KevinMD.com

March 3, 2012Mar 3, 201220

To have cancer is to change forever. It is a devastating declaration. Each of us copes with the diagnosis differently. How people adjust and move on with their lives are lessons in humanity. I take care of a patient who…

To have cancer is to change forever. It is a devastating declaration. Each of us copes with the diagnosis differently. How people adjust and move on with their lives are lessons in humanity.

I take care of a patient who explained to me how he deals with incurable cancer. Stan is active and able to enjoy grandchildren, friends and hobbies. He describes himself as happy, despite his terminal diagnosis. The key …

Physician voices

Are anesthesiologists the last true generalists?

Karen S. Sibert, MD

March 3, 2012Mar 3, 201227

There's been a great divide between the medical and surgical specialties ever since I can remember. Surgeons believe internists perseverate too much when decisions need to be made. Internists consider themselves the true intellectuals of medicine. I suppose anesthesiologists like…

There’s been a great divide between the medical and surgical specialties ever since I can remember. Surgeons believe internists perseverate too much when decisions need to be made. Internists consider themselves the true intellectuals of medicine. I suppose anesthesiologists like me fall somewhere in the middle–we work in surgery, but have to take care of all the medical problems the patient brings to the OR table. Does that make us …

Medical education

Residency interview tips from a Chief Resident

Gopi J. Astik, MD

March 2, 2012Mar 2, 20124

I never realized before how much work goes on behind the scenes to prepare and conduct these interview days, but I sure do now. As a Chief Resident, I schedule residents to attend the applicant dinners, lunches, and tours, and to spend time with the applicants our lounge. This makes the actual interview days go by much smoother, because two of us are present at all times to speak to applicants and answer any …

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Medical education

Reaching the pinnacle of medical education

Jordan Grumet, MD

March 2, 2012Mar 2, 20122

Suzie remembers what it felt like to be fifteen. She can still hear the creek of the steps leading to the third floor and the quaint finished bedroom that housed her grandmother that fateful summer. Originally, Grandma was set to…

Suzie remembers what it felt like to be fifteen. She can still hear the creek of the steps leading to the third floor and the quaint finished bedroom that housed her grandmother that fateful summer.

Originally, Grandma was set to move into the small room next to Suzie’s parents. But after his first night in the attic, Billy refused to set foot up there again. So Dad lovingly wrapped Grandma in …

Health technology

Cardiac device companies should want patients to have their data

David Lee Scher, MD

March 2, 2012Mar 2, 2012

I have been touching on multiple issues involved in cardiac patients and the data derived from their implantable defibrillators and pacemakers, which is heretofore unavailable directly to them. I have not fully discussed the viewpoint of device companies for a few reasons. I wanted to explore the multiple aspects of the problem and give the patient’s view first. It is a complex issue that needs technical, regulatory, and workflow …

Drugs and prescribing

How a birth control medication recall can lead to high drug costs

Dominic A. Carone, PhD

March 1, 2012Mar 1, 2012

Recently, the world’s largest research-based drug company, Pfizer, announced that an automated packaging error led to a recall of the birth control medication, Lo/Ovral-28 and the generic counterpart, Norgestrel/Ethinyl Estradiol. The packaging issue had to do with the placebo pill…

The packaging issue had to do with the placebo pill being placed in the wrong order in the 28-day cycle and an inexact number of placebo (should be 7) or active forms (should be 21) of the medication. The placebo pill …

Physician voices

Overtreatment and the ethics of end of life care

Bradley Flansbaum, DO

March 1, 2012Mar 1, 201210

There was an exceptionally well-written piece published in the Washington Post recently. I presume a hospitalist wrote it, which magnifies its significance. In it, he describes the difficulties in caring for terminally ill patients. As I read it, it reminded…

There was an exceptionally well-written piece published in the Washington Post recently. I presume a hospitalist wrote it, which magnifies its significance. In it, he describes the difficulties in caring for terminally ill patients.

As I read it, it reminded me of a story my dad told me several years ago. His friend, I will call him Steve, was experiencing a great deal of stress because of his dad’s ailing …

Health policy

A sick care system instead of a health care system

Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

March 1, 2012Mar 1, 20128

An excerpt from The Future of Health Care Delivery. We Americans like to pride ourselves on having the best health care system in the world, but unfortunately that is not the case. We have a medical (that is, sick) care…

An excerpt from The Future of Health Care Delivery.

We Americans like to pride ourselves on having the best health care system in the world, but unfortunately that is not the case. We have a medical (that is, sick) care system—a system that waits until we become ill before it kicks into action—instead of a health care system focused on helping us stay healthy. We give lip service to prevention and, …

Conditions and diseases

The hidden crisis of binge drinking

Stewart Segal, MD

February 29, 2012Feb 29, 201210

According to an article entitled, Binge Drinking Common Among Adults, "about one in every six U.S. adults binges on alcohol." According to the article, "binge drinking -- defined as at least four drinks in one sitting for women and five…

According to an article entitled, Binge Drinking Common Among Adults, “about one in every six U.S. adults binges on alcohol.”

According to the article, “binge drinking — defined as at least four drinks in one sitting for women and five drinks for men — carries substantial risks and high costs. It accounts for more than half of the estimated 80,000 annual deaths and three-quarters of the $223.5 billion in economic …

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The hidden crisis of binge drinking

Conditions and diseases

Tips for feeding your picky eater

Yolanda Wong, MD

February 29, 2012Feb 29, 20125

Your baby had a great appetite. Happily ate everything. Tried lots of flavors and foods. Then your baby became a toddler. Suddenly meals feel like a horrible battle. Sound familiar? Picky eating is very common, especially in toddlers and pre-schoolers.…

Your baby had a great appetite. Happily ate everything. Tried lots of flavors and foods. Then your baby became a toddler. Suddenly meals feel like a horrible battle.

Sound familiar?

Picky eating is very common, especially in toddlers and pre-schoolers. After the first year of life, a toddler’s appetite decreases quite a bit as the rate of growth slows down. Meanwhile, a toddler grows in independence, expressed by pushing limits, exploring new skills, and forming lots of opinions …

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Tips for feeding your picky eater

Conditions and diseases

How cancer can strengthen your relationship

Jennifer Kelly, MD, PhD

February 29, 2012Feb 29, 20123

When one partner has cancer, both partners are affected, as is their relationship. Although cancer is a health crisis that can wreak havoc on any relationship, many marriages survive, and even flourish, after cancer. Approaching cancer as “our problem” and finding opportunities to continue to connect as a couple can help to minimize both partners’ emotional distress. It is possible to fight the battle against cancer together and to strengthen …

Medical education

6 reasons why applicants fail to get into medical school

Jessica Freedman, MD

February 28, 2012Feb 28, 201213

Every year medical school applicants feel confused and in the dark about why they have been rejected by medical schools. They do not understand what they did wrong or what they need to do differently when they reapply. Whether you are a premedical student trying to make sure to “do everything right” or a medical school applicant who has not yet …

Physician voices

Why medicine will still be plagued by conflicts of interest

Daniel Wolfson

February 28, 2012Feb 28, 20129

A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times published a story entitled I Disclose … Nothing by Elisabeth Rosenthal. The premise of the article dealt with conflicts of interests in several professions, including those in medicine. It got me…

A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times published a story entitled I Disclose … Nothing by Elisabeth Rosenthal. The premise of the article dealt with conflicts of interests in several professions, including those in medicine. It got me thinking about whether or not the concept of disclosure can successfully manage conflicts of interest in medicine as much as people expect it to.

The conclusion I …

Conditions and diseases

Chronic pain has a price

Kim Kristiansen, MD

February 28, 2012Feb 28, 20129

Everyone who knows a person with chronic pain is aware that it comes with a huge price on quality of life, but indeed chronic pain also have a heavy economic price for the society in general. A price we might be able to reduce by awareness and intervention for those who need it and especially for those who need it most.

The size of the economic burden is of cause different …

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Chronic pain has a price

Patient voices

My mother fell through the cracks of the system and died

Erika S.

February 27, 2012Feb 27, 201297

Recently, my mother died. She was giving, kind, funny and would do anything in her power to help those who needed her. As a single parent divorced from a drug addict, she was all that I ever truly had in…

Recently, my mother died.

She was giving, kind, funny and would do anything in her power to help those who needed her. As a single parent divorced from a drug addict, she was all that I ever truly had in the realm of parenting and, as a result, she was everything to me. And she touched and was loved by so, so many people. She also had asthma and, most years, …

Physician voices

Physician burnout presents differently in male and female doctors

Dike Drummond, MD

February 27, 2012Feb 27, 201215

Numerous studies have shown that an average of 1 in 3 practicing physicians are suffering from symptomatic burnout on any given office day worldwide, regardless of specialty. The three classic signs and symptoms of burnout are measured by a standardized…

Numerous studies have shown that an average of 1 in 3 practicing physicians are suffering from symptomatic burnout on any given office day worldwide, regardless of specialty.

The three classic signs and symptoms of burnout are measured by a standardized evaluation: the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).

They are:

1. Emotional exhaustion

The doctor is tapped out after the office day, hospital rounds or being on call and is unable to recover with time off. …

Physician voices

Taking care of patients is a great honor

Elizabeth Breuer, MD

February 26, 2012Feb 26, 201215

As my husband and I try and make a long term financial plan for paying off my almost $200,000 in loans from medical school, I sit here wondering, why did I pay 200 grand so that I can get peed…

As my husband and I try and make a long term financial plan for paying off my almost $200,000 in loans from medical school, I sit here wondering, why did I pay 200 grand so that I can get peed on, pooped on, bled on, screamed at and sworn at? I’ve delivered a baby without gloves on (it was an emergency). I’ve been kicked so hard I almost fell off …

Health policy

Reducing the emotional impact of medical malpractice

Kevin Pho, MD

February 26, 2012Feb 26, 20129

A version of this op-ed was published on January 17, 2012 in USA Today. Ask doctors about what concerns them the most, and chances are they'll say, "medical malpractice." Indeed, most physicians will be sued sometime during their careers. A…

A version of this op-ed was published on January 17, 2012 in USA Today.

Ask doctors about what concerns them the most, and chances are they’ll say, “medical malpractice.” Indeed, most physicians will be sued sometime during their careers. A recent New England Journal of Medicine study found that 75% of doctors who practice psychiatry, pediatrics or family medicine will be …

Patient voices

Shared language between doctors and patients

Beth Austin

February 26, 2012Feb 26, 20128

A while back, my brother-in-law was experiencing low back pain and my sister told me that the doctor had diagnosed it as a “herniated disc.” The conversation eventually evolved into a discussion about the difference between a “herniated” disc and a “ruptured” disc. My position was that ruptured was worse; my sister’s that they were the same thing. Since inquiring minds want to know these things, I decided to look …

Real physician voices, twice a week

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