In the US most patients who require PrEP (HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) get coverage for Truvada by their insurance companies. Patients with medicaid coverage have copays ranging from $3 - 25, however individuals with commercial insurance may have to pay up to $800 a month towards medication cost. This has proven to be a barrier for … Continue reading Generic Truvada; why it is still not available on the US market?
More than 20 years ago I entered University of Ghana as a preme student in the Faculty of Science. One important thing about having the opportunity to spend time on the University Campus rather than starting right out in the medical school in Accra was the opportunity afforded us to interact with students pursuing other … Continue reading The Joys and Perils of Free Speech, is it really worth it?
This article is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Bongani Mayosi, a world renowned South African cardiologist who died by suicide from depression this week. As I sat in front of the couple trying to be stoic and listen to and diagnose their model teenage child with lupus, at this point I regret being a … Continue reading Physician burnout by Dr. Dzifa Dey
When I look at what is happening around me these days in America, I get deja vu feelings about my childhood. Sometimes it causes me extreme tummy upset and nausea and here is why! My mom and I lived in a compound house in a low middle-class neighborhood called Adabraka in Accra, Ghana! A compound … Continue reading A Masseuse for a Boob Job
As the summer enters its full force and many plan their vacations to the beach and other sunny places, I remembered that not all of us are going to be enjoying the sun equally. There are a few who would avoid the sun like the plague, and this is not from fear of skin cancer. … Continue reading Black is beautiful, or is it?
Happy Tuesday FB friends and family. I am a sole believer for educating and promoting awareness in Baltimore and beyond about HIV Prevention but I have several issues with this article that was featured on Fox's webpage written by Marilynn Marchion, AP Chief Medical Writer and also Fox news reporter Patrice Sanders reported this topic … Continue reading Open Letter to Fox 45 News Baltimore by Chris Roberson, NP
She was a model patient in many ways, never missed any appointments, and had done very well health wise. Yes, she had gained a few generous pounds over the years that I had known her but in other ways she was the picture of health. As is always the case when I have patients like … Continue reading Love, Sex and Life with HIV
I have been very lucky when it come to religious education. I grew up in the Anglican Church; actually my elementary education was in a school affiliated with the Church. In those days we would all march to the church on Ash Wednesday to get the grey black crosses on our foreheads after school assembly. … Continue reading Thinking Outside The Box When There is No Box
I lived with my single mother for the first 10 years of my life. At age ten I was distraught when my mother suggested I had to go live with my father because I needed a father figure to look up to! To ease my stay with my dad I had to spend some vacation … Continue reading The Holy Trinity, American Democracy, Zero Tolerance Nonsense and Hell goers!!
It has become abundantly clear to me that black people in America belong to a different subspecies of Homo sapiens! I have grouped them into a subspecies Homo sapiens blackus, and in my case Sub Subspecies Homo sapiens blackus shitus! How else can anyone explain the spate of calls that are made to cops about … Continue reading Homo sapiens blackus a new human species. How must we handle this new species?
A part of the New Testament, John 8:7 actually suggests .....“He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.”... This was after an adulterer was accused and brought to Jesus. In 1 Cor 4:5. Luke 6:37, Matthew 7:1 and James 4:11, Romans 2:1, 14:10, 14:13 Christians are advised and … Continue reading The Bible and Sexuality in Ghana, how does one address the controversies?
In the past few years there have been many protests and struggles across this country surrounding the fate of several monuments depicting confederate leaders. One such protest which occurred in the Summer of 2017 was the Unite the Right Protest in Charlottesville, VA. Unfortunately this protest cost 3 lives including that of 32 year old … Continue reading General Robert E Lee, did he shape American history or has this country shaped his legacy?
Living in the great multi-cultural society, which is today's America is an opportunity that I have grown to love and cherish. I love the fact that when I step out on the streets I could be interacting with individuals whose gene pool could easily span the whole global realm known to man. This in itself … Continue reading Can a person be prejudiced against their own racial group?
I rarely have dreams! And on the rare occasions that I have dreamt, I barely remember the contents of my dream! I guess I am not prone to hypnopompic and hypnagogic hallucinations! If I were the Martin Luther King of the 1960’s, my speech would be titled ”I don't have a dream.” And it would … Continue reading Oh no!! another wet dream ?
Whilst boarding school in Ghana for me was mostly fun that was not all that I experienced in Mfantsipim School, one of the oldest schools in Ghana. My first 3 years in boarding school as a junior boy was fraught with many experiences that could well give Tom Brown's School Days a run for its … Continue reading Why the oppressed need to keep silent so passive supporters of oppression do not feel uncomfortable.
Before I came to America I was made to believe that America was this “melting pot” of people from all over the world. A huge successful experiment where people from all walks of life and continents who value American culture and ethos emigrate to and become American, whilst at the same time maintaining their unique … Continue reading Why I now use sign language in public !!
Broad street in Philadelphia is this wide swathe of black, running through the middle of the city. A black big motoring vein with asphalt tributaries emptying cars, and people, milling restlessly with a tenacity that hardly ever changes. The City Hall punctuates it, splitting the broad street flow with its imposing gravity defying white columns … Continue reading Musings of a Ghanaian doctor from the home of the Liberty Bell.
I first saw her in my clinic seeking care for HIV but when we first met like most patients with her medical condition she was not an ideal patient. The decision to start her on ART Antiretroviral therapy in those days when the only single tablet regimen was Atripla (Tenofovir/Emtrictabine/Efavirenz) was not an easy one … Continue reading The war on drugs; who won that war?
After more than 2 centuries of slavery progress towards equity and equality has always been challenging for African Americans, progress always seems to be followed by significant periods or retrogression. This situation can sometimes leave most black people wondering if progress towards racial equality was really worth the effort. The election of President Trump in-spite … Continue reading Why STARBUCKS does not need to apologize to African Americans
Hepatitis C is a global disease with an estimated prevalence rate of about 2.8% worldwide. There are however significant variations in the prevalence rate by country with most low and middle income countries bearing the bulk of the disease burden. Countries with the highest Hepatitis C prevalence ≥5% include Egypt 4.4-15.0%, Gabon 4.9-11.2%, Uzbekistan 11.3%, … Continue reading Global elimination of Hepatitis C, is it achievable with current available technology ?
