Physician voices

12,748 articles · Since 2006

Articles, page 174

The telehealth problem: full pay, but less value

August 27, 2021Aug 27, 2021

The regulation allowing full reimbursement for telehealth visits in the setting of the pandemic was a wise and compassionate decision. As more doctors participated, many thousands — likely millions — of sick and susceptible elderly were able to access needed care without exposing themselves to COVID-19. It was a double-edged sword, however, and we are now seeing the downside of continuing such a policy beyond pandemic concerns. The problem: Everybody …

How a physician learned to stop reacting to overnight calls

Victoria Silas, MD

August 23, 2021Aug 23, 2021

I’m currently reading What Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD, and being reminded that I react rather than respond when I am in a trauma activation. When that happens, I don’t have access to higher cortical functions like critical thinking. And as Gabor Mate, MD, would say, I don’t respond to what’s happening; I respond to my perceptions of what’s happening. And actually, I …

How medical notes will change if patients get to see them

Sneha Tella, MD

August 22, 2021Aug 22, 20218

On April 5, 2021, the federal government mandated that health care providers provide free electronic access to patients' clinical notes, as part of the 21st Century Cures Act. This includes 8 types of notes spanning outpatient and inpatient arenas. If…

On April 5, 2021, the federal government mandated that health care providers provide free electronic access to patients’ clinical notes, as part of the 21st Century Cures Act. This includes 8 types of notes spanning outpatient and inpatient arenas. If providers/organizations do not comply with this mandate, they will be subject to fines due to “information blocking.”

This was borne from the OpenNotes movement – which declares itself to promote and …

Real physician voices, twice a week

Free, and one click to unsubscribe.

Putting my kid back in school: the right decision for this pediatrician

Anonymous

August 22, 2021Aug 22, 2021

As a parent who also happens to be a hospital-based pediatrician, lots of people have asked me my opinion on back to school and/or daycare. I am sharing my thoughts. I'm only one person. These are just my thoughts. Feel…

As a parent who also happens to be a hospital-based pediatrician, lots of people have asked me my opinion on back to school and/or daycare.

I am sharing my thoughts. I’m only one person. These are just my thoughts. Feel free to take what is helpful to you and trash the rest. It won’t hurt my feelings.

I think it’s important to frame this conversation by stating loudly and clearly that there …

How to tell someone their loved one died

Neil A. Ray, MD

August 22, 2021Aug 22, 2021

First, you turn off your phone. You can’t have any interruptions. As you walk to your patient’s room where the family is waiting for you, pick up a box of tissues and put it in your back pocket. Don’t hold…

When you enter the room, you introduce yourself to everyone as the doctor. You find a seat to …

Getting messy in the game of health care

Paul Pender, MD

August 22, 2021Aug 22, 2021

“We can’t sit in the stands – we have to get messy and play on the field.” The casual observer, the season ticket holder, the player, and the coach have very different levels of knowledge, skill, and passion for a…

“We can’t sit in the stands – we have to get messy and play on the field.”

The casual observer, the season ticket holder, the player, and the coach have very different levels of knowledge, skill, and passion for a professional sport. The casual observer may be confused, not even understanding the fundamentals of the game. The season ticket holder likely has some experience with the sport, possibly playing as a …

Who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to them anyway.

Tomi Mitchell, MD

August 21, 2021Aug 21, 20214

But seriously, who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to researchers or pay attention to the warnings. The world is burning up with record ground-breaking temperatures. These so-called scientists predicted these warnings decades ago, with great details. Who do they think they are? They got lucky! They are fear mongers and not to be believed. Look at the fake media! Landslides, earthquakes, fires, flooding, drought, and the list goes …

Why it’s important for physicians to talk about death

Fernando Moreno, MD

August 21, 2021Aug 21, 2021

For most care providers, having conversations about end of life comes with certain challenges. Most medical education prioritizes diagnosis and treatment of illness with the goal of extending life; therefore, it can be quite difficult to acknowledge when curing illness or prolonging life are no longer achievable goals. On top of that, it’s certainly not easy to witness the pain and sadness of families when their loved ones are nearing …

What has leadership accomplished by asking for innovation?

David M. Lutz, MHA & Stacy Fletcher, MD

August 20, 2021Aug 20, 2021

Pick out any company’s mission, vision, and value statement, and you are very likely to find a call to innovate. Companies understand they must produce more high-quality widgets, ideally at a lower cost. Adherence to the status quo will only…

Consider a company that makes cake, and the current version of the cake isn’t selling as well …

Why this physician and her husband almost divorced

Dr. Bethany Boulton

August 20, 2021Aug 20, 2021

My husband and I recently had a bit of a wobble in our marriage. In truth, it was more than a wobble, and it had been building for years. I am pleased to say that we have traversed the turbulence.…

My husband and I recently had a bit of a wobble in our marriage. In truth, it was more than a wobble, and it had been building for years. I am pleased to say that we have traversed the turbulence. Not only are we once again sailing in smooth waters, but we are sailing in more idyllic waters than ever before.

Why did it happen?

For so many reasons, but I need …

We are all out of ideas for how to convince you to get vaccinated

Jenny Hartsock, MD

August 20, 2021Aug 20, 20212

We in Southern Oregon saw how the pandemic raged in other areas of the country. We were waiting. It would hit here, eventually, we knew it. It came to our city slowly, and then we had a spike. Still, it was much milder than many other places, and we were grateful to be spared the worst of it.

People started getting vaccinated. It was like a baptism of sorts, and the …

I was thinking about retiring, and COVID-19 gave me a push

Janet Tamaren, MD

August 20, 2021Aug 20, 2021

Last March, I was working in a small primary care practice on the west side of Denver. COVID-19 came to town. On Thursday, March 12, we were told the schools would be closing. On Friday, we were told that clinic…

The only problem? There were no medical-grade masks to be had. Not through the state …

Surviving the first 100 yards: How do you do it? Why do you do it?

Andy Lamb, MD

August 19, 2021Aug 19, 2021

You are 19 years old, standing in the mud and mire that are the trenches of World War I. You are cold, hungry, filthy, emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted. You stare straight ahead, eyes vacant, not revealing deep inside you a visceral fear that defies description; a fear that only those who have faced the horror of combat know. This is your reality. You know what awaits when the order …

I am not asking you to do anything my family and I haven’t done

Courtney Markham-Abedi, MD

August 18, 2021Aug 18, 2021

When I started my career 15 years ago, I naively said I would like a job where there aren’t a lot of politics. Little did I know that my job and profession would be so strongly affected by national politics…

I study human behavior and can usually conceptualize behaviors fairly easily. I have been stumped in the past four months. Truly stumped. Four months ago, …

Ageism and the mid-career physician

Nathan Kemalyan, MD

August 17, 2021Aug 17, 20213

Four years ago, I was ready to throw in the towel. I practiced for 22 years in a large metropolitan hospital, became very involved in resident education, clinical program directorship, medical staff affairs, in addition to a busy hospital-based surgical practice. I watched as the environment of care for clinicians and the quality of the relationship between the medical staff and system administration steadily deteriorated.

My small, single-specialty surgical group merged …

Read more…

Ageism and the mid-career physician

The doctor-patient relationship has become transactional. It can lead to disastrous consequences.

Michael McCutchen, MD, MBA

August 17, 2021Aug 17, 20212

I love Bruce Lee. From his martial arts skill and athletic prowess to his philosophy, he was a cultural icon. There are hundreds of anecdotes and stories, some based in fact and others in fiction, that are a testament to…

He once told a story about a college professor who visited a Zen master in hopes …

Is it ethical to force unvaccinated patients to use telehealth only?

Jacob M. Appel, MD, JD, MPH

August 17, 2021Aug 17, 20212

COVID-19 has raised many ethical challenges for health care providers, including the level of risk they must take when providing patient care. Early in the pandemic, the ability to mitigate these risks was relatively limited, especially when caring for hospitalized…

As a result, it has been reported that 3,607 frontline health care workers died of COVID-19 in the U.S. from …

Parenting my parents during COVID: Navigating from a distance

Faiza A. Khan, MD

August 17, 2021Aug 17, 2021

My day started out great; my dad called to let me know he had received the first dose of the vaccine. I let out a whoop of joy! One cannot imagine the sense of relief that passed over me. As…

My day started out great; my dad called to let me know he had received the first dose of the vaccine. I let out a whoop of joy! One cannot imagine the sense of relief that passed over me. As a physician and an advocate for the vaccine, it has been a struggle to see that my efforts fell short when it came to my home. My husband and I …

How to make LGBTQ+ patients feel welcome during in-person and virtual doctor’s visits

Ian Tong, MD

August 16, 2021Aug 16, 2021

Although Pride Month is over, awareness and advocacy for equity among the LGBTQ+ community must continue to be prioritized. This is especially important in health care settings. Many LGBTQ+ people feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in doctors’ offices, and more than 40 percent have experienced discrimination in health care environments. As a result, LGBTQ+ people postpone or avoid care at a rate that is 2-3x greater than the broader U.S. population. …

Doctors are humans, not heroes

Jordana Rothschild, MD

August 15, 2021Aug 15, 2021

Everybody dies. And doctors can’t change that reality. But we’ve created a system where we lead people to believe immortality is possible. We expect clear-cut answers to health questions. We’ve been trained to look for multiple-choice questions with an answer…

Everybody dies. And doctors can’t change that reality.

But we’ve created a system where we lead people to believe immortality is possible. We expect clear-cut answers to health questions. We’ve been trained to look for multiple-choice questions with an answer key that tells us the correct solutions. As doctors, we’re expected to be selfless, altruistic superhuman helpers who always know the answers and will sacrifice ourselves to benefit everyone else. And …

Read more…

Doctors are humans, not heroes

Physician voices

Articles, page 174

Real physician voices, twice a week

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular