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Could mobile apps replace doctors?

How to improve physician compliance

David Mayer, MD

June 21, 2012Jun 21, 20122

"Educate the young, regulate the old." That quote has literally followed me around the world. I can vividly remember when first making the statement. I was one of five “safety experts” on the closing panel at an international safety and…

“Educate the young, regulate the old.”

That quote has literally followed me around the world. I can vividly remember when first making the statement. I was one of five “safety experts” on the closing panel at an international safety and quality meeting in Sydney, Australia a number of years ago. The thought was that the five of us would somehow be able to share “pearls” of wisdom regarding what was …

How to improve physician compliance

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Will health reform survive the Supreme Court?

Merrill Goozner

June 21, 2012Jun 21, 2012

The Supreme Court’s imminent decision on the Affordable Care Act will trigger a political firestorm whether they accept the legislation in its entirety, throw out every page of the 906-page bill or do something in between, which is the most…

If the high court follows the polls, it probably will rule the requirement that individuals purchase insurance – the mandate – is unconstitutional but leave the rest of “Obamacare” …

Is rationing necessary to reduce health care costs?

Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

June 21, 2012Jun 21, 20128

Healthcare costs keep rising. Your insurance premiums go up, your deductible and co-pays go up, pharmacy benefits go down. Despite the high cost you get little time with your physician, insurance statements are complex beyond belief and “customer service” seems…

Why are costs so high in this very dysfunctional healthcare …

How families cope with the surgical waiting room

Kevin R. Campbell, MD

June 20, 2012Jun 20, 20123

All of us hate waiting in lines. Our society breeds a “me-first” attitude. Often the lines in which we wait are slow to move and, we become irritable and angry. Somehow there is always someone who is able to outsmart the system and get served ahead of their place in the queue. In the typical queue at the grocery store, (or at the apple store genius bar) we become impatient because …

Why are female physicians paid less?

Peter Ubel, MD

June 20, 2012Jun 20, 2012

In a new study published in JAMA, my colleagues and I found that even after accounting for productivity, women working as physician researchers at American Medical Schools are paid $13,000 less per year than their male colleagues, a difference that…

In a new study published in JAMA, my colleagues and I found that even after accounting for productivity, women working as physician researchers at American Medical Schools are paid $13,000 less per year than their male colleagues, a difference that amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of their careers.

But does this difference stand as evidence of discrimination?

Many claims of gender inequity in pay have suffered …

Why are female physicians paid less?

Medical education

Become not just a physician, but a great physician

Michael Mank

June 20, 2012Jun 20, 20122

As the nation, physicians, hospitals, and political pundits await the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act, I find myself waiting for something else: to begin medical school. I will be hitting the books, studying vigorously, and desperately trying to remember the myriad of information being thrown at me well after the justices decide the fate of President Obama’s landmark legislation. So what does this mean for me, or …

What does patient centered care say about psychiatry as a science?

Steve Balt, MD

June 20, 2012Jun 20, 20123

When asked what makes for good patient care in medicine, a typical answer is that it should be “patient-centered.” Sure, “evidence-based medicine” and expert clinical guidelines are helpful, but they only serve as the scientific foundation upon which we base our individualized treatment decisions. What’s more important is how a disorder manifests in the patient and the treatments he or she is most likely to respond to (based on genetics, …

Why doctors should attend residency graduations

Wes Fisher, MD

June 19, 2012Jun 19, 2012

June in the United States heralds the month when residencies end and new ones begin. While much will be written soon about the dangers of entering hospitals this time of year (this story never seems to tire with mainstream media), I would like to step back and reflect on why doctors should consider attending residency graduations. I had the pleasure of doing so recently.

Excitement. With all of the dreary news of …

Medical education

Should medical students consider a combined psychiatry residency?

Julia Frank, MD

June 19, 2012Jun 19, 2012

“What about combined psychiatry-family medicine-neurology-internal medicine programs? Should I try to do a triple board program in psychiatry-child psychiatry and pediatrics?” Every April, I field such questions from a slew of rising fourth year students who have become, to their…

“What about combined psychiatry-family medicine-neurology-internal medicine programs? Should I try to do a triple board program in psychiatry-child psychiatry and pediatrics?”

Every April, I field such questions from a slew of rising fourth year students who have become, to their surprise (and sometimes dismay), passionately interested in psychiatry. Psychiatry is a shortage specialty and psychiatric issues rank high among the challenges facing medical care systems here and around the world. For …

Most medical students don’t have what it takes for primary care

Lucy Hornstein, MD

June 19, 2012Jun 19, 201216

I figured it out! I realized what the basic, underlying, fundamental problem is with medical care in this country. The problem is that it’s too expensive and often isn’t very good, but that’s clear. The reason medical care in this…

I figured it out! I realized what the basic, underlying, fundamental problem is with medical care in this country.

The problem is that it’s too expensive and often isn’t very good, but that’s clear.

The reason medical care in this country is fragmented and overly expensive is that there is a perverse inversion of the correct ratio between primary care and specialty physicians (should be significantly greater than one, instead of significantly …

Patient voices

11 tips I’ve learned from 11 years sick

Toni Bernhard, JD

June 19, 2012Jun 19, 201223

A year ago, KevinMD.com was kind enough to post my piece, 10 Tips from 10 Years Sick. Well, a year has gone by and I’m still sick. So, I’ve re-visited that post, changing several of the tips and adding to…

A year ago, KevinMD.com was kind enough to post my piece, 10 Tips from 10 Years Sick. Well, a year has gone by and I’m still sick. So, I’ve re-visited that post, changing several of the tips and adding to others. And, of course, there are now 11 tips, not 10! At the end of the piece, I hope you’ll share your own experiences.

1. The onset of chronic illness …

11 tips I’ve learned from 11 years sick

The frustrating gap of physician leadership skills

Dike Drummond, MD

June 18, 2012Jun 18, 20125

One of the big practice challenges most physicians face is a frustrating gap in our leadership skills. We step out of residency and are instantly installed as the leader of a multidisciplinary team charged with delivering the highest quality care…

This new leadership role can be daunting. We are prepared to diagnose and treat, but what about all the other questions that come our way? At times It …

Don’t give up on the family dinner

Claire McCarthy, MD

June 18, 2012Jun 18, 20128

For years, I have been telling families in my practice, especially those with teens, to eat dinner together. Family dinners make a difference, I tell them. Studies show that they not only help prevent obesity, they help kids do better…

Now a study says that’s a bunch of hogwash.

Well, not exactly hogwash. The researchers from Cornell who wrote “Assessing Causality and …

Don’t give up on the family dinner

If the individual mandate is struck down, what happens next?

Kevin Pho, MD

June 18, 2012Jun 18, 20122

The following column was published on June 17th, 2012 in the New York Times’ Room for Debate blog. In this election year, the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Affordable Care Act will be interpreted through a political lens. But the…

The following column was published on June 17th, 2012 in the New York Times’ Room for Debate blog.

In this election year, the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Affordable Care Act will be interpreted through a political lens. But the decision will have real-life consequences on patients, whose voice won’t be heard through the ensuing partisan din.

If the individual mandate …

Conditions and diseases

Start the difficult conversation with ICD patients

John Mandrola, MD

June 18, 2012Jun 18, 20124

There was a very important article written in the New York Times recently. It highlighted a common medical scenario in my world—the defibrillator (ICD) world. I am going to talk about ICDs here, but the big picture inherent in this…

There was a very important article written in the New York Times recently. It highlighted a common medical scenario in my world—the defibrillator (ICD) world.

I am going to talk about ICDs here, but the big picture inherent in this story illustrates the important issue of how best to apply invasive therapy to elderly and sicker patients.

The Times piece delved into medical decision-making when patients present with battery depletion of their …