KevinMD.com

May 17, 2011May 17, 201113

Communication between physicians and patients is critical to quality care and improved outcomes, however, such discussions often seem labored and fraught with anxiety and stress. Physicians commonly speak too much and listen too little, while patients feel swept up in…

Communication between physicians and patients is critical to quality care and improved outcomes, however, such discussions often seem labored and fraught with anxiety and stress.

Physicians commonly speak too much and listen too little, while patients feel swept up in an unfamiliar and frightening situation with loss of control and little-to-no input into care.

As I have observed conversations …

Physician voices

5 things I learned from a MD inventor and serial entrepreneur

Ashwin Patel

May 17, 2011May 17, 2011

by Ashwin Patel As a MD/PhD candidate, I enjoy learning how medicine interfaces with other fields. I found that MDs that have ventured into these fields have the best stories and insights to share. I recently had the privilege of…

by Ashwin Patel

As a MD/PhD candidate, I enjoy learning how medicine interfaces with other fields. I found that MDs that have ventured into these fields have the best stories and insights to share.

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Dr. David E. Albert, MD. He’s a physician, a successful inventor with 30+ patents, and a serial entrepreneur. He has sold two of his companies, one to …

Health policy

How malpractice hurts doctors and their future patients

Kevin Pho, MD

May 16, 2011May 16, 201189

Little has been written about the impact a malpractice lawsuit has on physicians. But physicians who've been sued have a higher rate of suicide, and emergency physician Edwin Leap wrote about how doctors are emotionally scarred from the grueling ordeal…

Little has been written about the impact a malpractice lawsuit has on physicians.

But physicians who’ve been sued have a higher rate of suicide, and emergency physician Edwin Leap wrote about how doctors are emotionally scarred from the grueling ordeal of a trial.

A recent piece from American Medical News puts faces on the toll:

The key to surviving is having

…

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Health policy

Predictions on the future of medicine after health care reform

Wes Fisher, MD

May 16, 2011May 16, 201112

Recently, an editorial from a plastic surgeon Lloyd Kreiger, MD, appeared in the Wall Street Journal entitled "ObamaCare Is Already Damaging Health Care." While I'm not sure I'm ready to concede that Obamacare has already damaged health care in America,…

Recently, an editorial from a plastic surgeon Lloyd Kreiger, MD, appeared in the Wall Street Journal entitled “ObamaCare Is Already Damaging Health Care.”

While I’m not sure I’m ready to concede that Obamacare has already damaged health care in America, I will agree the law is certainly is changing health care, aligning health care corporate interests with political interests, …

Conditions and diseases

Osteoporosis Awareness Month, and how to prevent early bone loss

James Haddad

May 16, 2011May 16, 2011

May is National Osteoporosis Awareness Month. Osteoporosis is a poorly understood concept amongst the general public, and perhaps the best way to explain it is the presence of an insufficient quantity of bone – the bone that is present, however,…

May is National Osteoporosis Awareness Month.

Osteoporosis is a poorly understood concept amongst the general public, and perhaps the best way to explain it is the presence of an insufficient quantity of bone – the bone that is present, however, is normal (or properly mineralized). This can be contrasted with osteomalacia (or rickets, in children), …

Physician voices

Observations of a primary care innovator in Atlantic City

Andrew Schutzbank, MD, MPH

May 16, 2011May 16, 2011

by Andrew Schutzbank, MD “He wants to go to Atlantic City for his research time?” must have been the question bouncing around my residency’s Area of Concentration (AOC) Committee. Not that there is anything wrong with Atlantic City per se,…

by Andrew Schutzbank, MD

“He wants to go to Atlantic City for his research time?” must have been the question bouncing around my residency’s Area of Concentration (AOC) Committee.

Not that there is anything wrong with Atlantic City per se, but historically, our residency program generously grants three to six weeks of AOC time to allow residents to explore interests and …

Health policy

How an ACO will affect the relationship between a doctor and a patient

Randall S. Bock, MD

May 16, 2011May 16, 201115

At the heart of medicine is the relationship between a doctor and a patient. The more a doctor knows about his patients, the better. While visual changes and numbness might represent migraine symptoms for one patient, for another they could…

At the heart of medicine is the relationship between a doctor and a patient.

The more a doctor knows about his patients, the better. While visual changes and numbness might represent migraine symptoms for one patient, for another they could forebode a stroke. Having followed patients through the stages of life, participating in their medical experiences firsthand rather than solely reviewing those as written case-files — I can vouch that knowing …

Physician voices

Primary care training and international medical graduates

Sajeet Sohi, MD

May 16, 2011May 16, 20116

I have had the pleasure as a medical student to complete my clinical clerkships in the Baltimore area community hospitals, the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the National Institutes of Health. I will forever cherish these experiences and lessons as I…

I have had the pleasure as a medical student to complete my clinical clerkships in the Baltimore area community hospitals, the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the National Institutes of Health.

I will forever cherish these experiences and lessons as I progress through my career. With an educated and wealthy suburban population and a large disadvantaged urban population; Baltimore is symbolic of the challenges and opportunities the healthcare field faces.

There are different …

Drugs and prescribing

Lunch money Pharma spends on physicians

Deep Ramachandran, MD

May 16, 2011May 16, 201182

Actually I’ll take a Ford Shelby GT500 Convertible, thank you very much ... Today’s stream of socially conscious thinking comes to you after having feasted on a tasty lunch paid for by a drug company (and no, it wasn’t Pfizer).…

Actually I’ll take a Ford Shelby GT500 Convertible, thank you very much …

Today’s stream of socially conscious thinking comes to you after having feasted on a tasty lunch paid for by a drug company (and no, it wasn’t Pfizer).

It has spurred me to contemplate the ever increasing scrutiny paid to the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry …

Read more…

Lunch money Pharma spends on physicians

Health policy

The problem with global, or capitated, payments to doctors and hospitals

Paul Levy

May 15, 2011May 15, 201121

One aspect of religious dogma that has entered the medical world is that fee-for-service pricing of medical services is bad and should be replaced by a capitated, or global, arrangement that establishes an annual budget for care for different risk…

Like other religious beliefs, this is often offered without rigorous analytic support. Some insurance companies are particularly pleased …

Physician voices

6 ENT physicians practicing in Tanzania, a country of 40 million people

Bruce Campbell, MD

May 15, 2011May 15, 2011

I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve. - Albert Schweitzer The middle-aged Tanzanian…

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.
– Albert Schweitzer

The middle-aged Tanzanian woman lived many hours away and had traveled to the academic medical center in Moshi. She had now waited all day to see …

Medical education

Why doctors should pursue another degree

Scrub, MD

May 14, 2011May 14, 20118

Becoming a doctor is a long and arduous process. Between taking pre-med courses, taking the MCAT, applying to medical schools, matriculating, then taking test after test after test until you take the big one (USMLE Step 1) before which you did questions all day long for weeks from a good USMLE question bank program, after which you take rotation …

Conditions and diseases

MKSAP: 26-year-old woman is evaluated for amenorrhea

mksap

May 14, 2011May 14, 2011

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 26-year-old woman is evaluated for a 4-month history of amenorrhea. Menses began at age 13 years. At age 18 years, the patient was…

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 26-year-old woman is evaluated for a 4-month history of amenorrhea. Menses began at age 13 years. At age 18 years, the patient was placed on an oral contraceptive pill to control heavy bleeding. She discontinued the oral contraceptive pill 4 months ago because she and …

Patient voices

5 rules for living well with a chronic illness

Carolyn Thomas

May 14, 2011May 14, 20117

Dr. Elvira Aletta is a clinical psychologist with a unique perspective on what it’s like to live with a chronic illness. In her early twenties, she was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a rare kidney disease that usually affects young boys.…

She’d never heard of that, either. She describes her …

Conditions and diseases

What patients need to know about finding and treating osteoporosis

Juliet K. Mavromatis, MD

May 13, 2011May 13, 20114

Osteoporosis is a condition that is sure to become increasingly diagnosed as our population ages. Osteoporosis is significant because it is associated with an increased risk of bone fracture, including fracture of the hip and vertebra, which are the cause…

Osteoporosis is a condition that is sure to become increasingly diagnosed as our population ages.

Osteoporosis is significant because it is associated with an increased risk of bone fracture, including fracture of the hip and vertebra, which are the cause of significant morbidity, mortality, loss of independence and medical expense in the elderly. In current clinical practice, osteoporosis is diagnosed on the basis …

Medical education

Medical students asking a patient about death

Jessica Gold

May 13, 2011May 13, 20116

Like any kid who always wanted to be a doctor, I went to medical school to learn how to help people. Just wearing the white coat during orientation week had people looking at me differently, expecting me to know something…

Physician voices

Transfusing a Jehovah’s Witness during surgery

Neil Baum, MD

May 13, 2011May 13, 201158

I was in practice about five years and was about to do a radical nephrectomy on a patient. I met with the patient and his son in my office and the son informed me that he and his father were…

I was in practice about five years and was about to do a radical nephrectomy on a patient.

I met with the patient and his son in my office and the son informed me that he and his father were Jehovah’s Witnesses and that he didn’t want his father to receive any blood or blood products before, during, or after surgery. I asked the father if that was his wish and he …

Health policy

How ACOs creatively destroy fee for service medicine

David K. Cundiff, MD

May 13, 2011May 13, 201138

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) advocates the "creative destruction" of the traditional system of U.S. physicians practicing solo or in small groups operating as small businesses. Republicans and Democrats approve of ACOs in concept. The Affordable…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) advocates the “creative destruction” of the traditional system of U.S. physicians practicing solo or in small groups operating as small businesses.

Republicans and Democrats approve of ACOs in concept. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 calls for shifting from fragmented care …

Physician voices

Mental health and the shortage of psychiatric help in the ER

Edwin Leap, MD

May 12, 2011May 12, 20114

Every day, mental health clinics, emergency departments, psychiatric hospitals, physicians’ offices, counselors’ offices, school counselors and police officers are faced with an almost impossible responsibility. It is a responsibility, a burden, often highlighted retrospectively, after a tragedy. Their job is…

I sympathize greatly, since I work in the emergency department of a hospital …

Real physician voices, twice a week

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