A version of this column was published on January 13, 2013 in USA Today.
Like many other primary care doctors across the country, I’m seeing my fair share of patients with runny noses during this winter season.
I recently saw a patient for a sinus infection whom asked, “Why did I have to come in to see you? Couldn’t you have given me an …
The following column was published on August 5th, 2012 in USA Today.
A patient once blamed me for causing him considerable anxiety because he had to wait several weeks before receiving the results of a lab test, which I had ordered. Many patients commonly have to wait days, if not weeks, before getting lab results from their doctor. The delay can affect patients’ health negatively.
For instance, one study looked at women who underwent …
According to a recent study from the Archives of Internal Medicine, primary care physicians are referring more patients to specialists than ever before. In fact, the rate almost doubled in the 10-year period between 1999 and 2009.
This drives up the cost of care, as specialist consults tend to be more expensive than primary care visits. Furthermore, specialists tend to …
In a widely circulated CNN article, many radiologists have been found to cheat on their board exams: “Doctors around the country taking an exam to become board certified in radiology have cheated by memorizing test questions, creating sophisticated banks of what are known as ‘recalls,’ … The recall exams are meticulously compiled by radiology residents, who write down the questions …
Are doctors really going broke?
According to this piece from CNN Money, some are: “Doctors list shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations, rising business and drug costs among the factors preventing them from keeping their practices afloat. But some experts counter that doctors’ lack of business acumen is also to blame.”
That’s all entirely true.
Pressure on reimbursement, combined with a lack of …
Health care is a team sport, and one of the most important members is the office receptionist.
Receptionists are often the first people patients see when the visit the clinic. And those first impressions count.
In a recent piece from the New York Times, Pauline Chen notes a study of the responsibilities of the medical receptionist, and finds they impact …
The American Medical Association recently released its membership numbers, and they’re declining.
According to MedPage Today, the AMA “saw another steep drop in its membership in 2010 — this time losing about 12,000 members or 5% of its total membership.”
It’s been well publicized that the AMA only represents a minority percentage of physicians, depending on what you read, it’s between 20 and 30%. But it seems many physicians have little …
This past spring, I took the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) exam.
7 weeks later, I received my results. Thankfully, I passed.
This was not entirely a surprise, as the pass rate for first-time test takers was 88%. But it definitely requires some studying. It’s not a gimmie.
Considering that I last took my board exam in …
Whenever I speak about social media to doctors across the country, I often get asked, “How do I deal with a negative online review?”
Here’s one way not to handle it: sue the patient writing the review.
There’s a well publicized case in Minnesota, where a resident posted a screenshot of …
Kimberly Hiatt was a pediatric critical care nurse who accidentally gave an infant a fatal overdose of calcium chloride last year.
By accounts, it was a calculation error. A human mistake.
After the incident, the hospital fired her.
This past April, she took her own life.
Although it cannot be concluded that the tragedy was directly responsible for her suicide, the incident clearly …
I was quoted recently in the New York Times’ Well blog, in a Danielle Ofri piece on Facebook and doctors.
There’s no question that Facebook has been a minefield of sorts for the medical professions, with infractions ranging from unprofessional conduct by medical students to patient privacy violations by attending physicians.
One solution would be for doctors to simply avoid …
Patient privacy and social media use in health care often go together when reported in mainstream media.
When physician blogs were a relatively new phenomenon several years ago, the majority of the media coverage focused on edge cases, where doctors inadvertently revealed patient information.
Only a minority of the headlines focused on the positive aspects, such as how …
Doctors are now incentivized to convert antiquated paper charts to electronic medical records.
Despite a few doctors who love their EMR, most readers here at KevinMD.com are skeptical, as the difficulties in transitioning, along with questionable benefits, have been well chronicled.
Recently, the Washington …
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What, exactly, is a difficult patient?
Doctors can tell many tales of what they term as a difficult encounter. Just as many patients can recall doctors whom they would say are difficult to work with as well.
According to a study from the Journal of General Internal Medicine, here’s a definition:
Patients deemed difficult included those with more than five symptoms, severe symptoms or an underlying mental disorder or were less functional. These …
Should medical students receive immunity from malpractice liability?
That’s an interesting question that’s raised in a bill from Arizona.
According to the Arizona Daily Sun,
State lawmakers are moving to keep patients injured by medical students from being able to sue them.
But proponents said that won’t leave victims without recourse.
SB1429, awaiting full Senate action, would spell out that students are not liable for malpractice if they are under the supervision of a …
Abdominal pain is the bane of many emergency physicians.
Recently, I wrote how CT scans are on the rise in the ER. Much of those scans look for potential causes of abdominal pain.
In an essay from TIME, Zachary Meisel discusses why abdominal pain, in his words, is the doctor’s “booby prize.” And when you consider that there are 7 million visits annually by people who report abdominal pain, that’s a …
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Many doctors roll their eyes whenever patients bring in a stack of research they printed out, stemming from a Google search of their symptoms.
A piece by Zachary Meisel in TIME.com describes a familiar scenario:
The medical intern started her presentation with an eye roll. “The patient in Room 3 had some blood in the toilet bowl this morning and is …
Primary care physicians often have to see patients with a litany of issues. Often within a span of a 15-minute office visit.
This places the doctor in the middle of a tension — spend more time with the patient to address all of the concerns, but risk the wrath of patients scheduled afterwards, who are then forced to wait.
And, in some cases, it’s simply impossible to adequately address every patient question …
Medical students today consider lifestyle an essential criteria when choosing a specialty.
It’s become a cliche that most are looking towards the ROAD (radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology and dermatology) to happiness.
There’s been some recent media attention at how women are lured to specialties that offer a greater balance between their family lifestyle and professional demands.
Claudia Golden, a Harvard economics professor, recently noted that,
high-paying careers that offer more help in balancing work …
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