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Why is cost so obscure in healthcare?

Physician

March 23, 2013

I am embarrassed. I am a specialist taking care of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, which include Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. I spend more than half of my time at work related to research regarding the benefits and risks of treatment options for these diseases. Specifically, I aim to translate the vast medical literature published on this topic into tools for patients (and their parents) to help them better …

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Why is cost so obscure in healthcare?

The filtering of medical evidence has clearly failed

Ryan Radecki, MD

Physician

March 23, 2013

Let me tell you about this fabulous new test – it’s far better than the old tests, I’ve got a decade’s worth of research publications to show you, plus it’s a floor wax and a dessert topping.

Who am I? Why, I’m simply an academic clinician, advocating for this test because it’s the next great thing to help us tailor treatments to patients. Does it matter that I’m on the unofficial …

Why digital health tools need to be rated

Thomas Santo, MD

Health Technology

March 23, 2013

The digital health revolution is in full swing, and there are an abundance of new mobile and web-based digital health tools that address everything from nutrition and exercise habits to disease-specific conditions and hospitalization. Consumers have embraced the new trend, and are becoming more actively involved in tracking and managing their own health.

This is an incredibly important paradigm shift on the oft-ignored side of the health care equation: the patient. …

We need greater access to home hemodialysis

Peter Laird, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 23, 2013

400px-HomeDialysisNxStage

As a doctor who also happens to be an end stage renal disease (ESRD) patient, I appreciate this opportunity to reflect on the great strides that have been made to improve the lives of ESRD patients and the steps that still need to be taken to make sure kidney patients have access to the best dialysis treatment possible and the best chance …

Why a malpractice win for doctors feels like a great loss

BirdStrike, MD

Physician

March 22, 2013

My kid and I are outside in the front yard blowing bubbles, enjoying the blue skies and 70 degree weather when she says, “Cool Daddy! Look, there’s a police car coming down the street. Oh, cool! I think he’s coming to see us!”

Uh, oh, I think to myself. Despite my kid’s excitement, I know that rarely does anything good come delivered by a policeman. My wife is inside, my one …

The gift of a smile is really not that small after all

bongi, MD

Physician

March 22, 2013

“Bongi, I have a patient who came in last night with appendicitis. Can you operate him for me?”

My colleague was known to load shed and mostly I didn’t really mind. That day, however, I just didn’t feel like any extra work, so it took a bit of effort to fake enthusiasm.

“Sure! Any time.” I lied. “Anything special or straight appendicitis?”

“Well, I saw …

Only one company can deliver the perfect EMR: Google

Rob Lamberts, MD

Health Technology

March 22, 2013

For the record: I am a geek. I love technology. I adopted EMR when all the cool kids were using paper. Instead of loitering in the “in” doctors lounge making eyes at the nurses, I was writing clinical content and making my care more efficient. I was getting “meaningful use” out of my EMR even when nobody paid me to do it.

But …

When it comes to my patients, waiting is unacceptable

Miranda Fielding, MD

Physician

March 22, 2013

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part.
-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

I’ve never been good at waiting for anything. Instant gratification has been my middle name, and I’ve gotten in lots of trouble because of it. I think that I have improved with age—I am less likely to become apoplectic when …

3 business skills doctors need to know

Brian J. Secemsky, MD

Medical Education

March 22, 2013

Prior to entering the medical field, my preconceived notion of what makes a good doctor essentially compromised of compassion, intelligence, and the ability to think fast on ones feet. Although I continue to believe that these professional qualities are paramount to excellent patient care, I am finding that other, less obvious proficiencies are also required. Ironically, these skills that I have in …

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3 business skills doctors need to know

Cost is a gaping hole in scientific discourse

Wes Fisher, MD

Medications

March 21, 2013

My perspective on scientific publications has been greatly affected by my experience with this blog and social media in particular. The ability to serve as author, reviewer, advertiser and marketer can be easily achieved in this space thanks to the power of self-publishing. But with this new platform comes new responsibilities and for those of us who chose to work with people daily, perhaps none is as great as maintaining …

Why OB/GYNs are not primary care physicians

Lucy Hornstein, MD

Physician

March 21, 2013

You may have heard of the “Dean’s Lie“, the artificial padding of numbers allowing medical schools to claim ever-increasing percentages of their graduates are going into primary care medicine. This is accomplished by counting everyone going into internal medicine, pediatrics, and med-peds, in addition to family medicine as “primary care.”

It makes their schools sound more attractive by seeming more progressive, but it does nothing to enhance the supply …

Measuring quality: What doctors and teachers have in common

Shirie Leng, MD

Health Policy

March 21, 2013

I was watching Jon Stewart recently, and he had Michelle Rhee on. For anyone who doesn’t know her, she’s the superintendent of schools in Washington D.C. who made a bunch of reforms that caused some controversy and resulted in her being one of the main spokespersons for education reform in this country. Her conversation with Jon made me realize the similarities between …

Become a disruptive physician: How to do it right

Dike Drummond, MD

Physician

March 21, 2013

“Disruptive physician” is one of the most misused terms in healthcare these days. In many organizations, those two words have become the c-suite’s trump card to quash any physician resistance to new administrative programs. These programs are often have purely financial motives or are a brazen attempt to dump additional tasks on the physicians with no regard for their workload or stress levels.

The doctor’s legitimate concerns about quality of care …

Medical malpractice stress syndrome: The ignored side of litigation

Sherry Gorman, MD

Physician

March 21, 2013

In March 2008, prominent Denver business owner Leslie Fishbein suffered cardiac arrest and died after receiving trigger point injections with bupivacaine for chronic neck pain. Ms. Fishbein owned a chain of high-end furniture stores. She was well known within the community because of her starring role in television commercials promoting her business. Her death drew tremendous media attention and heavy scrutiny for …

Dear lawmakers: This is what it’s like to be a doctor today

Matthew Moeller, MD

Physician

March 20, 2013

I am writing this letter because I feel that our leaders and lawmakers do not have an accurate picture of what it actually entails to become a physician today; specifically, the financial, intellectual, social, mental, and physical demands of the profession. This is an opinion that is shared amongst many of my colleagues. Because of these concerns, I would like to …

I’m a part time physician, and I’m not sorry

Katie Noorbakhsh, MD

Physician

March 20, 2013

I began the medical school application process 10 years ago. I was 23, single and most of my role models worked full time. I had no idea that a part-time medical career lay in my future. Quite a bit has changed since the days of hoping and praying and crossing my fingers for a medical school acceptance letter. In the past 10 years I have, at varying times, declared …

Is Chris Christie too obese to run for president?

Jeffrey Parks, MD

Physician

March 20, 2013

Former White House physician Connie Mariano, MD, set off a firestorm recently by stating the patently obvious fact that New Jersey governor Chris Christie ought to address his morbid obesity prior to entertaining thoughts of running for the presidency in 2016.

“It’s almost like a time bomb waiting to happen unless he addresses those issues before he runs for office,” Mariano …

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Is Chris Christie too obese to run for president?

The New York Times didn’t kill this patient

John Schumann, MD

Physician

March 20, 2013

A loyal reader sent me a doctor-written column with the provocative headline, “My Patient, Killed by The New York Times.”

First, keep in mind that the website that posted this, Mediaite, is all about the media covering (really fawning and dishing) itself. The purpose of this story, with its provocative headline, sad outcome, and mea culpa tone, is to generate “buzz.”

Then understand that this is a story of one patient who made …

AMA: Helping physicians thrive in an evolving healthcare system

Jeremy Lazarus, MD

Health Policy

March 20, 2013

A guest column by the American Medical Association, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

As American health care continues to transform, physicians in every state and specialty are attempting to comply with new rules, expectations and costs, and must evolve to meet new health care demands. The American Medical Association (AMA) is committed to helping physicians not only navigate the changing environment, but thrive in …

What doctors are supposed to do when your child has an earache

Claire McCarthy, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 19, 2013

Your child has an earache. You are worried it is an ear infection. You call the doctor and make an appointment. After all, he needs antibiotics, right?

Maybe not.

We have a real problem of antibiotic overuse in our country–and because we are overusing our antibiotics, many bacteria are getting smarter and stronger. Because ear infections is the diagnosis that kids in the United …

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