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Telemedicine: Why professional concern shouldn’t be dismissed

Physician

July 5, 2015

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The current state of telemedicine — that is, teleconferencing with a physician over one’s smartphone — worries many critics because it assumes patients can be evaluated without a physical exam. The critics are right that those with a financial interest in “disrupting” health care typically minimize the trade-offs. Convenience and lower cost are trumpeted, while risks of misdiagnosis and mismanagement are waved off. The concerns of practicing physicians are dismissed …

Welcome to the meaningful use series! Who’s going to win, and why?

Rob Lamberts, MD

Health Technology

July 5, 2015

“Welcome back health care fans! I’m Dr. Rob.”

“And I’m Dr. Rob’s evil twin.”

“Good to see you again, Dr. Evil”

“Nauseated, as always, to see you, Dr. Rob. We’ve got a thrilling lineup in store for you tonight, as the Washington Senators take on the Mighty Docs in the third round of the meaningful use playoffs.”

“Don’t you mean payoffs, evil twin?”

“Hilarious, Dr. Dufus. The meaningful use series did promise big payoffs and better care. But …

Are you a selfie parent? Here are 4 clues that you are.

Roy Benaroch, MD

Conditions and Diseases

July 5, 2015

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The selfie, for those of you living under a rock, is a photo of yourself, taken by yourself, by holding your phone out in your outstretched arm, pointing it at your own face, and snapping away. You then post it on your Facebook or on your Twitter for all the world to see and admire.

Let me pick out the key words …

A physician enters rehab. What happens next should disturb you.

Anonymous

Physician

July 4, 2015

I’m a physician, and I’m adrift. I am pretty much lost at sea. I’ve often thought of writing this column, but afraid I’d be recognized, I’ve hesitated for years. Even now, I’ll most likely remain anonymous, because I’m in a vulnerable position. Let me preface my remarks with the reassurance that I’m not a bad person.

I developed dependence on opioids several …

The intersection of illness and incarceration: How racism makes us sick

Jennifer Tsai

Physician

July 4, 2015

Despite rates of drug use similar to white counterparts, black men are 11.8 times as likely to be arrested for drug offenses compared to whites. African Americans constitute 14 percent of regular drug users, and yet represent 37 percent of people arrested for drug offenses, 55 percent of drug convictions, and 74 percent of people sent to prison for drug possession. One in Read more…

The intersection of illness and incarceration: How racism makes us sick

Test your medicine knowledge: 40-year-old man with headache and epistaxis

mksap

Conditions and Diseases

July 4, 2015

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 40-year-old man is admitted to the emergency department with a 1-day history of headache and epistaxis. He has had type 1 diabetes mellitus requiring insulin for 30 years and two episodes of ketoacidosis in the past year.

On physical examination, temperature is 36.0 °C (96.8 °F), blood pressure is 100/70 mm Hg, …

The fourth year of medical school should be eliminated. Here’s why.

Vincent Roddy, MD

Medical Education

July 4, 2015

I came across an article featured on NPR and it immediately grabbed my attention. Traditionally medical student education is accomplished in a four-year program in medical schools nationwide but University of California, Davis is now offering their medical training as a three-year obligation. A three-year medical school as opposed to a four-year program is intriguing, thought provoking and …

Music is better than medicine. This physician-musician gives you 10 reasons why.

Joel R. Cooper, DO

Physician

July 3, 2015

1. You don’t have to make an appointment with your doctor, or sit in a crowded waiting room for hours, to get music — you can just download it instantly from iTunes or pick up an instrument and play it.

2. Music costs far less than a medical office co-pay or out-of-pocket fee-for-service charge. And for many acute conditions, outcomes are probably pretty …

Practice models may change, but relationships with patients endure

Yul Ejnes, MD

Physician

July 3, 2015

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

A few weeks ago, my partners and I held a “going away” dinner for one of our partners who retired in late March. It was a great evening. We reminisced, discussed how medicine has changed over the …

Despite the Internet, doctors still have to memorize. Here’s why.

Gurpreet Dhaliwal, MD

Physician

July 3, 2015

There is an assumption that is creeping into discussions about medical education, just like primary education: that memorization is outdated and doesn’t matter in the Internet era. That’s a mistake. The goal of education is to create an expert thinker. Memorization is at the core of that endeavor.

Practicing medicine requires constant problem solving. Every patient is different and requires a bit …

Calling attention to the disparity in surgery: Here’s what I learned

Andrea L. Merrill, MD

Physician

July 3, 2015

On Monday, June 1st, I awoke with a mixture of butterflies and excitement. Every 30 minutes I checked online to see if it was up. My heart pounded every time I clicked the refresh button. Finally, around noon, there it was — my first piece of medical writing, published on KevinMD.com.

In medicine, we often present objective facts. We …

After a drowning: An impossible question a doctor faces

BirdStrike, MD

Physician

July 3, 2015

I head to work at my new locums job on the California coast. Summer 2015 is going to be a great one, I think to myself. I make the turn into the hospital parking lot, and a rusty old Trans Am cuts me off. I slam on the brakes to the soundtrack of screeching tires. Geez, I think to myself. It’s …

Should there be FTC scrutiny of health industry mergers?

Shawn Martin

Health Policy

July 3, 2015

Mergers and acquisitions aren’t two words that usually find their way into medical lexicon, but that is rapidly changing. However, health care, like many industries, is experiencing a new round of mergers and acquisitions that is reshaping local and national markets, as well as impacting the availability and affordability of health care services for millions of patients. According to many industry and Wall Street experts, we are on the front …

The darker side of being a doctor

Joanne Intile, DVM

Physician

July 2, 2015

I recently read an article written by a human physician about her personal feelings and other people’s reactions to her decision to quit practicing medicine.

The author frames the article around how her choice was made after she recognized how detrimental her career was to her own health. The irony of a doctor abandoning her profession because it was causing …

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The darker side of being a doctor

Have you hugged your EMR lately?

Jay Baruch, MD

Health Technology

July 2, 2015

Seeking to provide balanced discourse and to recognize marginalized voices at the gooey center of health care, I kindly ask that you find a seat in the Captain’s Room of the Hilltop Motor Lodge for the inaugural meeting of Physicians for the Liberty of the Electronic Health Record, where founder and president Dr. IM Klickhffor starts the proceedings with this plenary …

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Have you hugged your EMR lately?

Looking back on a life teaching CPR

Rob Burnside

Conditions and Diseases

July 2, 2015

“Turn out the light, the party’s over,” sang color commentator Dandy Don Meredith on ABC’s Monday Night Football when a seminal fourth quarter play occurred and the game was suddenly in the bag. For me, that’s where it’s at right now — just a few ticks of the clock away

First, for the American Heart Association then for the American Red Cross, …

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Looking back on a life teaching CPR

How a decision aid reduced men’s interest in PSA screening

Michael J. Barry, MD

Conditions and Diseases

July 2, 2015

Recent clinical practice guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommend against PSA screening for men of all ages, while other guideline groups, including the American Urological Association (AUA) and the American College of Physicians (ACP), recommend a shared decision making (SDM) approach to the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. “Dueling guidelines” can create confusion for people who are …

A physician completes residency: Here’s her advice to new doctors

Danielle Krol, MD

Medical Education

July 2, 2015

If you had asked me 15 years ago what I wanted to be when I “grow up,” a doctor was definitely not a thought in my mind. I wasn’t bred at a young age to become a physician by the ancestors that walked before me, nor did I desire to go through that much schooling before I could enter the real …

Dose recommendations for extended half-life hemophilia factor products fall short

Ellis Neufeld, MD, PhD and Stacy Croteau, MD

Medications

July 2, 2015

We, like many in the hemophilia community, were excited to see extended half-life (EHL) factor VIII and IX products start coming to market over the last few months. These products — and expected future products — promise equivalent or greater prophylactic bleeding control with fewer infusions, and so could greatly enhance patients’ quality of life.

Yet, as we noted in our recent editorial in Haemophilia, we are greatly concerned that patients …

A physician speaker shares 7 essential tips

Pamela Wible, MD

Physician

July 1, 2015

I recently delivered a keynote in St. Louis to 600 health care leaders from a health system with 20 hospitals, 600 clinics, and 30,000 employees. They told me not to be afraid of the 12-foot-tall version of myself following me around stage. No problem. I’m one of the few people who has never been frightened by public speaking. The larger the audience …

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