Why our quest for self-improvement is failing: Uncovering the immunity to change in health care

Physician
March 16, 2023

I signed up for yet another program in my relentless quest for self-improvement (and perhaps recovery from decades of physician hood). This one features Dr. Lisa Lahey, co-author of Immunity to Change.

This is my second encounter with the book (when the student is ready the master will re-appear?) in which she and her co-author, Robert Kegan, lay out a model to uncover “the disjunction between understanding the need for …

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Report on nurses: Make the profession more visible in media

Policy
March 16, 2023

For an impressive 21st year in a row, Americans rated nursing as the most trusted profession in the country. The 2022 Gallup poll found that 79 percent of adults said nurses have “very high” or “high” honesty and ethical standards; significantly higher than any of the other 17 professions rated.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment rate for nursing (including …

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KevinMD on the Finance for Physicians podcast

Podcast
March 15, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, I’m on the other side of the microphone. I’m interviewed by Daniel Wrenne on the Finance for Physicians podcast. With reports of 50 to 60 percent of physicians experiencing symptoms of burnout, even …

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Healing through love and spirituality

Conditions
March 15, 2023

As I write this, a friend from my church is going through terrible setbacks as he awaits a new heart. He has been lovingly supported during his lengthy trials by church members. They visit him in the hospital and at home and support his wife with meals as she cares almost around the clock for her husband. His journey into medical care began several years ago when he experienced heart …

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Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

Physician
March 15, 2023

For some, it may seem strange to think of the doctor-patient interaction as a relationship. In the most basic sense, a relationship is a connection; it is how two or more people or groups regard and behave toward each other. Relationships are not static – they are influenced by an ever-changing social, cultural, and political environment. They must try to adapt or risk tension and strife; the doctor-patient relationship is …

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Bridging the digital divide: How to bring trust back into the patient-physician relationship

Tech
March 15, 2023

Health care’s journey into the digital era hasn’t always been smooth sailing. While the rapid proliferation of digital health tools has produced some major benefits both inside and outside the clinic, these technologies have also created a number of new challenges across the care continuum.

From learning new workflows to wrestling with data access and integrity concerns, clinicians are practicing in a world that looks very different from just a mere …

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An unspoken truth about non-compete clauses in medicine

Policy
March 15, 2023

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken on non-compete clauses and requested public comments on this issue for upcoming hearings.

In health care, the majority of physicians have become employees, and hospitals and corporate entities are buying out most practices. As we face a critical and accelerating shortage of physicians and other health care workers, non-compete clauses increasingly limit physician movements within health care, profoundly decrease satisfaction, Read more…

Lifestyle change: the forgotten solution in health care

Conditions
March 15, 2023

Lifestyle change is a first-line treatment for many diseases. However, change is inherently challenging. This difficulty is exacerbated by a lack of lifestyle change “breakthroughs,” whereas multiple pharmaceutical breakthroughs have occurred over the years. Thus, pharmaceutical interventions are emphasized.

For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new obesity treatment guidelines that included medications and surgery. 60 Minutes recently aired a segment with physicians claiming that obesity was mainly genetic and …

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Navigating success, happiness, and wealth [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 14, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, hospitalist Miguel Villagra explores the key components of success, happiness, and wealth and how they are interconnected. He sheds light on the art of reacting to life’s offerings, the relationship between happiness and money, …

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Can foundation AI models like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard be used for automating medical scribing?

Tech
March 14, 2023

Foundation models like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are derived from natural language processing, machine learning, and deep learning algorithms. These models use transfer learning mechanisms to convert texts to summaries. Using foundation models is becoming an increasingly important topic for health care providers using digital technologies. One of the biggest challenges in the health care industry is clinical documentation. Can these foundation models be used to automate medical scribing? Not …

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Breaking the cycle of childhood obesity

Conditions
March 14, 2023

Every specialty has its burden, and pediatric endocrinology’s is obesity. Primary care providers refer because they or the child’s parents suspect the cause is hormonal. It almost never is. The overly adipose child invariably has, using older terminology, exogenous obesity.

Traditionally, this has implied excessive calorie intake and inadequate expenditure (the “overactive fork and underactive foot”), arising from sloth and gluttony. I don’t share this belief. Over the years, I have …

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Paddle your way to wellness: Navigating the whitewater of medicine and finding balance on the water

Physician
March 14, 2023

Whitewater paddlers make it look easy—staying upright in raging waters, navigating huge swells, and leaning and cutting at the right time to avoid dangerous obstacles. And when they do flip upside down, they can pop themselves right back up. It’s a marvel. But no matter how expertly they paddle, they always have to respect the power of the water. They can make careless and costly mistakes when they let their …

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Fostering the next (diverse) generation of clinicians

Physician
March 14, 2023

As a medical student, I never saw myself as a future CEO or anything close. I was often the only Black person in the room in classes and rotations. After I became an attending, I spent a great deal of time and mental energy fitting in. Speaking up and having opinions were luxuries I couldn’t afford, let alone aspiring to leadership.

What made a difference? Having a mentor.

My mentor, Wes Curry, …

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From grief to gratitude: How writing changed my life

Physician
March 14, 2023

Dan died, and I became a writer. I didn’t know it, but I did. Back then, I wrote one story, almost by accident, trying to make sense of my personal chaos. That essay chronicled a small-town doctor losing a beloved middle-aged friend who was rapidly fading from pancreatic cancer. It felt like being dropped into a horrible Lifetime movie come to life, where one day in August 2016, Dan developed …

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Beyond textbooks: the importance of empathy in medicine

Physician
March 14, 2023

An excerpt from All Bleeding Stops.

Megan continues to take his blood pressure every few minutes. With growing tenderness Denis watches her fidgeting with the IV, biting her lip, eyes flitting from one machine to the next, desperately seeking the reassurance she knows will never come.

She thinks she’s not a good doctor because she hasn’t memorized enough textbooks or performed enough …

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From tragedy to advocacy: a journey through medical errors [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 13, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, Alisa Sano, a public health research assistant, shares her personal story of loss and the impact of medical errors on families.

We will explore the complexities of the health care system, including the “swiss cheese …

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Unintended consequences of Health Care Quality Improvement Act: a violation of physicians’ civil and constitutional rights

Physician
March 13, 2023

The Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements, as well as the Human Rights Campaign for the LGBTQ+ community, are a few examples of where American democracy and values have triumphed in restoring dignity and civil and constitutional rights to marginalized individuals. Although much work remains to be done, the enlightenment brought about by these movements will undoubtedly continue to strengthen American democracy. However, it is concerning that during the …

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We need a new approach to Black mental health

Policy
March 13, 2023

In recent weeks, an outpouring of new research has highlighted the severity of the Black mental health crisis. One new poll shows that 77% of Black and Latinx women face mental health barriers related to racism. Another new study found that Black women are undertreated for depression. Yet another shows that even vicarious experiences of racial discrimination increase anxiety. All this is on top of research showing …

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ChatGPT: How generative AI is revolutionizing health care

Tech
March 13, 2023

Over the past decade, I’ve kept a close eye on the emergence of artificial intelligence in health care. One truth remained constant: Despite all the hype, AI-focused startups and established tech companies alike have failed to move the needle on the nation’s overall health and medical costs.

Finally, after a decade of underperformance in AI-driven medicine, success is approaching faster than physicians and patients currently …

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Healing from the pandemic: a journey to recovery

Physician
March 13, 2023

While it appears we are on the downhill slope of COVID-19’s integration into everyday life, burnout rates are rising, and organizational trust is taking a nose-dive. Aren’t we supposed to be in the post-disaster recovery phase? What is the bottleneck holding us back from moving toward our new horizon? On the surface, issues like operating losses, staffing shortages, and scarcity of supplies appear to be a few of the big …

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