It’s hard to put into words the horror we all feel about the events in Las Vegas. So I won’t try. But what I will try to do is point out an often unspoken reality. Which is that those who work in emergency care constantly face terrible things with courage and skill and keep coming back for more. And everyone needs to remember that all those folks society counts on …
My heart goes out to all of the first responders
The ability to access health information via the Internet is creating a generation of empowered, informed patients. While this is almost always beneficial to both patients and the patient-physician relationship, it does call for changes to traditional counseling methods. Widespread access to myriad health information sources has divided patients into two subsets: those who prefer traditional counseling and those who become “personal health researchers” or PHRs.
While some patients will continue …
How to care for patients who are personal health researchers
A couple of weeks ago I visited Canada. It was my first visit in a very long time. We were in Ontario, spending most of the time in the Toronto area, and also getting to visit the majestic Niagara Falls for the day. I’ve heard so much over the years about the differences between neighbors USA and Canada, and in even just a few days there, agreed that there are …
An interview with an American doctor working in Canada
Future generations will look back on the opioid epidemic as the greatest tragedy of modern medicine. The recent 60 Minutes special about drug distributors really highlights that manufacturing and prescribing opiates was never about the best interest of patients. The pharma companies saw a business opportunity that could be exploited by offering patients a little pill to take their pain away. What person, given the chance, would …
We shouldn’t be surprised that there is an opioid crisis when medicine is operated as a business
“A condition counts as a disease independently of whether there is safe and effective treatment.”
– Journal of Medicine & Philosophy, August 2017
What is a disease anyway? Mrs. Jones is 90 years old and frequently experiences episodes of chest pain. She has numerous partially blocked coronary arteries, and her physician has told her to come to the emergency room because she might be having a “heart attack.” …
Are we medicalizing everything?
I learned a good lesson in doctoring from Paul McCartney. Sir Paul, if we want to get formal about it. My wife and I went to one of his shows, and aside from re-living the soundtrack of our lives, we also were struck by how fresh and personal the concert felt. If you consider how many times he’s played those songs and that there were eighteen thousand people in the …
Lessons in doctoring from Paul McCartney
My first memory of encountering a person who appeared to have no place to live was during my first year of college at UCLA. A man was sitting outside a mini-mart, his legs crossed and his hair long. He looked tired, and his clothes had stains on them. Feeling pity for him, I went into the mini-mart and purchased a turkey sandwich on wheat.
“Here,” I said as I handed him …
What would it be like if we said hello to everyone in our communities?
One of the most important things my mother taught me was to choose my friends intelligently. From a very young age, I remember my mother quoting Proverbs to me and telling me this, “Choose your counsel wisely.” The older I get, the more I believe who I allow to influence me plays an enormous part in the place I find myself in today.
Research has shown you become like the five …
According to recent Ohio statistics, 1.3 million people have limited or no access to primary care physicians. Based on the 2015 Ohio Primary Care Assessment, 60 of 88 Ohio counties have medically-underserved populations. The Patient Access Expansion Act (HB 273), co-sponsored by Representative Theresa Gavarone (3rd District) and Representative Terry Johnson (90th District), specifically addresses health care access by prohibiting physicians from being required to comply with maintenance of certification …
Feel over-boarded by MOC? Fight back.
Dear patient,
I meet people several like you on a daily basis. It is always a pleasure to meet you since you come much more prepared compared to the average patient. I have seen you with several sheets of paper or even a notebook, a list of questions and an extra sheet of paper on which to write recommendations. You may even have printed research papers and articles off the Internet.
I …
Dos and don’ts for patients who consult Dr. Google
Text message:
Me: “Mom you alright? I just heard that there was an explosion at the Pepsi Center.”
Mom: “What are you talking about? I am fine, everything is OK over here.”
Earlier that day:
It’s the first day of my first ER rotation as an intern.
I had endured months on medicine, neurosurgery and the medical ICU. I am finally home back in the ER. I am hoping that today will be a somewhat …
The first day of my ER rotation is one that this doctor will never forget
For days on end, she looked out of the bedroom window, rocking her baby back and forth on her glider. The maple tree waved at her daily as the breeze came through its branches. Gradually, the leaves made their annual change from green to red and orange and yellow. She watched as the leaves transformed, jealous of their seamless change as she struggled to make her own transition to motherhood.
Eventually, …
Let your patients know that motherhood is more than giving birth
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
For this column, my 61st for the American College of Physicians (ACP), I thought it would be interesting to look back at the first 60 and review the trends and topics that inspired me to write 800 to 900 words every month. Rather …
Different perspectives but the same goal: providing the best possible care to patients
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This is a letter I wrote to my wife’s grandfather for Veterans Day back when he was still alive. He was pretty proud of it, and that made me smile because I knew that if nothing else, he deserved to be proud of what he did for America. When he died a few months ago, I was able to muster up the fortitude to read it at his funeral. Here …
I never thought I’d be in a position where I would feel scared at work, but then — it happened. I started writing this piece a long time ago, far before Utah nurse, Alex Wubbels, was assaulted on camera by a police officer. It certainly reminded me to work on this again.
A few years ago when I was very green, I was working in inpatient on a …
The police didn’t care when this PA was verbally abused
The 2nd Annual Women in Anesthesiology Conference is taking place in October. Developing this organization has been a labor of, if not love, then honoring. We are honoring a value system that works to gives women the respect, autonomy, and power they deserve.
There is an amazing power in gathering, shared experiences and decreasing isolation. Nobody has identical life experiences. But part of what informs our identity is shared experiences. As …
Here’s why women doctors need time together
I am not a curmudgeon, but I am worried about the current plight of health care and the attack on the Hippocratic Oath. Bigger health care is sold as better and more efficient with the premise of lowering health care costs. The promised financial outcomes and efficiencies for the physician and their patients have not materialized. Instead, while physicians struggle with non-clinical demands on their time, patients are being pushed …
The Hippocratic Oath, updated for today
I really like Van Morrison. If I need to be lifted up on a Friday afternoon I’ll play a greatest hits album and will quickly be smiling. One of my favorite songs is Days Like This. You would expect when someone says “there will be days like this,” they are complaining about days when everything goes wrong and you just have to endure to the end, hoping that “the sun comes up …
The patients this doctor is eternally grateful for
Recently, a video went viral when a woman complained about the lengthy wait time at a clinic. On video, we see the physician asks if the patient still wants to be seen. The patient declines to be seen, yet complains patients should be informed they will not be seen in a timely manner.
The frustrated physician replies, “Then fine … …
Do physicians deserve our mercy? #silentnomore
Like many of my colleagues in medical education, I am a part-time clinician. My time is split, spending less than half in my own clinical practice with the rest devoted to resident education. This is precisely why I love my job. The diversity of each day keeps me engaged, challenged, and excited about the work I do.
Unfortunately, this same thing that makes my job so fulfilling is often also a …
Why telemedicine is here to stay
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