We need trauma-informed care in long-term care homes

Policy
December 5, 2022

Canada needs trauma-informed aged care, training, and strategies in long-term care homes across the country.

“Trauma” is a heavy word, but it’s the right word.

“Trauma” describes what has been happening in long-term care facilities across Canada during the pandemic, where the majority of COVID-19 deaths have occurred and where highly restrictive visitor policies and short staffing have meant extreme isolation and deprivation for the residents who live there.

But there are often …

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Aesthetics and the physician’s eye

Physician
December 5, 2022

The fall sunlight calls my eye to notice little things: the veins on a yellowing maple leaf. The askew feather on a chicken’s wing. The faintest breeze tricking the pond into patterned sin waves around a lone white duck.

What do we owe this world but our ability to parse and observe, to interpret, to be filled enough by moments of abject beauty to return to the ugliness and try to …

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What you need to know about sensory processing disorders [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 4, 2022
YouTube video

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“Understanding and recognizing sensory processing issues may help improve functioning and quality of life for many individuals, starting with children in school. While many are preparing for back to school, it is important for parents, teachers, health …

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A theological answer to our health care crisis

Policy
December 4, 2022

With the Christmas holiday rapidly approaching, it has me thinking about what the family of faith should think about health care in America. As a physician, I’ve spent over a decade of my life trying to use my faith in science and evidence to inform people about an optimal way to practice medicine and, as someone trained in health policy and management, how to structure the United States’ health care …

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Medicare “Advantage” for my indigent patients

Policy
December 4, 2022

Despite the aggressive marketing, Medicare Advantage plans offer little benefit for poor and vulnerable patients.

Consider my patient C, who was in pain from her knee arthritis. She was often in pain, but now her new pain medication helped her less than her previous one. She also wanted her old asthma inhaler back as the new one was harder to use. We had changed all her medications since her new Medicare …

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7 things I’ve learned after 12 years of private relationship-based direct care in Canada

Physician
December 4, 2022

I’m a hand surgeon. After six years of academic practice, I opted out of the public and universal health care system my country is famous for to create the first private hand surgery practice in Montreal, Canada. That was 12 years ago.

Opting out of the system means that I do not get any payment or reimbursement from the government in a country where private insurance does not pay for private …

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Don’t blame Big Pharma for insulin’s problems

Policy
December 4, 2022

For diabetics, insulin matters as much as H2O. Unfortunately, insulin’s a hell of a lot more expensive than bottled water. High insulin prices force approximately nine million Americans to balance their wallet and well-being.

The American Action Forum reported that a type-one diabetic’s average yearly expense for insulin was $~6000 (i.e., $500/month). It’s easy to lambast Big Pharma companies for the current state of insulin’s affairs, but history and market behavior …

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Bulletproof backpacks: There’s more we can do [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 3, 2022
YouTube video

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“As a parent of elementary school children, every mass shooting, particularly ones killing school children like in Uvalde, jolts my doing-the-mom-thing-just-keep-busy-can’t-stop denial. On the last day of school before summer vacation, when the bus doors squeaked open, …

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The unstoppable momentum of a medical “fact” with no source

Physician
December 3, 2022

When I started my company in 2009, personal experience was a driving force in identifying the problem I wanted to help solve. As a neurosurgeon, I often treated patients who were neurologically devastated by acute bleeding in the brain after years’ worth of poorly controlled high blood pressure. In many cases, when I asked the family why the patient quit taking their hypertension medication, they described the patient as “not …

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Bring the real You to your workplace

Physician
December 3, 2022

Life is short, so make yours extraordinary. Capitalize on what makes you, YOU, and be your own unapologetic self.

The Almighty designed us as unique but imperfect and flawed individuals, prone to sin and blundering error. But that’s the great part of being human; we’re expected to sin, blunder, and make mistakes. We’re made to err for the sake of learning and growth; otherwise, we’d wither into uninspiring nothingness. Keep this …

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Migrants need and deserve access to healthy lives in the U.S.

Policy
December 3, 2022

Anti-immigrant rhetoric was at an all-time high during the midterm election season, and now as the 2024 presidential election gathers momentum, it is urgent to note how it fosters violence against immigrant communities and creates a chilling effect.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues busing immigrants to sanctuary cities from Texas, including new arrivals in Philadelphia, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defends his practice of sending immigrants to  …

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Preventing prostate cancer with simple, proactive choices [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 2, 2022
YouTube video

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“You have the power to make healthier choices to reduce your risk for prostate cancer. While things like genetics are out of your control, there is a wealth of research showing that there are simple ways to …

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A case against real estate syndications

Finance
December 2, 2022

If you like real estate, you may have heard the term “real estate syndications.” This is a fancy term for group investment, where several people get together to acquire a big asset (like an apartment complex), they form an LLC, and there are active investors who manage the property and passive investors who help with the capital for the down payment, and they get to share the profits with the …

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From Uber driver to Harvard Medical School

Education
December 2, 2022

“What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?”
– “Harlem” by Langston Hughes

“$23.46,” the Walmart cashier distractedly mentioned to me as I got ready for my first ride. I had signed up and passed the background check. My …

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Much more than simple white coat syndrome

Conditions
December 2, 2022

Ongoing consultations with a new-to-me internist have raised attention to my in-office blood pressure measurements. In preparation for my next appointment, I regularly record my BP, sometimes several times a day. In other office visits, for cancer talks and such, I simply explain I regularly home and grocery store measure my BP, which always seems to be in the established normal range. I am confident that these in-office rises are …

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We get what we incentivize

Physician
December 1, 2022

We get what we incentivize.

This is a basic rule. I’d love to say it’s a basic rule of humanity, but unfortunately, I have a background in psychology, so I know it goes a lot deeper than that—it’s a basic rule of every living creature. Humans are, in many ways, just very big pigeons. We reliably prioritize certain rewards. We prefer smaller sooner rewards to larger later rewards; we push the …

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The immediate impact of the transition to a pass/fail Step 1 exam

Education
December 1, 2022

Historically, students’ three-digit scores on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 were a main factor in determining competitiveness for residency programs. In February 2020, the world of medical education shifted drastically when it was announced that the USMLE Step 1 would transition to a pass/fail scoring system. One of the main factors driving this change was that medical students and residency programs were attributing too much …

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Why even doctors need regular doctor visits

Physician
December 1, 2022

After a great game of doubles tennis, a good friend brought up a recent visit with his primary care physician while sitting with friends, trying to cool down. He expressed appreciation for his position but complained about the need to see his doctor every three or six months, all the while acknowledging various medical problems being addressed.

This led to general comments by several non-physician friends about how they feel that …

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Effective doctors need to be challenged [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 30, 2022
YouTube video

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“Empathy, intelligence, and commitment are crucial traits every doctor must have to succeed. However, there is one trait that stands above the rest. One of the most important aspects of an effective doctor is the desire to …

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