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Emergency physician W. Frank Peacock discusses his article, “What if a doctor didn’t wash their hands between patients?” He explores the critical role of hand hygiene in preventing hospital-acquired infections while exposing …
Why hand washing isn’t enough to stop infections in hospitals [PODCAST]
In his deluge of executive orders, Trump once again is focusing on health care cost transparency.
Efforts to open the lock on health care costs began in 2019 under the Trump administration with mandated publication of hospital price lists, called chargemasters. These price lists are arbitrary, as they have no relation to the contracted …
How price transparency fails patients and what insurers must reveal next
In his book Cross Pollinations: The Marriage of Science and Poetry, Nabhan illustrates the interconnection between thinking across varied fields and how one specifically might inform the other. He is by no means the first or only thinker to harness looking across disciplines. This approach has certainly also informed the world of psychotherapy. The unifying glue, however, is time and space for reflection, to consider leisurely, to let the …
Why systemic thinking can transform both therapy and medicine
They never said it outright. Not at first.
They didn’t have to.
I was a physician at the edge of the Republic, serving those the system had long since forgotten. When the last doctors left, I remained. I healed. I endured. I became necessary.
And for that, the system turned.
Not with conviction, but suspicion.
Not with verdict, but process.
How the system hunts physicians who refuse to kneel
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is on the rise, there is an urgent need for physicians to arm their patients with tools and education to manage these conditions in between appointments.
IBD already includes nearly three million people in the U.S. who are diagnosed with either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, which cause inflammation of the …
How doctors can help IBD patients manage symptoms between visits
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Family physician Pamela Buchanan discusses her article, “Why diversity in medicine saves lives.” Pamela shares powerful stories from her career, like adjusting a biracial child’s treatment for a scalp infection and saving …
How diversity transforms health care and patient outcomes [PODCAST]
An excerpt from Dr. Koop: The Many Lives of the Surgeon General.
“I have learned that, when an idea’s time has come—and it is on your watch—you must seize the moment.”
– CEK, Glasgow speech
It would take C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D., just an hour—one very well-prepared hour—to overturn nine months of obloquy and ridicule. In the process, he re-ordered the public face of …
C. Everett Koop’s fearless fight against the tobacco industry
Why do so many people share their harrowing airline experiences with me yet never document them or file complaints?
Some say they do not want to relive the trauma. Others feel embarrassed for having been ridiculed, either themselves or in front of their child. Many simply want to move on because, thankfully, nothing catastrophic happened.
But silence does not equate to safety.
If I …
Flying with food allergies: Combating misconceptions and advocating for safety
When I first started my career in medicine, CT scans and MRIs were nonexistent. Scientific advancements and technology facilitated the development of these and many other diagnostic tools.
These changes have enhanced medical care, enabling physicians to diagnose and treat patients more effectively. The integration of computers has played a crucial role in this advancement by ensuring better continuity of care, whether at home or in the hospital, through improved communication …
The business of medicine: How hospitals are putting profits over patients
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti
The American medical system is ill, and physicians are among its sickest patients. As a dual-boarded physician, an assistant professor of family medicine, and someone who has walked the halls of both academia and clinical practice, I have witnessed firsthand the symptoms of this systemic disease. It is a sickness that manifests in exhaustion, …
The disease of modern medicine: How a sick system is failing physicians
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Pediatrician Derek W. Moss discusses his article, “How natural disasters reveal resilience and the power of community.” Derek reflects on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which flooded his Hendersonville Pediatrics practice and …
Rebuilding after disaster: lessons in community resilience [PODCAST]
Last night when I came to work most of the beds in our 31-bed emergency department (ED) were full. There were more than 20 patients either in the waiting room proper or in the chairs that serve as “rooms” behind the triage area.
Much of the problem was the fact that we were boarding patients who were waiting on inpatient beds, psychiatric admissions, or transfer to higher levels of care elsewhere. …
The emergency department crisis: Why patient boarding is dangerous
Many physicians are feeling profoundly betrayed right now.
We dedicated our lives to medicine, science, and healing. We sacrificed. We put our patients first, often at great personal cost.
The current political and public health landscape makes many of us feel disregarded, unheard, and deeply disrespected.
Health care, and we as physicians, feel under siege.
Public health policies are shifting in ways …
Physicians are feeling betrayed. How do we protect our peace when health care is under siege?
I have felt anxious for most of my life.
Born into a poor family, my main goal has always been to become independent enough to support myself without needing to ask anyone for money to meet my basic necessities.
I witnessed my father frequently asking others for help whenever he faced significant challenges that his limited salary could not cover. For instance, he would reach out to people when it came time …
How embracing uncertainty changed my life
Until now, when a lawsuit is frivolous, once a doctor who is the defendant prevails, the case concludes. However, there is a next step. Whether it is taken depends on this doctor.
Prevailing means there is 95 percent confidence that the lawsuit is frivolous. Not every frivolous lawsuit is malicious; however, every malicious lawsuit is frivolous. Malice is actionable.
As of now, malicious prosecution cases are difficult and expensive to prove because …
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Pediatric neurologist Paige Kalika discusses her article, “Learning the language of medicine: from student to fluent physician.” Paige compares mastering medicine to learning a language, from grasping basic vocabulary like anatomy to …
Mastering the language of medicine [PODCAST]
An excerpt from About Your Black Transgender Child: Answers to MOST of Your Burning Questions.
“Mom, I would never have told my doctor because you were my doctor.”
—My trans young adult
Those words hit me hard!
My eldest offspring said them to me recently while we were having a conversation. I had shared my thoughts about the need for pediatricians and other physicians …
How to advocate for your transgender child’s health care
This story is dedicated to all my female friends in medicine.
Didi does not love her job. What started as a noble purpose of helping people made her feel as though she has become a glorified customer service representative. She focuses on her Hippocratic oath, all right. She’s an internist in her 30s, seeing about fifteen to twenty patients per day, and she’s fed up with the sense of disrespect.
It does …
The hidden bias young female physicians face every day
Blockbuster was once a dominant force in the video entertainment industry, with thousands of stores and near-total market control. However, when digital streaming services emerged, Blockbuster was slow to respond, dismissing Netflix as a passing trend. By the time it recognized the shift in consumer preferences, it was too late – the company collapsed, unable to compete in the new era of on-demand entertainment.
Health care, particularly primary …
Adapting to survive: lessons from Blockbuster for primary care
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Urologist David Canes discusses his article, “Why AI scribes are changing medicine and the hidden risks you must know.” He shares insights from using AI scribes in over 3,000 clinical encounters, noting …
Why doctors love AI scribes—and the risks they bring [PODCAST]
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