2024: Is it time to (re)negotiate your physician contract?

Finance
January 11, 2024

Most of us fall short of making New Year’s resolutions.

The reason is simple: unrealistic goals. Negotiation or renegotiation of your physician contract is attainable. Your income is paramount to financial freedom, job satisfaction, and avoiding burnout risk and stress.

Hospital or practice employment has increased among physicians. The motivations include financial stability, lower risk, steering clear of managing employees, running a business, and negotiating rates with insurers.

What do physicians look for …

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Shielding physicians: the untold story of legal preparedness

Physician
January 11, 2024

Federal and state regulators have intensified the scrutiny of physicians in recent years in response to mounting overdose rates and the corresponding rise in mortality. Many in health care see this as a good thing. They would be wrong.

Look no further than the many physicians who were acquitted or exonerated after being charged with prescription-related crimes. Their plight tells the untold story of the collateral damage inflicted on medicine as …

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Breaking the silence on caregiver stress [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 10, 2024
YouTube video

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Join R. Lynn Barnett, a patient advocate. We’ll explore the world of caregiving, its challenges, and the profound impact it has on individuals and families. Discover valuable insights on caregiver stress, self-care, and the importance of respite …

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America’s health care safety net is in danger

Policy
January 10, 2024

A new health crisis is looming on the horizon in the United States, and it will affect the most vulnerable people. I am not talking about another pandemic, the downstream impact of delayed preventive screenings, or even the ongoing substance use crisis. I am talking about the endangerment of America’s health care safety net, including the providers that serve marginalized communities.

Safety net providers are primarily in unserved and underserved communities, …

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Palliative care and the garden of hope

Physician
January 10, 2024

My grandmother had a beautiful garden that she expanded through years of effort in her terraced backyard. Despite rocky soil and areas of deep shade, her flowers blossomed, and the garden thrived. I do not know if her skills as a gardener were innate or learned through trials and failures, but I know my garden could certainly benefit from her guidance now.

In the medical field, there is a long-held misconception …

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Physician burnout: the hidden quality metric [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 9, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Trina E. Dorrah, an internal medicine physician. We explore the concept of integrating physician burnout as a quality metric in health care. Discover why Trina believes this change could revolutionize the American health care system, potentially …

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Thriving, not just surviving: Cracking the formula for physician well-being

Physician
January 9, 2024

In the relentless world of health care, where long hours and high-stress situations have become the norm, finding happiness can often feel like an elusive goal for physicians. The pursuit of professional excellence and the demands of patient care can overshadow the importance of personal well-being and happiness. But what if we could shift the narrative from merely surviving the daily grind to truly thriving within it?

This journey to happiness …

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A call for equity: fair compensation and overtime pay for resident physicians

Physician
January 9, 2024

Amidst significant rises in resident unionization, a policy shift is warranted to guarantee equitable compensation and overtime pay for resident physicians contending with demanding 80-hour workweeks. On October 13, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom made history by signing California Senate Bill No. 525 (SB 525) into law. This monumental legislation will increase the minimum wage for California health care employees to $25 per hour. While SB 525 addresses the …

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Navigating medical uncertainty: a patient’s perspective [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 8, 2024
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Join Ana María Caballero, a poet, artist, and author. Ana María delves into her book, A Petit Mal, and we delve into an unexpected encounter in the emergency room, with Ana María shedding light on both the …

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Bridging the health care divide: All our actions matter

Physician
January 8, 2024

Much has been written on the social divides laid bare and amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, the more divisive punditry and polemics have receded along with the COVID-19 mandates. And yet, as professionals in health care who have worked in direct patient care and in support of our clinician colleagues, we still see a broad gap separating the culture and worldviews of the people in health care and the …

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I discovered the Holy Grail for doctors

Physician
January 8, 2024

A recent post on KevinMD resonated with me, probably because I am a doctor who grew up in a rural area and returned to a small-town practice in my home county. Like the author, I experienced the suffocating grip of traditional hospital employment as it slowly drained the life out of me.

Before burnout consumed me, I took proactive steps to start a micro-corporation and transitioned …

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The beautiful exhaustion of primary care

Physician
January 8, 2024

I’ve been reflecting lately because, honestly, I feel like I am—finally—good at primary care. With experience, patience, and, dare I say, wisdom, I experience satisfaction, knowing I can do this job. I’m the real McCoy. Or, in my case, the real McCarthy. And despite this, maybe because of this, the effort required often leaves me incapable of doing much else.

At 47 years old, having survived a pandemic, having found my …

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Addressing physician burnout differently [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 7, 2024
YouTube video

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We have a conversation with Claudia Finkelstein, an internal medicine physician, as she reimagines the concept of physician burnout. Join us as Claudia introduces her alternative model for addressing burnout and discusses the multifaceted factors contributing to …

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Leaders advise us to accept it as a job norm: violence and abuse in the health care workplace

Physician
January 7, 2024

Violence and assaults against health care workers are now reported at an all-time high. While health care workers comprise just 13% of the U.S. workforce, they experience 60% of all workplace assaults. Health care has been declared America’s most dangerous profession due to workplace violence. Health care and social service industries experience the highest rates of injuries caused by workplace violence and are five times as likely to suffer a …

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Are convenience stores making addiction convenient?

Policy
January 7, 2024

It is not breaking news that we are currently in the midst of a mental health and substance use disorder crisis. We saw a record number of overdose deaths in a 12-month period from May 2022 to May 2023. According to the CDC, overdose deaths totaled more than 112,000 during that period. There has been an all-hands-on-deck effort to curb these deaths with efforts aimed at decreasing supply, educating the …

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Beyond the headlines: the truth about weight loss drugs [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 6, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with David Ahn, an endocrinologist. Join us as we delve into the impact of weight-loss drugs, the role of incretin medications, and their potential to reshape our approach to obesity and overall health.

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The silenced physician voice

Physician
January 6, 2024

Medicine, for many of us, has been a calling. Since I was a child, I knew I would be a doctor, and I did everything in my power to make that dream come to fruition. Nearly 13 years of education, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, years of lost income and retirement savings, countless hours away from family and loved ones, and a disregard for personal passions and hobbies …

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It’s time to evolve how we measure the success of EHRs to make us healthier

Tech
January 6, 2024

We’ve known for the last decade that electronic health records (EHRs) have a significant impact on physicians’ ability to deliver high-value care. It not only has a largely negative influence on their quality of life, which bleeds over into the entire health care landscape, but also impacts their ability to successfully adapt practices to evolving payment models intended to improve patient health outcomes — especially important for primary care.

Yet despite …

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Reverse leadership to self-leadership [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 5, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Parastoo Jangouk, a dual board-certified expert in gastroenterology and internal medicine. Discover her remarkable journey from growing up in an oppressive society to becoming a successful physician and entrepreneur. Explore the powerful concept of “reverse leadership” …

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