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Functional precision oncology: a game changer in cancer therapy

Meds

April 22, 2025

Functional precision oncology is taking precision medicine to the next level. It is changing the way we fight cancer by testing a patient’s live tumor outside the body to determine the treatments most likely to work. This approach promises to double cancer response rates, improve survival, and reduce costs. It’s personal, data-driven, and long overdue, yet most cancer centers still don’t offer it.

Even many doctors are unaware that the standard …

From isolation to innovation: the power of learning communities in health care

Daniel Johnson, MD

Education

April 22, 2025

Many years ago, I thought I was going to be a mechanical engineer. My studies revolved around case-based learning and field work, all of which I enjoyed immensely. Then I learned about biomedical engineering and decided to go to medical school.

For the first two years of medical school, my education focused on classroom didactics and instruction, with little to no involvement in what was happening with patients in the real …

Fitness, mindset, and nutrition: Unlocking longevity after 60 [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 21, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Interventional physiatrist Francisco M. Torres discusses his article “The key to longevity: fitness, mindset, and nutrition.” He challenges societal assumptions about inevitable decline after age sixty, arguing that joy, vitality, and strength …

The altar of equity: a cautionary tale from the temple of healing

Anonymous

Physician

April 21, 2025

In a nation where the Hippocratic Oath stands as a sacred covenant, one expects the temple of healing to be a fortress of precision, expertise, and unerring competence. Yet, a recent pilgrimage to an academic hospital in our fair city unveiled a scene more akin to a comedy of errors than a sanctuary of science. I am a physician, though I refrain from proclaiming as much to my own doctors, …

Reuniting with a colleague reminded me why I love being a doctor

Stephanie Wellington, MD

Physician

April 21, 2025

Imagine walking through the hospital and seeing a colleague you haven’t worked with in years. The moment your eyes meet, a giant smile spreads across both of your faces—pure, genuine joy.

There’s an instant connection, an unspoken recognition of the experiences you shared. You remember the ease of collaboration, the unshakable trust in each other’s expertise. Teamwork at its best—fluid, energizing, and effective.

But over time, things shift. People move on in …

Pope Francis dies at 88. What his care reveals about America’s failing hospitals.

Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD

Conditions

April 21, 2025

Pope Francis passed away this morning at the age of 88. Just weeks ago, he had spent 38 days hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for what was described as “double pneumonia,” before returning to his Vatican apartment to recover.

Had he been an American hospitalized in the U.S., he might not have made it even that far.

As both a geriatric doctor and a patient, I have seen firsthand how the U.S. …

What a doctor felt when his neighbor was shot

Cedric Dark, MD, MPH

Physician

April 21, 2025

An excerpt from Under the Gun: An ER Doctor’s Cure for America’s Gun Epidemic.

My phone buzzed in the pocket of my blue jeans one Saturday night at around 10:30 p.m. as the standing-room-only crowd at Minute Maid Park, clothed in vibrant orange tones, erupted in cheers. It was game two of the 2019 American League Division Series playoffs between the Houston Astros …

The surprising reason doctors might turn to unions

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

April 21, 2025

A few months ago, the longshoremen’s union shut down 14 ports along the East and Gulf Coasts. This strike of dockworkers was costing the American economy up to $5 billion per day. The strike lasted 3 days, and there was an agreement to suspend the strike and continue negotiations in early 2025.

One of the issues pertained to restricting the use of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to load and unload …

Healers or criminals: the alarming trend of physician prosecution [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 20, 2025

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Practicing internist and psychiatrist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article “Criminalizing care: How the system turned on physicians.” He argues that physicians, historically pillars of trust, are increasingly being targeted and criminalized …

Teaching by humiliation is still crushing future doctors

Seema Pattni, MD

Physician

April 20, 2025

Shouting at student physicians is still a thing.

Justified as “teaching by humiliation.”
It is the worst form of “teaching” I have ever encountered.

Being asked questions aggressively,
Being ridiculed if you get the answer wrong,
Being shouted at, scolded.
All in front of other students, colleagues, and patients.

It’s embarrassing, undermining, and it crushes confidence.
It silences your voice.
Makes you question yourself.
Makes you want to cry.

It’s disempowering.

Almost 20 years later, I still remember it.
Six of us, wearing …

A philosophical shift: the doctor’s journey into the role of patient

Francisco M. Torres, MD

Physician

April 20, 2025

Recently, I found myself in need of surgery, a situation I had not faced in many years. The vulnerability I experienced as a patient was more intense than I ever anticipated. Despite my role as a doctor who often considers patients’ emotional well-being, I felt this. This experience brought me face-to-face with the emotional challenges that patients face in a new way. This perspective is crucial for all health care …

What happened to real care in health care?

Christopher H. Foster, PhD, MPA

Policy

April 20, 2025

Every time I turn on the television, there’s another commercial for a new drug treating a condition I’ve never even heard of.

It’s constant. And honestly, it’s exhausting.

I can’t help but wonder: What happened to real care?

I remember a time, 35, maybe 40 years ago, when doctors knew your name. They looked you in the eye. They read your chart. They listened to what you had to say before deciding. They …

When saving lives leads to losing your own

Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD

Physician

April 20, 2025

I didn’t know them well.

They were primary care doctors on the hospital staff where I served on the Medical Executive Committee. They provided care to the most vulnerable members of our community, both in the hospital and their offices. I feel guilty for not recognizing that each of them was personally suffering, as they took their own lives.

Losing lives of those saving lives is heartbreaking.

Doctors heal people. While most professions …

A surgeon’s startling ketamine experience [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 19, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

General surgeon Arthur Williams discusses his article “A surgeon’s battle with ketamine-induced hallucinations.” He shares an account from his novel of an experience needing a pacemaker for a “janky heart” prone to …

How doctors can thrive despite declining reimbursements

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

April 19, 2025

In the previous article, I offered four ways (other than growth) a practice can compensate for declining reimbursements: improve efficiency, boost collection ratio, increase productivity, and consider a practice merger. As promised, here are four more.

Stay focused.

Focused strategies lead to better outcomes and lower costs. It is no accident that the best outcomes and lowest price for open-heart surgery are achieved …

Why prescribing medicine to kids scares even experienced doctors

Dr. Damane Zehra

Meds

April 19, 2025

I absolutely hate prescribing medication to children.

I am quite worried when someone asks for my opinion on a sick child. I have some experience treating children during my internship and residency, yet I am pretty uncomfortable.

However, living in a lower middle-income country, where the average man already lives a difficult life due to high health care costs and limited income, health expenditure significantly impacts monthly finances. That is why people …

When empathy becomes “toxic”

Vijay Rajput, MD

Physician

April 19, 2025

For years, empathy has been seen as a moral virtue that binds relationships, the antidote to pain and suffering while caring for patients. But lately, empathy is facing a surprising backlash in society and the medical profession. From being called “toxic” to being labeled outright as a “sin,” the virtue of feeling others’ pain is now under sharper scrutiny across ideological, psychological, and even religious groups within our society.

In caregiving …

Read more…

When empathy becomes “toxic”

Leading with care: a new approach to health care leadership for well-being [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 18, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Internal medicine and infectious disease physician and author Joshua D. Hartzell discusses his article “Leading with care: How health care leadership can transform patient and provider well-being.” He addresses the crisis of …

Calling for a heart surgeon: a plea for change

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Physician

April 18, 2025

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve typed out a broken heart emoji in response to yet another tragedy, I’d probably be able to take a break from work for a while. But here I am—because I love what I do despite it all.

There are many days my heart breaks.

Not in the cliché, romance-gone-wrong kind of way. It’s deeper than that. It’s …