Envisioning the future of health care with OpenAI’s GPT-4o: potential innovations under secure and unbiased conditions

Tech
May 14, 2024

Introducing OpenAI’s GPT-4o marks the start of a transformative journey in health care. Ensuring AI advancements are secure and fair, adhering to HIPAA-compliant servers, and eliminating dataset bias, GPT-4o promises future innovations in health care:

1. Advanced predictive analytics. In the future, GPT-4o could analyze vast datasets from patient histories and global health trends to predict outbreaks, potential complications, and individual patient risks with high accuracy. When combined with HIPAA-secured servers, …

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The backboard bully: the roles we see can be all the difference in who we become

Physician
May 14, 2024

In the midst of youthful basketball games and hustling for Taco Bell chalupas, lifelong lessons were learned, leading to diverging paths and, ultimately, tragic loss. We called him “The Backboard Bully.” He’d find his spot at or near the free-throw line and shoot the ball at the perfect trajectory for a bank shot. We hated him for it—that is, when we weren’t on his team. If he was your teammate, …

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Writing in medicine: a conversation with Samuel Shem [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 13, 2024
YouTube video

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In this episode, we welcome Samuel Shem, a renowned novelist, playwright, and activist. As a Rhodes Scholar and a professor of medical humanities at NYU School of Medicine, Samuel brings a unique perspective …

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Stop and listen: How listening to patients and families is ever important for optimal care

Physician
May 13, 2024

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.

We always hear about the art and science of medicine, but with our busy practices, the science stays at the forefront, while the art can get lost. Personal experiences or a special patient can help open our eyes. The …

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Autoimmune disease? You’re more likely to get heart disease. Here’s why.

Conditions
May 13, 2024

The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke is increased in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These are also known as IMID: immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Rheumatic IMIDs, including rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, are associated with multiple cardiovascular issues with an enhanced cardiovascular risk, including premature coronary artery disease. Lupus can also increase coronary artery disease because of the elevated chronic …

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Push, then breathe: a story of resilience and success [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 12, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Luissa Kiprono, an obstetrician-gynecologist, as she shares insights from her book, Push, Then Breathe: Trauma, Triumph, and the Making of an American Doctor. Luissa’s remarkable journey from surviving the oppressive regime in …

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Overcoming disparity in access to uterine artery embolization

Conditions
May 12, 2024

Uterine fibroids are a common condition that affects up to 7 in 10 women. While some fibroid patients live with the condition without serious issues, many suffer from disruptive symptoms, such as heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain, and infertility, which make it difficult for them to go about their daily lives.

Treatment options are broad and include medical management, hysterectomy, myomectomy, uterine artery embolization (UAE), endometrial ablation, and magnetic resonance-guided focused …

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Eating our way to the next pandemic

Conditions
May 12, 2024

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported the first case of H5N1 avian influenza in a human who contracted the virus not from a bird but from an infected dairy cow. The next pandemic could be around the corner, and the food we choose to purchase (or not to purchase) is playing a role in its development.

As we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic, viruses can undergo mutations rapidly, …

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Long COVID and your brain: the effect of virus and vaccines

Conditions
May 12, 2024

A bunch of symptoms, which may persist many months or even years after an acute COVID infection has cleared, have been described in the medical literature with increasing frequency since the onset of the pandemic. This constellation of findings has been dubbed “long COVID.” Long COVID’s effects on the brain, in particular, have certainly been in the news, and it’s also been popping up in the medical literature. So, what’s …

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Psychological safety: a physician’s journey [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 11, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Maiysha Clairborne, an integrative family physician and co-author of Conscious Anti-Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability and Meaningful Change. Maiysha shares her personal journey through compassion fatigue and functional depression within the medical …

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Artificial intelligence: Revolutionizing patient education in primary care

Tech
May 11, 2024

The landscape of the modern doctor’s office has changed remarkably over the last decade, especially with the emergence of artificial intelligence. The days of turning to Google for medical questions are becoming fewer and far between as large language models such as ChatGPT or Bing chatbot are helping to create personalized and comprehensive responses to routine medical questions. As a family physician, I ask myself how this tool might be …

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Uncovering health care’s true challenges: beyond doctor-patient dynamics

Policy
May 11, 2024

There are frequent accusations against physicians and other health care professionals regarding their behavior and/or education: they cannot communicate, are misogynist, racist, and ageist, and are poorly educated, despite American physicians training longer than those in other developed countries. But are these complainants aiming at the most obvious, though not most significant, target? There are more pressing problems than patient-provider relationships, as serious as they are, weightier concerns that are …

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The dichotomy of patient health literacy

Conditions
May 11, 2024

“You sure know a lot about your condition.”

Many patients with long-term illnesses have heard this. When it comes from a medical professional, it’s never a compliment. It’s a statement that is usually, at best, laced with disapproval.

The thing is, patients like me, who have long-term complex conditions, are encouraged to know a lot. As someone with CVID and other issues, I’ve attended seminars and patient Q&As with immunologists. There’s a …

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Healing together: patient and physician well-being [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 10, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Kim Downey, a physical therapist, and Anthony Avellino, a pediatric neurosurgeon and author of Finding Purpose: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey of Hope and Healing, as they explore the critical topic of physician well-being. …

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Gender bias is pervasive within state medical board official documents and websites

Physician
May 10, 2024

“Each licensee shall furnish the board his current address.” “When a practitioner is closing, selling, or relocating his practice, he shall meet the requirements.” “The practitioner shall retain in his records.” When it came time to renew my Virginia state medical license, I noticed something troubling – a complete lack of gender equality in physician licensure application language.

However, …

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5 strategies for private practice success in 2024

Physician
May 10, 2024

It is not news that private practices are struggling to thrive. Challenges such as decreasing reimbursements, higher cost of service delivery, attracting and retaining great staff, and increasing administrative burden are closing practices daily. While many of these systemic challenges are outside our direct control, there are actions we can take immediately to increase our probability of success.

Adopt the attitude of an entrepreneur. Physicians frequently tell me they run practices, …

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Honoring humanity: lessons from a medical encounter

Education
May 10, 2024

At the heart of medicine lies humanity. This narrative documents a personal story where I felt deeply connected to this principle as a first-year medical student.

I felt nervous and unsure as I was about to practice medical interviewing with a standardized patient. The scenario was unfamiliar to many of us, involving the care plan for a patient (“Chris”) with stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. Together with his partner (“Jordan”), they …

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Navigating Match Day emotions [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 9, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Amna Shabbir, an internal medicine physician, as we delve into the complex emotions surrounding Match Day outcomes. We explore strategies for navigating feelings of rejection, shame, and disappointment while emphasizing the importance …

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Growing up with diabetes

Conditions
May 9, 2024

An excerpt from Sugar Free.

“What do you want to do?” Ginny said.

“Chinese jump rope.”

“Tilly, you always want to play Chinese jump rope,” Renée said.

“So?” Tilly said.

Renée didn’t have an answer to that.

They let Tilly go first. Renée and Ginny faced each other, put the large elastic loop that was the jump rope around their ankles, and backed up until it was taut.

“What happened to you?” Tilly said to Ginny. …

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