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Rural maternity care in crisis: 5 solutions to save local OB units

Jesus Ruiz, MD

Physician

February 28, 2026

Across the United States, rural maternity care is in crisis. Hospitals continue to close labor and delivery units, entire counties are left without obstetric services, and pregnant patients are forced to travel hours for routine care or delivery. These closures are often framed as inevitable, driven by low volume, unsustainable costs, and staffing shortages, but this narrative ignores both the root causes of the problem and the solutions already within …

Bipolar I and the illusion of insight: a firsthand account

Tommy Saborido, MD

Physician

February 28, 2026

I’m Tommy. Bipolar type one, I’m told. I actually have something to say, something to share.

The thing no one talks about in mental health, bipolar type one specifically, is how seductive and sweet the upswing feels. It’s deeply more than just “good” to me. It feels like the limits of the brain have been cut loose, severed, done away with. Suddenly all those moments and ideas and thoughts and connections …

AI in health care data management: Curing the EHR overload

Hamad Husainy, DO

Tech

February 28, 2026

Once upon a time, clinicians didn’t have enough data about their patients.

To put it mildly, things have changed. Today we’re drowning in data. As a practicing emergency physician, it is a reality I see every day.

In an emergency department (ED) environment characterized by constant time pressure, staffing constraints, and high patient acuity, clinicians sometimes must wade through reams of electronic health records (EHR) data to find critical patient information that …

The hidden toll of physician regulatory investigations

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Physician

February 28, 2026

I have spent my career believing in systems. As physicians, we are trained to trust oversight. We are taught that regulatory bodies exist to protect patients, maintain standards, and intervene when care falls below acceptable levels. We are taught that if we act ethically, document carefully, and prioritize patients, the system will ultimately be fair. What we are not trained for is what happens when that power becomes opaque.

Over the …

Physician father wrestles with daughter’s post-Dobbs future [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 27, 2026

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Family physician Travis Walker discusses his article “A physician father on the Dobbs decision and reproductive rights.” Travis reflects on the glaring double standard facing his daughter compared to his sons in …

Physician tax strategies: Why your tax bill is so high and how to fix it

Logan Foltz, MD

Finance

February 27, 2026

If you are frustrated by your high tax bill, you are not alone. I have spoken with many doctors who experience sticker shock when they see their total annual tax liability after completing residency. Stories in the media, such as The Atlantic’s recent study on billionaire taxes, about how rich people avoid taxes only fan the flames. It is no surprise, then, that one of the most common financial …

AI in clinical documentation: Who is liable for medical errors?

Harvey Castro, MD, MBA

Tech

February 27, 2026

The attending scrolls through the chart before morning rounds. The progress note is polished. The assessment is structured. The differential is surprisingly thorough. A predictive model flags the patient as high risk for deterioration within 24 hours. He did not write most of it.

An AI assistant drafted the note. A risk algorithm generated the alert. A decision-support tool suggested broadening the workup. He reviewed it. He agreed with most of …

Physician burnout and gaming: Why doctors turn to video games

Gerald Kuo

Tech

February 27, 2026

“The problem is not that physicians play games. The problem is that we are embarrassed to admit we need ways to feel alive again.”

At 3:17 a.m., we called the code. Thirty minutes of compressions. Three rounds of epinephrine. A room filled with controlled urgency. When it ended, the monitors fell silent before the hallway did. I finished my documentation. I washed my hands. I walked to my car. And I …

Beyond BMI: Why weight management must look inside the body

Maureen McBeth, PT

Conditions

February 27, 2026

After more than 25 years in oncology rehabilitation, clinical education, and survivorship care, I’ve learned to be cautious about “good” numbers from common tools like BMI and bathroom scales that don’t match what is actually happening in the body. A recent study confirms it: When used alone, BMI has been found to misclassify up to 34 percent of the general population as obese.

This year, it became more personal when …

Learned helplessness and self-efficacy in tobacco treatment

Edward Anselm, MD

Physician

February 27, 2026

Treatment of people who use tobacco is different. Most treatments given to patients are reasonably successful, but cigarette smokers who are trying to quit will make multiple attempts before they remain abstinent, sometimes as many as twenty. Within hours of stopping, nicotine users can begin to experience withdrawal symptoms which include craving, anxiety, irritability, and restlessness that continue to increase and can rapidly be relieved by another cigarette.

Some people trying …

The truth about ketamine: an anesthesiologist explains drug safety

Jim Ellwood, MD

Conditions

February 27, 2026

Unfortunately, we’re all too familiar with the tragic headlines:

Matthew Perry, cause of death: ketamine overdose
Michael Jackson, cause of death: propofol overdose
Prince and Tom Petty, cause of death: fentanyl overdose

We can easily conclude from these stories that ketamine, propofol, and fentanyl are inherently dangerous substances. When used irresponsibly or in the wrong hands, they are dangerous. But as an anesthesiologist, I, and many other medical professionals, use these …

Why doctors struggle with health care system delays

Kayvan Haddadan, MD

Physician

February 27, 2026

As a pain physician, I spend my career advocating for patients who struggle to access appropriate pain management. I write often on hurdles like restrictive opioid policy, excessive regulatory scrutiny, prior authorization, and administrative burdens that detract from patient care. Yet nothing prepared me for the visceral reality of being the patient on the other side of the system.

From physician advocate to patient in the system

My recent experience, unrelated to …

Orthorexia nervosa turns healthy habits into a harmful obsession [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 26, 2026

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Internal medicine physician Sally Daganzo discusses her article “The hidden epidemic of orthorexia nervosa.” Sally explains how the pursuit of a perfect diet can spiral into a debilitating obsession where food rules …

Outsourcing patient contact: a solution for multilingual health care

Deepak Gupta, MD

Conditions

February 26, 2026

The fissuring of health care, along the lines of “The Fissured Workplace: Why Work Became So Bad for So Many and What Can Be Done to Improve It” by David Weil (2014), may not be entirely negative after all. Outsourcing patient contact services, perioperative or otherwise, to centralized, multilingual third-party entities with nationwide reach may be the need of the hour in an ever-evolving multilingual society seeking health care. In …

Physician mental health and suicide prevention: stories of survival

Michael F. Myers, MD

Physician

February 26, 2026

An excerpt from Physicians With Lived Experience: How Their Stories Offer Clinical Guidance (APA Publishing, 2025).

Foreword by Jennifer Breen Feist

Foreword by Jennifer Breen Feist, who lost her beloved sister, Dr. Lorna Breen, to suicide on April 26, 2020. After describing the initial shock and unwanted global publicity of her death, she wrote this:

As the emails, letters, and phone calls continued to pour in, my husband …

The enduring value of the physical exam in modern medicine

Francisco M. Torres, MD

Physician

February 26, 2026

I recall the moment I fully grasped the critical importance of the physical exam and how easily it can be overlooked, often with serious consequences.

Early in my fellowship, an elderly patient was referred to our team with an apparently straightforward case of sciatica. His MRI revealed a disc herniation at L5/S1 with foraminal narrowing, prompting discussion about whether an epidural injection or surgery would be more beneficial. I was tasked …

From Singapore to Canada: a blueprint for primary care transformation

Ivy Oandasan, MD

Policy

February 26, 2026

Recently, Dr. Tara Kiran made headlines when her robust national OurCare survey revealed 5.9 million Canadians still lack a primary care provider, the point-of-entry health professional, like a family doctor or nurse practitioner, who provides routine care.

Those who do have a primary care provider often wait weeks for an appointment, then get rushed through in minutes. Emergency departments overflow with patients who have nowhere else to go.

The federal government …

Health care price transparency: Why patients are bypassing insurance

Sally Daganzo, MD

Physician

February 26, 2026

I recently went to Quest Diagnostics for a TB test and a couple of basic labs my doctor ordered. At check-in, I recalled my insurance had changed in the new year and I did not have the updated information readily available. I did not have time to reschedule nor sort it out so figured I could pay cash and reconcile it later. That seemed reasonable, if inconvenient.

When I asked what …

Opt-in vs. opt-out: How defaults shape organ donation rates

Anvit Divekar

Conditions

February 26, 2026

A few weeks ago, I went to the DMV to renew my driver’s license. At the very end of the process, after the routine questions and fine print, a single prompt appeared with a small checkbox next to it: Do you want to register as an organ donor?

I selected “yes,” but then I paused. Not because I was conflicted, but because I realized how easily I could have done nothing. …

Post-holiday heart health: How to reset your cardiovascular habits

Steven Lamm, MD

Conditions

February 26, 2026

The holidays are good for the soul, but often hard on the heart. Weeks of indulgent meals, disrupted sleep, increased alcohol intake, stress, and inconsistent routines can quietly strain cardiovascular health, especially for men. As the calendar turns and routines resume, the post-holiday period presents a valuable opportunity to reset habits, reflect on seasonal excesses, and refocus on heart health before temporary behaviors become lasting risks. Understanding how seasonal habits …

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