How ultra-processed foods are devastating public health

Policy
July 18, 2024

As the world emerges from COVID-19, we must remember there is a silent yet devastating health crisis: our diets. In this era, convenience reigns supreme, with ultra-processed foods infiltrating everyone’s lives, leading to surges in preventable diseases and deaths. This crisis is more than individual food choices; it is a systemic issue affecting millions, especially in low-income communities.

One of the biggest drivers of the crisis is the ubiquity of …

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Making medicine my home

Education
July 18, 2024

This past year, my entire life has fit in the backseat of my Hyundai Elantra as I bounced between four states and traveled over 25,000 miles. As I walk into the hospital and my phone reconnects to the Wi-Fi after a night of using cell data in the parking lot, I am bombarded with emails from Credit Karma and loan services about my new balance. The debt accrues, my stomach …

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My body’s decline forced me to leave my job. Joe Biden needs to do the same.

Physician
July 18, 2024

Memories of retiring from medicine flooded me while watching the recent presidential debate, a distressing experience for many staunch Democrats, including me.

Joe Biden’s struggles to speak clearly and move fluidly brought back difficult memories of how my illness forced the end of a satisfying medical career. Faced with the toughest choice imaginable, I decided for the collective good. Now we as a …

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Allyship in improving LGBTQ+ patient well-being [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 17, 2024
YouTube video

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Join pediatrician Uchenna Umeh as she shares her personal journey and professional insights on creating a more inclusive and affirming health care environment for LGBTQ+ patients. We delve into the challenges transgender individuals …

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How hospitals’ requirements lead to staffing shortages

Policy
July 17, 2024

Most hospitals are now also requiring fingerprinting and immunizations, with some demanding double PPDs. Extra COVID boosters and proof of previous immunization for MMR, Hepatitis B, and Varicella are now required. They require current titers. COVID cards are no longer valid and also require a printout of where you received them. Hospitals are reaching a point where they will have no one to work.

Working in credentialing now and being on …

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A case study: How group negotiations led to better contracts for interventional radiologists

Finance
July 17, 2024

The group’s story: facts and dynamics

This unique group of three interventional radiologists, each making a substantial income, found themselves in a situation where their compensation was not commensurate with their contributions. Their pay structure had not been updated in eight years. According to our analysis, each was making good money, but the pay was not fair (over $700k) by market standards. They were paid on a 1099 basis, paid their …

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Revolutionizing medical training: the power of simulation education

Education
July 17, 2024

As a medical simulation educator, I get a lot of curious looks when I share my job title with people both inside and outside of medicine. Medical simulation is defined by the Society of Simulation in Healthcare as the imitation or representation of one act or system by another. It has four main purposes in health care: education, assessment, research, and health systems …

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Creativity in combating medical burnout [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 16, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us in this insightful episode as we delve into the world of creativity and wellness with Charity Hix, a burnout and wellness coach, and Kim Downey, a physician advocate and physical therapist. …

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Music as a tool for explaining medical concepts

Education
July 16, 2024

Memorizing and retaining the medical knowledge you need to be a doctor is one of the hardest things you can do! If you ask any doctor about their medical school experience, they’ll probably recall hours of lectures, meticulous cadaver dissections, and countless long days and nights of studying, trying to learn a ton of material in a very short time. Of course, this experience can lead to major stress, taking …

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When judges influence the practice of medicine: How Braidwood v. Becerra jeopardizes public health

Physician
July 16, 2024

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a medication regimen that effectively helps prevent the transmission of HIV. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), most private health insurance companies must cover preventive care services, including PrEP, without additional cost-sharing. In Braidwood v. Becerra, a for-profit corporation challenged the ACA’ s PrEP coverage mandate. The corporate plaintiff argued that compulsory PrEP coverage infringed upon its religious beliefs and violated the Religious Freedom Restoration …

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When protocols fail: lessons from Trump’s attempted assassination and medical errors

Physician
July 16, 2024

The breakdown in security leading to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump can be compared to the multifactorial failure inherent in medical errors. Both scenarios involve complex systems where multiple layers of defense and prevention are designed to avoid catastrophic outcomes. When these layers fail, it often results from a combination of human error, systemic issues, and procedural flaws.

Both presidential security and health care systems are highly complex and require …

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It’s time for physicians to reclaim their voice and identity

Physician
July 16, 2024

Kim Downey

Wherever conversations surrounding health care occur, similar frustrations emerge, whether I’m speaking with a physician in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, or New Zealand. I’ve recently been in dialogue with Olivia Morris, co-founder and CEO of Verity Barrington and Doctors Living in Ireland. Olivia has been a global physician advocate for the past ten years. Given that role, along with being married to a doctor, Olivia has acquired …

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Humanizing medicine in a high-tech world [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 15, 2024
YouTube video

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In this episode, we sit down with Francisco M. Torres, an interventional physiatrist and author of Beyond Diagnosis: Perspective in Medicine and the Human Experience. Join us as we explore the theme of …

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How do our own characteristics as doctors limit the change we can make in health care?

Physician
July 15, 2024

All around the world, health care systems are crumbling, resulting in less effective clinical care and damage to health care workers. We all recognize the need for change and want to see it. But could doctors’ psychological makeup hamper the achievement of the actual change we wish to see in our systems?

The nature of doctors

Worldwide, those who enter a medical career are intelligent and driven individuals. Throughout our training, we …

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Optimizing operations at doctors’ offices: the power of asset tracking

Finance
July 15, 2024

In the fast-paced environment of a doctor’s office, accuracy and operational effectiveness are paramount. Often bustling with activity, meticulous office coordination is needed to guarantee that every aspect runs smoothly. From managing patient records to ensuring the availability of medical equipment, the daily operations of health care facilities hinge on the seamless integration of various components. Every piece of equipment, every supply, and every record needs to be in the …

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Lung cancer statistics you need to know about nonsmokers [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 14, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Alice S. Y. Lee, an emergency physician and lung cancer survivor. Alice shares her journey from a nonsmoker to a lung cancer survivor, shedding light on the health disparities faced by Asian …

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How turning 50 and empty nesting sparked my academic surge

Physician
July 14, 2024

I can hear my husband chuckling from the cavern of journal piles and stacks of free conference tote bags he refers to as his home office. “I am looking at a graph of your publications,” he calls out to me as I putter around the house. An inauspicious start.

As I look over his shoulder at the laptop screen, he shows the tiny dot representing my singular publication—work I did as …

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Rewriting the rules: Achieving a million-dollar income in family medicine

Physician
July 14, 2024

According to the 2024 Doximity survey, the average annual compensation for a family physician is around $300,813. For 90 percent of family doctors, this is their reality—stuck in the matrix of traditional employment. They feel unloved, undervalued, and used by the system to feed the corporate cash register. I know because that is what I did for the first 15 years of my career. However, I discovered a better …

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Real-time cancer detection and the future of oncology

Conditions
July 14, 2024

An excerpt from Race for a Remedy: The Science and Scientists Behind the Next Life-Saving Cancer Medicine.

I like to compare diabetes and cancer. Both are chronic illnesses with a trend of increasing new cases globally over the past decades, and both are expected to be among the leading diagnoses in the world with an estimated one-half billion people living with either diabetes or cancer by 2040.

The similarities don’t end …

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