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The forgotten patients: When missing people are just lost

Physician

April 7, 2025

I am a true crime buff, and I work in the emergency department. Sometimes the two seem to blur together.

In my career, I have followed my patients to the coroner’s office, going to see the autopsies on traumas, sudden deaths, or sometimes murders. We can do CT scans or MRIs. I can look at images and labs galore, but there’s nothing like looking at a fresh dissection to really appreciate …

Why SIBO is often misdiagnosed as IBS [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 6, 2025

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Gastroenterologist Mark Pimentel discusses his article, “SIBO and IBS: the hidden link keeping millions in pain.” Mark explains how small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is frequently misdiagnosed or overlooked due to its …

How stress affects your gut—and how to fix it

Donna Powell, MD and Renee M. Marchioni Beery, MD

Conditions

April 6, 2025

Life can feel overwhelming at times, with busy schedules, unexpected challenges, and daily pressures that never seem to slow down. While stress is a normal part of life, it can take a serious toll on your body—especially your digestive system. If you’ve ever experienced stomach cramps, nausea, or bloating during a stressful period, you’re not alone. The gut and brain are closely connected, and when stress levels rise, digestion often …

How America became overmedicated—and what we can do about it

Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD

Meds

April 6, 2025

In a revealing snapshot of American mental health, the CDC recently reported that nearly 1 in 4 adults in the United States may be taking psychotropic medications. This staggering number should both draw attention and raise questions. Are we truly addressing the root causes of psychiatric illness, or are we sedating a nation in pain?

As a psychiatrist and internist who has worked at the intersection of …

How trade wars could destroy the U.S. health care system

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Policy

April 6, 2025

The term “core competency” was coined by management experts C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel in their influential 1990 article titled “The core competence of the corporation,” published in the Harvard Business Review. Prahalad and Hamel defined core competencies as the unique capabilities or advantages that a company possesses, which are critical to its ability to achieve competitive advantage and long-term success. These competencies are not just about the skills or …

How doctors can regain trust in the age of misinformation

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

April 6, 2025

Have you ever marveled that a new patient will share with you their most intimate secrets just minutes after you initiate their medical history in the exam room? Patients will discuss what they might not share with friends, spouses, significant others, and even their clergyperson. This privilege should not be taken for granted.

It is time to pause and think about patients’ trust in physicians. This article will describe the current …

How systemic racism impacts health outcomes across a lifetime [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 5, 2025

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Physician coach Seema Pattni discusses her article, “Why racism in health care is still an emergency.” Seema reflects on a painful encounter with an eight-year-old Black patient who wished to be white, …

Academic medical centers under threat: the impact of funding cuts

Adil Shahzad Ahmed, MD

Policy

April 5, 2025

A familiar ding echoes from blue scrub pants. My conditioned frontal cortex reflexively shoots my hand to the back pocket. Fingers encircle a black smartphone. A ricochet of notification vibration still tickles my right buttock. Several semi-autonomous thumb swipes ensue. The joy of Microsoft Outlook’s blue glow reveals a new email—one of nearly a hundred emails jostling for self-importance that day. But this one is different. The ominous phrase “Effective …

C. Everett Koop meets the giants of pediatric surgery: Ladd and Gross

Nigel Cameron, PhD

Physician

April 5, 2025

An excerpt from Dr. Koop: The Many Lives of the Surgeon General.

In spring of 1946 the young Koop was sent to Boston for several months to spend time with the giants of the nascent field of pediatric surgery, William E. Ladd (1880–1967), and his trainee and successor Robert Gross (1905–1988). In his survey of the history of the discipline, Judson Randolph …

Alzheimer’s impact on the young should be an open book

Carol Steinberg

Conditions

April 5, 2025

It has long been said that Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia (ADRD), like some other conditions, is a disease of the family. The ramifications of the disease extend well beyond the periphery of the person with cognitive decline to other family members, such as parents, adult children and siblings, and children under 18.

Yet, the latter, the most vulnerable, are often left in the dark.

Whether young children are living with …

7 proven strategies to beat test anxiety and ace the USMLE

Brett Doliner, MD and Alyssa Ehrlich, MD

Education

April 5, 2025

Test anxiety is common among medical students, especially with the high-stakes USMLE. While some anxiety can drive performance, too much can spiral into paralyzing “what-ifs.” Here’s how to turn anxiety into an ally and perform at your best on exam day:

1. Recognize the role of anxiety. Accept that a certain level of anxiety can be a motivating force. It keeps you alert, focused, and prepared to tackle the task ahead. …

How to reduce diagnostic error in the emergency department [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 4, 2025

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Health care executives Susan L. Montminy and Marlene Icenhower discuss their article, “Solving a hidden challenge: 10 tips to reduce diagnostic error in the emergency department.” Susan and Marlene explore the complex, …

Antimicrobial resistance needs a publicist

Melanie Doupé Gaiser, PhD, MPH

Conditions

April 4, 2025

The mass layoffs at federal health agencies, combined with the recent flurry of federal government announcements—paused communications, stop-work orders, and canceled meetings—have the health care and life sciences communities on edge. One announcement I found quite concerning was the cancellation of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria meeting scheduled for January 28. This was supposed to be a gathering of experts focused on the growing threat of antimicrobial …

Physician wellness is a strategic imperative—not a moral crusade

Jessie Mahoney, MD

Physician

April 4, 2025

To advocate effectively for physician well-being, we must be strategic rather than reactive.

In today’s ever-evolving health care landscape, transformation is not driven by passion alone but by thoughtful alignment with the priorities of those who shape the system.

It is tempting to seek fairness, to call out what is wrong, and to lament the losses inherent in modern medicine.

Culture and systemic change will not come from complaining; it will come from …

Trusting the right doctor: a lesson in humility and expertise

Dr. Damane Zehra

Physician

April 4, 2025

A few days ago, a teacher of mine who taught me Urdu in school contacted me after years. I remember her well; she was a very kind lady who cared for me a lot. I was one of her favorite students. At that time, she was married and had a daughter who was a toddler.

During a phone call, she told me that she had been experiencing a high-grade …

The medical malpractice system is broken: Who really benefits?

Howard Smith, MD

Physician

April 4, 2025

Today, a doctor’s chance of being sued for medical malpractice is 8.5 percent per year. The chance that the lawsuit is frivolous, meaning the alleged injury is from a random error of nature and not from an accidental medical error, is 66.6 percent.

Complications are inevitable. Medical errors occur during medical interventions. So do random errors of nature. At first glance, an error of …

Starting a pediatric critical care transport program from scratch [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 3, 2025

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Pediatric critical care physician Kyle Willsey discusses his article, “When every second counts: the evolving challenges of pediatric transport.” He shares the high-stakes realities of transporting critically ill children, from his experience …

The unspoken weight of words: reflections on a Vietnamese patient’s final choices

Thanh Phuong Nguyen

Conditions

April 3, 2025

When the patient arrived by ambulance, he was frail, elderly, and alone in a hospital that spoke a language he could not understand. He had been transferred from a neighboring hospital across state lines due to concerns of malnutrition and pain. The initial CT scans were alarming—multiple lung masses, highly concerning for metastatic cancer. Yet, despite the grim prognosis, there were still barriers to giving him a definitive diagnosis, and …

I almost left health care: my nurse practitioner burnout story

Erica Dorn, FNP

Conditions

April 3, 2025

My journey in nursing has led me to experiences and insights I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

I declared nursing as my major because I was passionate about making a difference in patients’ lives. I envisioned sitting by patients’ bedsides, holding their hands, and providing comfort in their moments of need. I dreamed of showing up every day to make a meaningful impact.

A retired ICU nurse’s brunch conversation sparks a life-changing moment

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

April 3, 2025

We were a team. Always had been. Always would be. We defended each other, protected each other—from management, from nurse bullies, from the cruel ICU doctors who thought they ruled the world. Back in the day, we had our own kind of “therapy sessions”—long talks over coffee, unloading the weight of twelve-hour shifts, of lives saved and lost, of the battles fought in the trenches of critical care. But life …

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