We always thought Sanjay Gupta would be the first widely known physician to start a blog, but it appears the first may be Frist: Senator Bill Frist, MD, Republican from Tennessee, has been blogging on MedicalMatters.org:
MedicalMatters.org is a special project of Senator Bill Frist’s leadership committee, VOLPAC. Senator Frist will regularly blog. MedicalMatters will also feature many regular bloggers as well as some high profile guest bloggers engaging in a discussion of health care issues.
America’s health care system faces many challenges as we enter into the 21st century. MedicalMatters goal is to provide a forum for health care professionals, consumers, doctors, nurses, etc. to interact with one another and discuss these challenges in a civil and thoughtful way.
Frist and his aides have been “blogging” (read: excerpting speeches and position papers) since last November, but updates are now daily, rather than monthly. He did write a tribute to a mentor, pioneering cardiac surgeon Dr. Norman Schumway, that transcended the usual politic-speak.
The comments seem unmoderated (or at least, unedited for spelling). How “thoughtful” his blog will be as a forum for the stem cell debate and other health issues is still very much an open question.
More from the Wikipedia entry on Senator Bill Frist…