Dr Craig Lilienthal on the death of his wife and the goodbye VAD made possible
My wife, Shirley, and I had discussed voluntary euthanasia, impartially and objectively, on and off for some years. Given our advancing years, we knew there…
Dr Craig Lilienthal
Dr Lilienthal is a GP and medicolegal adviser in Sydney, NSW.
Impostor syndrome is a common cause of doctor distress — here’s how I beat it
Each year, thousands of distressed doctors reach out to doctors’ health services around the country for help. Here, GP and doctors’ health service counsellor Dr…
Have you been a patient recently and tried to navigate our hospital system?
If you or a member of your family has had an encounter with our hospital system lately, you will appreciate my experiences below. To put…
From barber-surgeons to pharmacists — the real story behind healthcare turf wars
There have been turf wars in the healthcare industry for eons, starting with witch doctors and shamans and progressing through to apothecaries and barber-surgeons. But…
My unforgettable patients aren’t the successes — they’re the ones I misjudged
While it was interesting to read Dr Malcolm Fisher’s article on patients he attended and successfully resuscitated in ICU, none of his cases reflect life…
Why did the medical board backflip on mandatory health checks for older doctors?
Bloody hell. So, the Medical Board of Australia has decided not to pursue the idea of forcing us practitioners older than 70 to have a…
Most locally trained doctors have no idea what IMGs endure
I suspect few local graduates fully appreciate the challenges IMGs face in coming to work in Australia. In fact, the difficulties they face are staggering,…
Weight loss drugs and blindness: How far do we need to go with informed consent?
This one is serious and a must-read for any GP who prescribes GLP-1 receptor agonists. When it comes to consent, the law requires medical practitioners…
The specialist shuffle: Take over, step back, leave the GP to pick up the mess
In the good old days, GPs were the centre of patient healthcare and we occasionally sought advice from “consultants”. A lot has changed since then,…
Yes, GPs should be allowed to diagnose ADHD — but I won’t be one of them
I agree with Emeritus Professor Max Kamien who stated in his recent article that GPs should be allowed to diagnose and prescribe for ADHD, which…
