2024 health care informatics forecast: AI diagnostics, personalized medicine, and cybersecurity transformations

Tech
January 31, 2024

Predicting specific developments in health care informatics for 2024 is challenging, but trends suggest continued advancements in AI-driven diagnostics, personalized medicine, and enhanced interoperability for seamless data exchange among health care systems. The emphasis on cybersecurity to protect sensitive health data will also likely increase.

AI-driven diagnostics are likely to see advancements in accuracy and efficiency. Improved algorithms will enable faster and more precise analysis of medical data, such as diagnostic …

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From surgery to AI [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 30, 2024
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Join Maria Iliakova, a bariatric and general surgeon. We’ll dive deep into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its remarkable applications across various industries, including health care. Maria will shed light on what AI is, how …

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Nursing homes: How they impact the dignity of older adults

Physician
January 30, 2024

Call it what you want: nursing home, skilled nursing facility, rehab center, convalescent home, or post-acute care. They are all the same and a common destination should you survive a recent hospitalization.

But they all have an existing reputation and can ultimately diminish the dignity of older adults. Never in my four decades of practice has anyone ever said, “Please, Dr. Dorio, send me to a nursing home!”

As a geriatric physician, …

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Freedom to roam: Breaking down the boundaries of non-competes

Finance
January 30, 2024

Change is a constant in the medical field, and one significant shift that’s been shaking up the world of health care employment is the reform of non-compete contracts. Understanding the implications of these changes is crucial to every doctor. I believe it’s important for you to grasp what the new non-compete contract reforms mean and how they might affect your career.

During the first 15 years of my career as a …

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Urogynecologists tackle the stigma of incontinence

Conditions
January 30, 2024

As a urogynecologist, my clinic is full of women with bothersome bladder issues. And while this likely does not appeal to you, curing incontinence is my favorite clinical endeavor.

Urinary incontinence seems like a minor medical problem. After all, it isn’t heart disease or cancer. However, urinary incontinence has a dramatic and negative impact on the quality of life. On any given day, I talk to women who have stopped exercising …

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Women’s intuition in health and healing

Conditions
January 30, 2024

There’s much to be said about women’s intuition. The instinct a woman has can be so intense that nothing anyone says or does will change her beliefs or feelings. For some women, maybe over time, the intuition has been acquired, but for others, it’s been a gift she naturally has had her entire life. Because of this, we not only know better when something is off or doesn’t seem right, …

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Unveiling the power of healing: a journey through stories [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 29, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Dustin Grinnell, the author of The Healing Book. Dustin takes us on a journey through this thought-provoking collection of short stories, where characters embark on paths of self-discovery, healing, and personal growth. We delve into the …

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Break free from screen addiction: a doctor’s prescription for smartphone sanity

Tech
January 29, 2024

Screentime addiction is real and it is everywhere. Over the past decade, I’ve worked with only one physician who doggedly held onto his pager, refusing to adopt the hospital’s HIPAA-compliant messaging app. He happens to be in his seventies, and a giant in his field; if he gets any grief for not using a smartphone 24/7, he probably doesn’t care. For the rest of us, though, this isn’t an option. …

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Dressing to inspire confidence: How the clothes you wear can change perceptions

Physician
January 29, 2024

There are a lot of things that I’ve forgotten since 1984, the year I started medical school. But I will never forget the Dean of Students’ proclamation on the very first day of class: “You must dress to inspire confidence,” he thundered. But that wasn’t the last of it. Over and over, our dapper dean schooled us on the importance of professionalism. Whether he said it overtly or not, we …

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Ketones may be the key to unlocking a healthier brain

Conditions
January 29, 2024

You’ve undoubtedly heard the buzzwords: ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting. I don’t have much of an opinion about what that all does for your waistline, but I venture to say that ketones may benefit your brain.

Some doctors have recommended, with rock-solid evidence, diets that increase brain ketone levels as part of the regimen to treat drug-resistant epilepsy in children. Others claim that high ketone levels are like a magic bullet and …

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Holistic success and happiness in medicine [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 28, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Ketan Kulkarni, a physician entrepreneur. We’ll delve into the pressing issues of burnout and discontent among health care professionals, particularly physicians, and explore strategies for achieving holistic success and happiness in both personal and professional life.

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What’s trying to start the next pandemic? AI drug discovery and the quest for a pan-antiviral drug

Conditions
January 28, 2024

As the world continues to navigate the challenges posed by respiratory viruses, recent developments have highlighted the urgency of advancing our therapeutic arsenal, particularly in the realm of broad-spectrum antivirals.

1. Winter is here. It is winter again in the northern hemisphere, and with it come the known respiratory viruses like flu, RSV, and COVID-19. Recent reports have also identified a wave of childhood pneumonia in China, not entirely attributable to …

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Beyond the myths: ADHD explained in powerful comics

Conditions
January 28, 2024

An illustrated overview of ADHD, addressing common misconceptions and illustrating the real challenges faced by those with the condition. Through comic strips, the narrative explains the impact of ADHD on executive function and daily life, debunking the myth that symptoms are a choice or the result of not trying hard enough. It also touches on the less visible inattentive symptoms, aiming to …

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Escaping the time warp: my journey after leaving clinical medicine

Physician
January 28, 2024

It’s been almost two years since I left clinical medicine. In the midst of our country’s health care attrition crisis, stories of early retirement, burnout, and career transitions aren’t hard to find. While each of those accounts brings a deeper understanding of the problem, as well as potential strategies to remedy it, this is not a story about why I left medicine. Instead, it is an observation of how medicine …

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Intralymphatic immunotherapy: a breakthrough approach for allergies

Meds
January 28, 2024

Are you or a loved one constantly battling the frustrating symptoms of seasonal or year-round allergies? You are not alone; millions around the globe are affected by sneezing, itchy, watery red eyes, stuffy, runny noses, and headaches. Avoidance of triggers and medications may provide temporary relief, but for those seeking a longer-lasting or more natural solution, immunotherapy (IT) can be life-changing. IT provides sustained benefits of decreased symptoms and medication …

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Empathy: the unexpected gift from abuse

Physician
January 28, 2024

Months after I left him, I could still feel the pain he inflicted. He not only weaponized my insecurities but also demeaned the things about myself that I loved, insidiously dismantling my sense of self until nothing remained.

I even doubted my ability as a psychiatrist, and I hated him for that.

“Talking to you is like trying to read a Step 2 question!” he had sneered. “I don’t know anyone who …

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How to lose your compassion: the brutal reality of medical internship

Education
January 27, 2024

Not all at once, just slowly enough that you don’t notice.

“I’m having a rough go at it,” Mr. Robinson confesses. He was listening to me use choppy, challenging vocabulary to piece together what’s landed him in the hospital.

But I know what he’s talking about. The mass in his chest that’s been compressing on his airway, making him so sick, so quickly. He is talking about his pneumonia: the fevers, chills, …

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The Federal SAVE Act: a beacon of hope for health care worker safety

Policy
January 27, 2024

It’s a narrative that has become disturbingly familiar: different health care providers, yet the same traumatic story.

Ramon, an idealistic new nurse, was drawn to nursing to make a meaningful impact in the lives of the most vulnerable. But in an instant, his love for nursing changed. After just six months as a nurse, a patient’s son viciously attacked Ramon, enraged over his mother’s COVID-19-related hospitalization. In a blind fury, …

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