Conditions and Diseases

Physician trust in leadership drives health care execution

June 14, 2026

Health care leaders often believe organizational struggles are driven by resistance to change. When initiatives fail, engagement declines, or operational performance weakens, the explanation frequently centers on physician pushback, burnout, staffing shortages, or financial pressure. But after years working in complex health care environments, I’ve come to believe many execution failures begin somewhere less visible and far more dangerous: the breakdown of trust between physicians and leadership.

In health care, trust …

5 ways to calm fight or flight insomnia at bedtime

Lindsay Anderson

Conditions and Diseases

June 14, 2026

We all know the feeling of being in a stressful situation when the body’s fight-or-flight response kicks in. Your palms begin to sweat, your heart pounds, and your blood pressure rises as your brain signals that something may not be safe.

This response can be incredibly helpful when you need to respond to a real threat. However, when the body remains in this heightened state for too long, it can make …

Pediatric gender transition needs evidence, not ideology

William Malone, MD

Conditions and Diseases

June 13, 2026

One of America’s largest and most influential doctor groups earlier this year advised their members to stop conducting surgical interventions on minors who experience gender dysphoria.

In a new position statement, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons noted that “there is insufficient evidence demonstrating a favorable risk-benefit ratio” for those interventions. This announcement represents a watershed moment for the American medical establishment, one that could help spare thousands of vulnerable children …

The corporate money behind psychedelic drug legalization

Martha Rosenberg

Conditions and Diseases

June 13, 2026

In April, President Trump, with psychedelic advocates HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. and podcaster Joe Rogan at his side, signed the “Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness” executive order, which dramatically decreases some drug approval times. FDA Commissioner Makary promptly issued priority review vouchers to companies that make psilocybin and the Ecstasy chemical cousin methylone.

Many public health professionals are surprised at how fast the move to legalize Schedule 1 …

Experienced nurse pay is leadership, not a liability

Rennae Revell, RN

Conditions and Diseases

June 13, 2026

There was a time when longevity in nursing was something to be proud of, something that reflected commitment, growth, and a deep dedication to patient care. But somewhere along the way, that narrative has shifted. It has become increasingly unsettling to watch longevity in nursing, commitment, loyalty, and experience, be treated not as an asset, but as something to be managed, limited, and at times, even quietly penalized.

Many of us …

Workplace mental health is a culture problem

Ronke Lawal, MBA

Conditions and Diseases

June 13, 2026

The illusion of safety

“I suffer from depression and my boss told my coworker behind my back that I was using it as an excuse to be lazy, and that if I just listened to some Taylor Swift I’d feel much better.”
– Junior Associate

Anyone with an HR voice will tell you that one of the most important steps you can take to protect your well-being at work is to talk to …

Permanent discipline punishes nurses in recovery

Natalie Conrad, MBA, RN

Conditions and Diseases

June 13, 2026

I did everything the system asked of me, and much more.

I sought help for a treatable medical condition. I laid down every ounce of pride I had and accepted accountability. I completed every requirement, rebuilt my practice, and spent years proving, through safe, competent care, that recovery works.

And still, my past follows me into every room.

In health care, we tell clinicians to speak up, to seek help early, to protect …

How insulin drives polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome

Oluyemisi Famuyiwa, MD

Conditions and Diseases

June 12, 2026

One of the most misunderstood aspects of polycystic ovary syndrome, now increasingly reframed as Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS), is the role insulin plays in the disorder. For years, insulin resistance in PMOS was discussed primarily through the lens of diabetes risk and abnormal glucose metabolism. Yet insulin’s role in the syndrome appears to extend far beyond blood sugar alone.

What many patients, and even many clinicians outside endocrinology and reproductive …

Why we know the model’s name but not the surgeon’s

Anna Estrin

Conditions and Diseases

June 12, 2026

I spent fifteen years in the world of fashion. Runway shows, parties, exclusive events, beautiful photographs, perfect smiles, the right connections. A world where the outer shell is often valued more than what lies beneath it.

Over those years, I met hundreds of people. Many called themselves friends. Many said all the right things. Many built around themselves an image of success, importance, and influence.

And then, in a single second, everything …

The assumptions in medicine that put patients at risk

Christine King, CRNA

Conditions and Diseases

June 12, 2026

We all make assumptions based on beliefs that may or may not be true. We all have made the mistake of judging books by their cover and been wrong. Making assumptions is not always intentional or inherently bad. Our human brain uses these mental shortcuts to classify things in this large, ever-changing world we live in. We learn very early to classify things by color and shape, and this system …

Recording medical visits is your legal right

Laurel A. Coons, PhD

Conditions and Diseases

June 11, 2026

Patients are not guests in their own medical care. Their bodies are examined, their symptoms interpreted, their diagnoses explained, their treatment risks discussed, their consent sought, and their lives affected by the plan that follows. Yet when patients try to lawfully document those care conversations, they are too often treated as if they are doing something improper. They are told they are “not allowed” to record. They are told it …

Diagnosis shock is the missing piece in patient encounters

Judith A. Swack, PhD

Conditions and Diseases

June 11, 2026

In a recent piece on KevinMD, patient advocate Alan P. Feren explores what he calls “unfinishedness” in medicine: the gap between what clinicians consider a complete visit and what patients actually experience. His observation is both valid and important: Physicians may achieve administrative closure through documentation, diagnoses, and treatment plans, yet patients can leave feeling confused, overwhelmed, or adrift.

However, there is a critical piece missing from this conversation, one …

Conservative care for back pain is not “wait and see”

Patrick Roth, MD

Conditions and Diseases

June 11, 2026

One of the most common things I hear from patients is, “I was told to give it more time.” As a neurosurgeon who has spent more than 30 years treating spine conditions, I’ve seen how often that advice is both appropriate and, at times, misleading.

In many cases, it is the right approach. Most back pain improves. The body has a remarkable ability to heal, and conservative care remains the appropriate …

How patient advocacy in the hospital can prevent a stroke

Ashley Youngdale

Conditions and Diseases

June 10, 2026

As someone who spent years advocating for my medically complex son, I’m often asked how to do it. What advocacy looks like. How to push back. The truth is, advocacy itself isn’t that complicated. At its core, it’s standing up for what you know is right, and refusing to accept an unacceptable status quo. I believe the hard part is taking up space. Challenging people and systems that aren’t used …

The hidden link between childhood trauma and addiction

Ronke Lawal, MBA

Conditions and Diseases

June 10, 2026

There is a particular cruelty in growing up, not the ordinary kind involving responsibility or the poetic loss of innocence. The cruelty is this: A child can survive something they do not yet have the language to name, carry it quietly for decades, and only begin to suffer its full weight once they have developed the cognitive architecture to understand what was done to them. The horror is not concurrent …

Early Alzheimer’s detection is now a treatment decision

Dr. Emer MacSweeney

Conditions and Diseases

June 10, 2026

For decades, an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis has been viewed as simply a confirmation of a disease, not an opportunity for treatment. Typically, patients or family members would notice subtle changes in memory. Once these symptoms reached the point where concern was raised to a physician, and referrals were made, often leading to months of waiting to see a neurologist, opportunities for even symptomatic treatment were significantly smaller. This diagnosis-to-treatment gap …

Beyond 5 percent quit rates: nicotine harm reduction

Julie K. Gunther, MD

Conditions and Diseases

June 10, 2026

In 2021, I was asked, “If a patient is 200 pounds overweight and loses 100 pounds, would you tell them that’s not good enough?” It was a compelling question. In the words of my favorite surgical attending, we don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. We would celebrate that win, and keep going.

The next question stopped me: “Do you have strategies to help smokers make similar incremental change?”

I didn’t. …

5 ways hospitals can reduce medical malpractice claims

Colleen Naglee, MD, JD

Conditions and Diseases

June 10, 2026

I don’t know any physicians who aren’t worried about being sued. It is unfortunately very common in today’s world, with some specialties like neurosurgery and obstetrics disproportionately experiencing higher lawsuits. The fear of litigation is not benign, and health employers need to reduce litigation and better support staff.

Recently there has also been a trend with the so-called “nuclear verdict.” These are very costly jury verdicts that can devastate a physician …

The 15-provider road to vestibular disorder diagnosis

Bridgett Wallace, DPT, PT

Conditions and Diseases

June 9, 2026

That question came to me, again, at the end of a community webinar I gave recently for individuals living with vestibular disorders. It is the most common question I am asked when I speak to community audiences. It is asked without anger. It is asked the way someone asks a question they have lived with for years.

“Why don’t more health care providers know more about dizziness?”

I owe that question an …

Xenotransplantation ethics tests our moral frameworks

Chinmeri Nwuba

Conditions and Diseases

June 9, 2026

Xenotransplantation, the transplantation of animal organs, tissues, or cells into humans, has rapidly transitioned from speculative science to a clinical reality. It is driven by advances in genetic engineering, particularly CRISPR-mediated modification of donor animals. On the bright side, the field now offers a plausible solution to one of modern medicine’s most persistent crises: the global shortage of transplantable human organs. Recent milestones, including first-in-human pig heart and kidney xenotransplants, …

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