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Shedding some weight on the health care crisis

Conditions

March 21, 2024

In today’s world, the term “obesity” is more than just a medical diagnosis—it’s a complex issue intertwined with personal experiences, societal norms, and systemic challenges. As a seasoned family doctor, I’ve witnessed firsthand the multifaceted nature of obesity and its profound impact on individuals’ lives. But beyond the clinical observations, I carry a personal history marked by struggles with weight and body image.

I’m a family doctor, and I have been …

Women of color face biases in endometriosis diagnosis and surgical treatment

Taytum Kahl

Conditions

March 21, 2024

March is endometriosis awareness month. Endometriosis, a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, affects 1 in 10 women, or 190 million individuals worldwide. Although endometriosis leads to chronic pain and fertility issues and can impact bowel, urinary, and sexual function, it may take up to 7 to 10 years after symptoms appear to be diagnosed …

Beyond the workout: the hidden struggle of diabetic gastroparesis

Ryan Ritchie

Conditions

March 21, 2024

The final three minutes of my hour-long elliptical workout were not easy. Pain spread across my stomach, causing me to row in a half-sitting motion, and my chest vacillated between violent coughs and the sorts of deep breaths people take when they think they’ve seen a ghost. Perspiration fell from my shirtless torso to the garage floor. The amount of sweat was not the kind my body produces from exercise. …

Intralymphatic immunotherapy and the future of allergy care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 20, 2024

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

Join Kara Wada, an adult and pediatric allergy and immunology physician. We’ll delve into the world of allergy treatments, exploring the challenges faced by millions dealing with seasonal and year-round allergies. From traditional methods like …

Physician burnout: a surgeon’s story of exhaustion, recovery, and systemic change

Julie Wei, MD

Physician

March 20, 2024

An excerpt from Safeguarding Physician Wellbeing.

There are numerous books written by physicians of various specialties, primary care, and subspecialists, on the topic of physician burnout. Most physician authors, like me, have been inspired to write a book due to personal experience with a high degree of burnout, and/or have had academic interests and research on the topic. Writing such books can be cathartic, intended as a warning for our …

Sepsis protocols coupled with rapid host response technologies are the key to improving patient outcomes

Robert Scoggins, MD, PhD

Conditions

March 20, 2024

Patients come into the emergency department (ED) with symptoms, not diagnoses. That’s when time is of the essence. Clinicians must quickly triage patients and establish an appropriate care pathway to obtain the best possible outcome. Most patients entering the ED are time-sensitive, requiring clear protocols for care. However, even some of the deadliest conditions still lack the necessary data, tools, and standards to quickly diagnose and effectively treat patients.

Over the …

A doctor’s journey: from student to healer, facing a mentor’s illness

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions

March 20, 2024

I had a teacher in my third year of med school. His name was Dr. T. He taught us pediatrics. At that time, he was the head of the department of pediatrics in the busiest teaching hospital in our city, where I was working. Every day, hundreds of children from far-flung areas are referred to our hospital with complications due to suboptimal treatment received in their local areas, as we …

Opioid prescribing, pain management, and patient advocacy [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 19, 2024

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

We delve into the complexities of opioid prescribing, pain management, and the opioid crisis with our guest, Richard A. Lawhern. As a patient advocate, Richard brings a unique perspective to the table. Join …

Physicians are being forced to pass polygraphs if they want to continue to practice

J. Wesley Boyd, MD, PhD

Physician

March 19, 2024

I am a former associate director in a state physician health program (PHP). I also hold faculty appointments at Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School in medical ethics and psychiatry.

There is a little-known nether realm inhabited by a subset of doctors who have or are suspected of having substance use disorders. These physicians often are referred to state PHPs which, because they’re generally considered voluntary in nature, have …

DEA overreach: a threat to doctors’ freedom in American medicine

L. Joseph Parker, MD

Meds

March 19, 2024

Today, doctors’ liberty and property are at risk when they choose to treat a patient. Not because of some new law but because of the misapplication of old ones. The current opioid panic has essentially given the DEA free rein to target any physician whose medical practice they disagree with. This has created a serious problem in American medicine and a unique danger to health care providers in this country. …

Cryonics: advancements, ethics, and skepticism

Osmund Agbo, MD

Tech

March 19, 2024

Scientists have transitioned from crafting flying contraptions capable of moving massive payloads through unfriendly skies to exploring the vast expanse of the cosmos, affirming that the concept of impossibility holds no sway over their endeavors. Yet, their ambition now surpasses earthly confines as they endeavor to replicate the divine feat of Lazarus’s resurrection on a monumental scale. This profound aspiration propels neuroscientists into the captivating realm of cryogenics, igniting a …

Assisted suicide: Safeguards debated as bioethicist warns of unintended consequences

Philip Reed

Conditions

March 19, 2024

At a time when many states are considering assisted suicide legislation, I was interested to encounter the perspective of the well-known bioethicist Arthur Caplan who recently expressed his support for these laws on these pages.

While I appreciate Caplan’s endorsement of protecting doctors’ ability to refuse, as a matter of conscience, to participate in assisted death, I admire his insistence on restrictions or safeguards within these laws to …

Non-competes: Legal updates that give physicians options [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 18, 2024

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

Did you know that non-compete contracts in the health care industry are constantly evolving? Join family physician and entrepreneur Tod Stillson as we dive into the latest legal changes impacting physicians’ professional mobility. …

Do they care if women die? Exploring women’s rights.

Courtney Markham-Abedi, MD

Policy

March 18, 2024

I was faced with a stark question—one that, though I have spoken openly about women’s rights, somehow I had not distilled into the succinct question posed by a coming-of-age woman living and attempting to digest our country’s policies. Simply put: “Mom, so they don’t care if women die?”

Oof! For a person who has a plethora of words for almost anything, I was caught off guard. My first instinct was to …

How Russian studies enriched my journey to become a physician

Alexander Camp

Education

March 18, 2024

Tolstoy. Dostoevsky. Repin. Stravinsky. While many people may not appreciate the significance of these Russian geniuses, or think that knowledge of them could enhance a pre-med education, I would not be the same person without learning about them. For me, pursuing a Russian major was more than a list of vaguely interesting classes or language study; it was a deeper dive into the qualities of a culture that I am …

Reaching the cutting edge of medical practice, and losing it

Curtis G. Graham, MD

Finance

March 18, 2024

Where I stand today regarding my forty years in clinical medical practice forces me to say things that every physician can personally relate to. After all, we old guys frequently languish in dispensing medical advice to our peers. Most of it comes from the heart.

We all adhere to the presumption that the “best doctors” are derived from an inner desire to help people with health care problems while relying on …

Postpartum depression: 40 years of insights [PODCAST]

Alan Lindemann, MD & The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 17, 2024

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

We sit down with Alan Lindemann, an obstetrics-gynecology physician, to delve into the intricate world of postpartum depression (PPD). With over four decades of experience in the field, Alan offers invaluable perspectives and …

Health care informatics and the future of patient care

Afua Aning, MD

Tech

March 17, 2024

In the digital age, health care informatics has emerged as a pivotal field, transforming the landscape of health care delivery and management. This discipline, crucial for both professionals within the health care sector and the general public, leverages technology to optimize patient care, streamline operations, and address the burgeoning demands for an efficient and effective health care system.

Unveiling health care informatics

Health care informatics, as defined by the American Medical Informatics …

Inside the cancer waiting room where hope hangs in the balance

Michele Luckenbaugh

Conditions

March 17, 2024

I sat there, frozen in time, full of fear, full of anxiety. Waiting for my time to “face the music,” but this wasn’t a dance party.

My fellow patients, complete strangers, were seated about me, and each of us kept a safe distance apart from each other—a carry-over from the pandemic, I guess. All of us waiting to get our news—a thumbs up or thumbs down.

For me, it is a yearly …

EMR shutdown highlights vulnerability in health care IT

Cathleen Gould, MD

Tech

March 17, 2024

Imagine that Elon Musk had decided to buy Epic instead of the platform formerly known as Twitter. Imagine that he had developed his own EMR and informed every Epic user that they should watch their email for their assigned migration dates to the system he had developed, to be completed in the next 60 days. Anyone who has ever participated in the installation of a first EMR or the migration …

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