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A prescription from the next generation of doctors: Vote early

Alexander Le, Annie Yao, and Victoria Shi

Policy

October 22, 2024

As future medical professionals, we see the real-life consequences of political decisions in emergency rooms, hospitals, and clinics. Despite a growing recognition that voting is directly linked to better health outcomes, however, health professionals are voting at lower rates than the national average. It’s time that we make a change this election.

We see patients denied essential services due to bureaucratic hurdles, such as insurance coverage gaps for life-saving medications …

Physician gaslighting looks like this

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Physician

October 22, 2024

As physicians, we are often collectively gaslit—made to believe that somehow, we are responsible for system failures. Many physicians are brainwashed to “drink the Kool-Aid” and accept phrases like, “This is the way things have always been done.” We are made to feel inhuman when we advocate for ourselves as if we are somehow to blame. The system uses terms like “unprofessional,” “unable to cope with the rigors of being …

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Physician gaslighting looks like this

Embracing the advantages of digitization in health care

Aiden Feng, MD, MBA

Tech

October 22, 2024

Due to rising rates of burnout and depression among health care providers, the U.S. is looking at a projected shortfall of over 3.2 million health care workers by 2026. In parallel, the health care industry is grappling with a 13 percent decline in provider productivity that is directly correlated with the increased adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs). This raises a critical question on …

How pharmacy benefit companies are making fertility treatments even harder for patients [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 21, 2024

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We sit down with Oluyemisi (Yemi) Famuyiwa, a fertility specialist and founder of Montgomery Fertility Center, to explore the hidden barriers patients face when accessing fertility medications. We delve into the complex role …

Is the surge in adult ADHD diagnoses helping or harming patients?

Morgan S. Hardy, MD, MPH

Conditions

October 21, 2024

As an outpatient adult psychiatrist, I have witnessed an increasing trend of patients seeking a diagnosis of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Often, these patients have had friends or family members diagnosed with the condition and wonder whether they have it as well. They have read about ADHD online and felt that the described symptoms matched perfectly with their lived experience. They were never diagnosed as children but remember …

Insights gained by attending vascular surgery conferences as a medical student: tips and lessons learned

KiBeom Kwon

Education

October 21, 2024

Attending academic conferences as a medical student offers a wealth of opportunities. Whether it’s networking, finding potential mentors, deepening your knowledge of specialties, or simply exploring new cities, conferences provide unique experiences that can significantly shape your career. As a medical student, I had the chance to attend both regional and national vascular surgery conferences through travel scholarships, and I want to share the lessons I learned in the hope …

Inside the courtroom: a doctor’s battle against a fraud investigation [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 20, 2024

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We sit down with Muhamad Aly Rifai, a practicing internist and psychiatrist, to explore the complexities of health care fraud investigations and the profound impact these cases have on physicians’ lives and careers. …

Medical crisis or government overreach: How misguided policies are destroying lives

L. Joseph Parker, MD

Physician

October 20, 2024

A million vulnerable patients have died in the last decade, and while I have no doubt the rate of overdose and poisoning will drop nationwide—killing a million vulnerable patients has that effect eventually—I choose not to contribute to that death rate. This decision is in accordance with my deeply held beliefs. In 2014, Governor Asa Hutchinson signed the Arkansas Conscience Protection Act into law, supposedly protecting health care professionals who …

How AI is transforming breast cancer detection: a game-changing tool for early diagnosis and personalized care

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Conditions

October 20, 2024

If you had an assistant who helped you do your work faster, more efficiently, and more precisely, would you fear it?

With artificial intelligence (AI) at the forefront of virtually everything today, two of the most common questions I hear in my daily practice are, “Do you use AI?” and “What does AI do for you?” For some, these questions stem from a desire to access cutting-edge tools, while others express …

The duty of health system boards to prioritize organizational culture, workforce development, and career pathways

Geoffrey Roche, EdD, MPA & Kim Downey, PT

Policy

October 20, 2024

Recently, I interviewed Dr. David Morris, a physician in Ireland and CEO of Verity Barrington, along with Geoffrey Roche, director of workforce development for Siemens Healthineers. Our conversation focused on successes in health care in both Ireland and America, and the lessons we can share to improve the system. A critical part of our discussion revolved around the role of health care boards. Geoffrey posed a pivotal question: “Where are …

Near-death experiences: What doctors need to know but aren’t taught [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 19, 2024

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In this episode, we delve into a fascinating yet often overlooked medical phenomenon—near-death experiences (NDEs)—with John C. Hagan III, an ophthalmologist and expert on the subject. Despite being reported by as many as …

Hiding in plain sight: the psychosocial burden of vitiligo and importance of clinical research

Pearl Grimes, MD

Conditions

October 19, 2024

Imagine waking up one day with a white patch somewhere on your body. It’s not painful or itchy, but over time it grows and changes, with more patches appearing almost daily. In a short space of time, these patches have fundamentally altered the appearance of your skin and your interface with the world. This is the reality for over 1.5 million Americans living with vitiligo.

Vitiligo is an autoimmune condition that …

The role of social credit scores in the enforcement of health care regulations

Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD & Neil Anand, MD

Physician

October 19, 2024

As health care predictive algorithms, including the Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP), expand their reach beyond traditional enforcement of health care regulations, the concept of a social credit score has emerged as a powerful but controversial tool. Like predictive policing, social credit scores use an individual’s behaviors, online activity, and social interactions to assess their perceived trustworthiness and risk to society and are used as fodder for the prosecution of …

Transform your health care team with these 5-minute communication exercises

Beth Boynton, RN, MS, CP

Conditions

October 19, 2024

An excerpt from The Medical Improv Toolkit: 10 Simple Activities to Promote Safe Care, Healthy Workplaces, & Rewarding Careers!

“Were there none who were discontented with what they have,
the world would never reach anything better.”
~Florence Nightingale

The expectation for dedicating time to playful activities can seem like a waste of time, especially with relentless clinical priorities and limited resources. In order to justify the time needed to proceed with this work, …

Why in-person care still matters in the age of telemedicine

Carmen Fong, MD

Physician

October 19, 2024

There’s a patient who comes to see me every week. Every time we part ways, I say, “OK, Susan (name changed)! See you in a month!” But inevitably, she’ll call on a morning when she knows I’m in the office, and my staff will fit her in. She likes to tell me about what she did with her granddaughter that week. She doesn’t have anything terribly wrong with her; she …

Why rural America’s health care crisis is getting worse—and what it means for retirees [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 18, 2024

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

We sit down with Banu Symington, a hematology-oncology physician, to explore a looming health care crisis affecting rural America. As more retirees move to rural communities, the number of health care providers is …

How to build a healthier diet without overthinking

Charlotte Markey, PhD

Conditions

October 18, 2024

An excerpt from Adultish: The Body Image Book for Life.

The way that different foods (for example, fats), are talked about in the public and online isn’t always scientifically correct. People can have very strong opinions about food, but this doesn’t mean that these opinions are accurate. It is important to eat foods you enjoy, but some foods are more nutrient dense than others. Eating a variety of foods is …

I spent years rebelling against my father—until I realized I was exactly like him

Dr. Damane Zehra

Physician

October 18, 2024

I am 31, and my dad turned 54 this year. He had me when he was just 23 years old. I was born in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and he came from a small village in Punjab.

He is a self-made man who struggled all his life to give his children a better future. No one from our village ever went to school. He was the first to get …

Why the future of depression treatment may be magnetic [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 17, 2024

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

We speak with Heather Luing, a psychiatrist specializing in treatment-resistant depression. As depression rates in the U.S. have tripled over the last year, we explore why traditional treatments may not work for everyone …

Medicare for all could work if doctors lead the way

Drew Remignanti, MD, MPH

Policy

October 17, 2024

Although Medicare for all seems to have gotten buried by politicians who label it as “socialistic,” it’s still an important idea that could be feasible if we approached it from a fresh perspective.

As patients, we may reflexively see Medicare for all as a panacea that would effectively remove most of our concerns about how to pay for our health care. But on the other hand, we may not realize the …

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