KevinMD.com

February 14, 2026Feb 14, 2026

Palliative care physician and certified physician development coach Christie Mulholland discusses her article "Why every physician needs a sabbatical (and how to take one)." Christie reveals the harsh reality that while sabbaticals exist on paper, unwritten rules often prevent doctors…

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Palliative care physician and certified physician development coach Christie Mulholland discusses her article “Why every physician needs a sabbatical (and how to take one).” Christie reveals the harsh reality that while sabbaticals exist on paper, unwritten rules often prevent doctors from accessing this critical recovery tool until it is too …

Medical education

Curing versus caring in medicine: Bridging the gap in patient trust

Cherie Shah

February 14, 2026Feb 14, 2026

Modern medicine has a lot to show for all our breakthroughs and biotechnology. At an astonishingly rapid rate, we have built a health care system that can map the genome, replace a heart valve, and monitor vital signs from a wristwatch. All this to show that medicine’s success has always been measured in cures, and in that pursuit, we have forgotten to care. This is where medicine fails.

A cure is …

Health policy

Flexible health care funding: Moving beyond disease eradication

Selena Kattick

February 14, 2026Feb 14, 2026

The moment the text message lit up my watch, I knew my life had irrevocably changed. I looked down at the miniature screen and found that I could not look away from the gray bubble and the three words that shattered my world: My aunt had passed away. An all-consuming grief overtook me as I processed a reality where my aunt’s boisterous laugh no longer echoed off the walls, along …

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Physician voices

Why a chief wellness officer hid her medication use for 13 years

Michael F. Myers, MD

February 14, 2026Feb 14, 2026

An excerpt from Physicians With Lived Experience: How Their Stories Offer Clinical Guidance (APA Publishing, 2025). "Here is the truth: I have been on a stable dose of Wellbutrin (Bupropion) for thirteen years, and despite being quite a public advocate…

An excerpt from Physicians With Lived Experience: How Their Stories Offer Clinical Guidance (APA Publishing, 2025).

“Here is the truth: I have been on a stable dose of Wellbutrin (Bupropion) for thirteen years, and despite being quite a public advocate about self-disclosure and mental health, I have never once said that out loud. If you have ever read anything I’ve written before …

Physician voices

Physician patient advocacy: Fighting insurance denials effectively

Neil Baum, MD

February 14, 2026Feb 14, 2026

Our nation and the health care industry have been in shock following the assassination of the CEO of one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. in December 2024. The reaction to Brian Thompson’s death and suspected shooter Luigi Mangione appeared to have captured America’s attention. The assassination has focused public outrage toward the health care insurance industry and a lack of empathy for the victim and his …

Physician voices

Health care’s Upside Down: Addressing systemic dysfunction and burnout

Ganesh Asaithambi, MD, MBA

February 14, 2026Feb 14, 2026

If you have watched Stranger Things, you know the premise: A quiet town appears functional on the surface while a darker, parallel world creeps into everyday life, or the Upside Down. The true danger is not just the monsters but also the refusal of adults in power to believe what is directly in front of them. Modern health care is living in its own Upside Down.

The metric trap

In my practice, …

Conditions and diseases

How February and Valentine’s Day impact lonely patients

Crystal W. Cené, MD, MPH

February 14, 2026Feb 14, 2026

Last year, at her annual physical, one of my patients told me that February was the hardest time of the year for her. Her husband died three years earlier in February. Her daughter lives out of state and doesn’t visit often. She has a neurologic condition which makes it difficult for her to get around. Her days are marked by TV dinners eaten alone, a phone that rarely rings, and …

Conditions and diseases

The specter of death: Why mortality gives life meaning

Steve Sobel, MD

February 14, 2026Feb 14, 2026

The looming specter of death exerts significant psychological power over the living. Perhaps the most common ways of coping with our persistent death anxiety are to ignore it, actively deny it, or deliberately distract ourselves from it; but removing our protective blinders ultimately enables us to live a more meaningful and authentic life. If we genuinely wish to live well and to die well, we must intentionally develop our emotional …

The Podcast by KevinMD

Systemic strain creates the perfect environment for medical gaslighting [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

February 13, 2026Feb 13, 2026

Otolaryngologist Alan P. Feren discusses his article "How system strain contributes to medical gaslighting in health care." Alan explores why encounters that patients experience as dismissive or manipulative often stem from communication breakdowns driven by productivity pressures rather than clinician…

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Otolaryngologist Alan P. Feren discusses his article “How system strain contributes to medical gaslighting in health care.” Alan explores why encounters that patients experience as dismissive or manipulative often stem from communication breakdowns driven by productivity pressures rather than clinician malice. He examines the cognitive reality of modern practice where …

Physician voices

In the age of AI, what makes a physician REAL?

Harvey Castro, MD, MBA

February 13, 2026Feb 13, 2026

It was 3:17 a.m. when the trauma pager went off. "Level 1 incoming. MVC. Hypotensive." The trauma bay shifted instantly from stillness to choreography. Blood coolers opened. Monitors lit up. A resident's voice tightened as he called out the vitals.…

It was 3:17 a.m. when the trauma pager went off. “Level 1 incoming. MVC. Hypotensive.” The trauma bay shifted instantly from stillness to choreography. Blood coolers opened. Monitors lit up. A resident’s voice tightened as he called out the vitals. The patient was young. Too young. Blood pressure in the 70s. Oxygen saturation falling. The kind of numbers that make the room feel smaller. CT was not ready. Labs were …

Physician voices

The cost of clinician absence in the boardroom: a 30-year perspective

Christopher Mastino, MD

February 13, 2026Feb 13, 2026

I have spent 30 years as a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician in solo practice. In three decades of treating patients, I have witnessed the slow, systematic transfer of health care decision-making from clinicians to people who have never touched…

When I started my career, physicians led health care. Today, private equity firms own hospitals, insurance company algorithms override clinical judgment, and administrators whose primary loyalty is to shareholders …

Physician voices

My wife wants me to retire

Sandy Brown, MD

February 13, 2026Feb 13, 2026

At our yearly Christmas medical staff dinner this last year, our chief of staff asked all the doctors present who had been working at our hospital for five or more years to stand up. Quite a few of us rose. He then asked those who had been there 10 years or more to remain standing. After half of us sat down, he upped the ante to 15 years, then to …

Read more…

My wife wants me to retire

Physician voices

2026 Winter Olympics rumors: the truth about ski jumpers and hyaluronic acid

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

February 13, 2026Feb 13, 2026

An excerpt from Still Life with Stethoscope and Typewriter: Essays and Echoes of Narrative Medicine. Every Olympic Games eventually produces its own mythology. Not the noble kind, ancient Greeks crowned in olive leaves, but the modern variety, where rumor, technology,…

An excerpt from Still Life with Stethoscope and Typewriter: Essays and Echoes of Narrative Medicine.

Every Olympic Games eventually produces its own mythology. Not the noble kind, ancient Greeks crowned in olive leaves, but the modern variety, where rumor, technology, desperation, and money form a cocktail best consumed at a safe distance.

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan have already delivered one such legend: the claim that elite ski jumpers were …

Health policy

Immigration policy and child health: a medical student’s perspective

Adam Zbib

February 13, 2026Feb 13, 2026

"Do no harm." Upon entering medical school, my classmates and I uttered these words with pride and joy, unaware of the deeper meaning behind them. While it may sound cliché, many of us choose to become doctors because we have…

“Do no harm.” Upon entering medical school, my classmates and I uttered these words with pride and joy, unaware of the deeper meaning behind them. While it may sound cliché, many of us choose to become doctors because we have a strong desire to help others in some capacity. The esteemed title M.D. fortunately allows us to wear many different hats in serving our communities. Medical doctors have expanded their …

Conditions and diseases

Peyronie’s disease symptoms: Why men delay seeking help

Martina Ambardjieva, MD

February 13, 2026Feb 13, 2026

A man notices it in a moment he did not plan to analyze. An erection that used to be straight now bends. There is a new ache. Sex feels different, less reliable, more tense. He tells himself it is temporary.…

A man notices it in a moment he did not plan to analyze.

An erection that used to be straight now bends. There is a new ache. Sex feels different, less reliable, more tense. He tells himself it is temporary. He avoids looking too closely. He stops initiating intimacy. And most of the time, he does not say a word.

That quiet delay is one of the most overlooked parts of Peyronie’s …

Medical education

Why medical students need health care economics

Angela Wei

February 13, 2026Feb 13, 2026

These days, it is not uncommon to hear complaints from doctors, nurses, and other clinical staff about policies made by "higher-ups." Stories of physician burnout, frustration with appointment time limits, and dissatisfaction with policy changes are all too familiar. As…

These days, it is not uncommon to hear complaints from doctors, nurses, and other clinical staff about policies made by “higher-ups.” Stories of physician burnout, frustration with appointment time limits, and dissatisfaction with policy changes are all too familiar. As a medical student, I have often felt this sentiment that “administration is the enemy.”

However, this past summer, I had the unique opportunity to serve as a medical student business intern, …

Physician voices

From Williams-Sonoma to medicine: What retail taught me about difficult patients

Jason Wilt, MD

February 13, 2026Feb 13, 2026

Toward the end of undergrad, I was desperate for money to support myself and feed my figurative babies, which at the time took the form of MCAT prep and medical school applications. This desperation led to some outside-the-box thinking about…

One of the most out-of-character things I did was work at Williams-Sonoma. My main motivation for working there was that it was right next to a …

The Podcast by KevinMD

Tobacco cessation offers untapped revenue for medical practices [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

February 12, 2026Feb 12, 2026

Board-certified internist with a long-standing focus on public health, tobacco control, and preventive care Edward Anselm discusses his article "The economic case for investing in tobacco cessation." Edward reveals that while smoking rates have hit historic lows, 19.5 percent of…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

Board-certified internist with a long-standing focus on public health, tobacco control, and preventive care Edward Anselm discusses his article “The economic case for investing in tobacco cessation.” Edward reveals that while smoking rates have hit historic lows, 19.5 percent of adults still use tobacco, with significant disparities persisting across race, …

Health policy

Executive order on homelessness: Why forced treatment fails

Gary McMurtrie

February 12, 2026Feb 12, 2026

In his recent executive order, Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets, President Trump directed federal agencies to utilize forced institutionalization of unhoused individuals under the guise of public safety, lambasting evidence-based harm reduction programs in the process. Unhoused people…

In his recent executive order, Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets, President Trump directed federal agencies to utilize forced institutionalization of unhoused individuals under the guise of public safety, lambasting evidence-based harm reduction programs in the process. Unhoused people are framed as threats by Trump, engaging in open-air drug use and vagrancy. In response, the National Homelessness Law Center condemned this executive order and projected even worse outcomes due …

Medical education

The medical referral process: Why it fails and how to fix it

Abhijay Mudigonda

February 12, 2026Feb 12, 2026

For clinicians, trainees, and health system leaders, the referral process is meant to connect patients to the specialty care they need. But in everyday practice, this bridge often feels like a maze. Many of us, whether as physicians in training or practicing providers, have watched patients become lost in delays, miscommunications, and inappropriate specialist visits that worsen outcomes rather than improve them.

The consequences of a broken system

In my own experience …

Real physician voices, twice a week

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