Prevention is the key to saving lives: What the pandemic taught us

Policy
November 3, 2024

An excerpt from Prevention First: Policymaking for a Healthier America.

Little did I know that when Prevention First was first published in December 2019, a novel virus with pandemic potential had begun to stealthily spread in China. The subsequent global COVID-19 pandemic resulted in nearly 7 million deaths, exacerbated long-standing health challenges, and led to life expectancy declines around the globe.

With over 1.1 million American lives lost during the COVID-19 …

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The shocking truth behind the DEA’s role in America’s pain crisis and doctor prosecutions

Physician
November 3, 2024

The United States federal government is a single entity, despite its three equal branches having more heads than a hydra and more arms than Mahakali. One part of that federal government is not supposed to create and propagate standards that another part arrests you for following, as confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Gonzales v. Oregon. When it comes to the criminalization of medicine by the DEA and other …

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Why mask bans are the latest attack on American freedom

Physician
November 3, 2024

In the land of the free, we find ourselves facing a perplexing and troubling trend: the rise of mask bans across America. These bans, ostensibly aimed at public safety, represent a dangerous overreach that threatens the very freedoms we hold dear.

America has long prided itself on being a bastion of individual liberty, where the government’s role in dictating personal choices is limited. Yet, with alarming bipartisan support, we’re witnessing an …

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How to protect your child from suicidal thoughts [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 2, 2024
YouTube video

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We speak with Shivana Naidoo, a child psychiatrist, about the critical steps parents can take to prevent youth suicide. Shivana shares practical advice on recognizing early warning signs, creating a safer home environment …

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When high achievers and isolated adults share a common enemy: social anxiety

Conditions
November 2, 2024

Karen, age 46, mother of two, is a world-renowned physician who has headed numerous clinical trials and has saved many lives. She suffered from public speaking anxiety disorder. Mike, age 26, a college graduate, spends most of his life in his room. He doesn’t work, is socially paralyzed, and spends over 100 hours a week with various technology dependencies. His parents walk on “eggshells” for fear of triggering his anger. …

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Why are we allowing politicians to practice medicine?

Physician
November 2, 2024

When I was doing my medical training at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City (a proud and fine hospital that has sadly closed), the official word was that we could not counsel patients to use condoms to prevent HIV transmission. Like many other doctors in training, I was bothered by this edict but kept in mind that St. Vincent’s had been at the forefront of providing compassionate care to …

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How to beat the 5 devils of modern medicine and live a longer, happier life

Physician
November 2, 2024

As a fellow cardiology practitioner, I am compelled to share some critical insights on the importance of preventive care and holistic approaches to longevity and happiness. Our profession constantly reminds us of these aspects, and it is time we take a more comprehensive approach to our patients’ well-being.

Throughout my career, spanning several decades and continents—from Hong Kong to New York, Singapore, and Shanghai—I have encountered a myriad of health challenges. …

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How to engage parents in autism therapy [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 1, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with Angela Nelson, a seasoned health care executive, to discuss the critical role of parent involvement in applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for children and teens with autism spectrum disorder …

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When medical malpractice is not medical malpractice

Physician
November 1, 2024

In medical malpractice, inductive reasoning regards the standard of care as the duty to do no harm. If there is a complication from a medical intervention and the medical intervention differs from the standard of care in any conceivable way, the difference alone is sufficient to conclude that the medical intervention departs from that duty.

However, unanticipated threats require nimbleness. This is a calculated risk. It causes a difference, but it …

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Why this doctor stayed stuck in a job for years and how she finally broke free

Physician
November 1, 2024

My work was draining. The joy was no longer there. Sure, I loved caring for patients, but the schedules, the call, and missing my children’s life events were all catching up to me. It all was too much. After two decades at a Level 1 hospital, I was the epitome of a “burned-out” physician. My mind would harken back to the Clash’s famous song from the 1980s—”Should I stay or …

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Why physicians need to become more educated about alternative pain treatments

Conditions
November 1, 2024

All indications are that pain care in the United States is in crisis. There is an epidemic of prescription opioid-fueled opioid addiction and overdoses (over a million dead and millions more addicted) as well as an epidemic of chronic pain. Estimates of the prevalence of pain indicate that from 21 percent (2021 National Health Interview Survey) to 56 percent (2021 Harris Poll) of Americans have chronic pain, and about 7 …

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How modern ads manipulate your health fears for profit [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 31, 2024
YouTube video

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We dive into the controversial world of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising with health reporter Martha Rosenberg. Drawing from her extensive knowledge, Martha unpacks how DTC drug ads manipulate consumers, fuel hypochondria, and create demand …

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Why climate change threatens our children’s future: hurricanes, floods, and a call to act

Policy
October 31, 2024

As Valencia, Spain, reels from devastating flash floods and the U.S. Southeast recovers from hurricanes Helene and Milton, I, like many other parents, look at my own kids with increasing concern about the ailing world they will inherit.

If a climate haven like Asheville, North Carolina, lying 2,000 feet above and 300 miles away from the ocean, can be swept away by a single catastrophic storm, how can we possibly keep our children safe?

Scientists have shown that ocean warming due to …

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Why the RVU system makes attaining the quadruple aim laughable: a deep dive into a broken health care model

Physician
October 31, 2024

The quadruple aim represents an ambitious, holistic vision for the future of health care: improving population health, enhancing the patient experience, reducing per capita costs, and improving the work-life balance of health care providers. While many health care systems have adopted this framework, the widespread use of the relative value unit (RVU) system fundamentally undermines these goals. Far from facilitating the quadruple aim, the RVU system creates a chasm between …

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Why parents today are more stressed than ever—and how we can help [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 30, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with Marissa Caudill, a psychiatrist specializing in child, adolescent, and adult mental health, to explore the findings from the U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory “Parents Under Pressure.” We discuss the skyrocketing …

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How Betty Ford’s breast cancer battle revolutionized health care in the 1970s

Physician
October 30, 2024

It is rare that an ABC movie of the week endures. Buzz Kulick’s 1971 Brian’s Song is the notable exception. IMDB describes the movie as a “beloved tearjerker,” which portrays the friendship between Chicago Bears teammates Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo in the mid-1960s. Central to the plot is not only the race-based prejudice that existed in professional football at the time but also the public depiction of cancer in …

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How one medical student’s life-changing conversation reshaped her career

Education
October 30, 2024

American College of Physicians  

The fourth-year medical student “Megan” urgently wanted to meet with me. She just returned from an away rotation in pathology in mid-August and wanted to talk. She was not her usual confident self, appearing distracted and pale. She shared that she had thoroughly enjoyed her rotation and had found it stimulating and the faculty inspiring. One of her …

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What would we do if we weren’t doctors?

Physician
October 30, 2024

I have often wondered where I would be if I had never been accepted to medical school. After all, I got in by the slimmest of margins. I even failed at one application round, finally matriculating at Boston University after an icy post-college winter delivering UPS packages through the snow-covered streets of Cambridge and a depressingly lazy summer punching receipts at the exit to BJ’s Wholesale Club. Now, thirty years …

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Toward a work-life compass: Work-life balance doesn’t exist

Physician
October 30, 2024

A four-day workweek is being touted as better, especially for jobs that are cognitively oriented. The brain needs more time for rest and relaxation than a five-day workweek allows, so four days of work and three days for everything else will provide a work-life balance.

For more than two decades, particularly after I had my first child 17 years ago, I’ve been trying to achieve that elusive work-life balance. I …

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A surgeon’s insight into the future of health care staffing [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 29, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with Maria Iliakova, a bariatric and general surgeon, to explore the exciting ways AI tools like ChatGPT are reshaping clinical practice. Maria shares her experiences using AI to enhance hospital …

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