have never in our careers had to experience such a discrepancy between what we are told to do and what is right. On top of that, doctors who are trying to do the right thing, are being threatened with being fired. Here is the thing. It's not that doctors are afraid to lose their jobs. No, they are not thinking about themselves. Doctors are concerned about patients and who will take care of them if the doctors are not there. They do not want to be forced to abandon their patients because the hospital administration is making wrong decisions. That's why doctors find all this to be so overwhelming. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place. PLEASE HELP!As you read these words, I hope you can understand the tough position the doctors are in right now.
If doctors don't have the right masks or other protective equipment, they should not be treating patients potentially exposing them to the virus. Please refuse to be seen by a doctor (or any healthcare provider) who is not properly protected. Doctors should not be told by their hospital administrators how to their job. Doctors should not be risking their jobs if they are doing what's right. Don't let some bureaucrat decide your fate and the fate of your doctor. Please help your doctors. They are there to help you. They put their lives at risk to help save yours. Ask your doctor what you can do to help. If you see something like this happening in your community, please talk to the press! The doctors can't help themselves right now. They need you to help them take care of you the right way. Please share! People have to know! As of 03/20/2020 we still don't know enough about Coronavirus transmission. MY VIEWFrom my personal extensive analysis of the available data (references are available on this page) it is clear to me that the virus can be transmitted in the following way:
Additionally, it appears that SARS-CoV-2 (the Coronavirus responsible for this pandemic)
EXPERT VIEWCheck out a litter from an expert on the subject of transmission. It is really eye-opening... CLICK HERE to view the blog post with the letter. Please take the time to read the letter. It is important. Please share it as well. WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUBe conscientious about your own hygiene and take active measures to protect yourself and others:
I know this is a lot to take in, but it will save lives. I am sorry if the information keeps changing all the time! I will do my best to continue keeping you updated. With love and care, Dr. Maria Danilychev, MD www.danilychev.com P.S.: Below are some images that may help makes sense of all the PPE (personal protective equipment) PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENTWhen around people outside of your home:To protect yourself from droplets in case some coughs or sneezes on you (and to protect the others from your own accidental cough or sneeze), you can use a scarf if you are not sick and a mask if you are (PS: please don't go in public if you are sick): PPE for healthcare workers
If you are sick at the hospital with a respiratory infection, you want all your doctors and care providers to look like the BEST photo above in the ideal case scenario.
Which masks are currently provided to healthcare workers? Very few get PAPRs, many do not have access to N95s, some healthcare workers don't even have enough regular masks, any many are instructed by their hospital administrators to wear suboptimal protective equipment to avoid "scaring" the public. Honestly, I would be more scared of a doctor who is unprotected and may be passing germs around, then the one who is fully "suited up". Please do whatever you can to help! You don't want people in the front lines to start getting sick and dying. Who is going to help the rest of the people? Physicians are notorious for being really bad at advocating for themselves. I've been asking everyone how is not adequately protected by their healthcare organization to speak up, but very few people are doing it. It will take a public outcry to for this horrible situation to change. I am doing everything I can to increase public awareness of this issue which is largely hidden from the public eye and which is not being adequately addressed. Please spread the word! Please find ways to contribute PPE to healthcare workers near you! |
AuthorDr. Maria Danilychev, M.D., is a San Diego based medical doctor with 20 years of experience and board-certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Hospice/Palliative Medicine, and as a Hospice Medical Director. Dr. Danilychev also conducts clinical trials and was one of the first responders during 9/11. ArchivesCategories
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