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America’s health care safety net is in danger

Donna Grande

Policy

January 10, 2024

A new health crisis is looming on the horizon in the United States, and it will affect the most vulnerable people. I am not talking about another pandemic, the downstream impact of delayed preventive screenings, or even the ongoing substance use crisis. I am talking about the endangerment of America’s health care safety net, including the providers that serve marginalized communities.

Safety net providers are primarily in unserved and underserved communities, …

Palliative care and the garden of hope

Leah Couture, MD

Physician

January 10, 2024

My grandmother had a beautiful garden that she expanded through years of effort in her terraced backyard. Despite rocky soil and areas of deep shade, her flowers blossomed, and the garden thrived. I do not know if her skills as a gardener were innate or learned through trials and failures, but I know my garden could certainly benefit from her guidance now.

In the medical field, there is a long-held misconception …

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Palliative care and the garden of hope

Physician burnout: the hidden quality metric [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 9, 2024

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Join Trina E. Dorrah, an internal medicine physician. We explore the concept of integrating physician burnout as a quality metric in health care. Discover why Trina believes this change could revolutionize the American health care system, potentially …

Thriving, not just surviving: Cracking the formula for physician well-being

Miguel Villagra, MD

Physician

January 9, 2024

In the relentless world of health care, where long hours and high-stress situations have become the norm, finding happiness can often feel like an elusive goal for physicians. The pursuit of professional excellence and the demands of patient care can overshadow the importance of personal well-being and happiness. But what if we could shift the narrative from merely surviving the daily grind to truly thriving within it?

This journey to happiness …

A call for equity: fair compensation and overtime pay for resident physicians

Ali Duffens, MD

Physician

January 9, 2024

Amidst significant rises in resident unionization, a policy shift is warranted to guarantee equitable compensation and overtime pay for resident physicians contending with demanding 80-hour workweeks. On October 13, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom made history by signing California Senate Bill No. 525 (SB 525) into law. This monumental legislation will increase the minimum wage for California health care employees to $25 per hour. While SB 525 addresses the …

Navigating medical uncertainty: a patient’s perspective [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 8, 2024

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Join Ana María Caballero, a poet, artist, and author. Ana María delves into her book, A Petit Mal, and we delve into an unexpected encounter in the emergency room, with Ana María shedding light on both the …

Bridging the health care divide: All our actions matter

Matthew Lewis, PhD, MTS, Alexander Mansour, MPH, and Sarah Smithson, MD, MPH

Physician

January 8, 2024

Much has been written on the social divides laid bare and amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, the more divisive punditry and polemics have receded along with the COVID-19 mandates. And yet, as professionals in health care who have worked in direct patient care and in support of our clinician colleagues, we still see a broad gap separating the culture and worldviews of the people in health care and the …

I discovered the Holy Grail for doctors

Tod Stillson, MD

Physician

January 8, 2024

A recent post on KevinMD resonated with me, probably because I am a doctor who grew up in a rural area and returned to a small-town practice in my home county. Like the author, I experienced the suffocating grip of traditional hospital employment as it slowly drained the life out of me.

Before burnout consumed me, I took proactive steps to start a micro-corporation and transitioned …

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I discovered the Holy Grail for doctors

The beautiful exhaustion of primary care

Ryan McCarthy, MD

Physician

January 8, 2024

I’ve been reflecting lately because, honestly, I feel like I am—finally—good at primary care. With experience, patience, and, dare I say, wisdom, I experience satisfaction, knowing I can do this job. I’m the real McCoy. Or, in my case, the real McCarthy. And despite this, maybe because of this, the effort required often leaves me incapable of doing much else.

At 47 years old, having survived a pandemic, having found my …

Addressing physician burnout differently [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 7, 2024

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We have a conversation with Claudia Finkelstein, an internal medicine physician, as she reimagines the concept of physician burnout. Join us as Claudia introduces her alternative model for addressing burnout and discusses the multifaceted factors contributing to …

Leaders advise us to accept it as a job norm: violence and abuse in the health care workplace

Harry Severance, MD

Physician

January 7, 2024

Violence and assaults against health care workers are now reported at an all-time high. While health care workers comprise just 13% of the U.S. workforce, they experience 60% of all workplace assaults. Health care has been declared America’s most dangerous profession due to workplace violence. Health care and social service industries experience the highest rates of injuries caused by workplace violence and are five times as likely to suffer a …

Are convenience stores making addiction convenient?

Katherine Pannel, DO

Policy

January 7, 2024

It is not breaking news that we are currently in the midst of a mental health and substance use disorder crisis. We saw a record number of overdose deaths in a 12-month period from May 2022 to May 2023. According to the CDC, overdose deaths totaled more than 112,000 during that period. There has been an all-hands-on-deck effort to curb these deaths with efforts aimed at decreasing supply, educating the …

Beyond the headlines: the truth about weight loss drugs [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 6, 2024

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We sit down with David Ahn, an endocrinologist. Join us as we delve into the impact of weight-loss drugs, the role of incretin medications, and their potential to reshape our approach to obesity and overall health.

The silenced physician voice

Nandini Venkateswaran, MD

Physician

January 6, 2024

Medicine, for many of us, has been a calling. Since I was a child, I knew I would be a doctor, and I did everything in my power to make that dream come to fruition. Nearly 13 years of education, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, years of lost income and retirement savings, countless hours away from family and loved ones, and a disregard for personal passions and hobbies …

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The silenced physician voice

It is literally impossible to be a woman in medicine

Jennifer Lycette, MD

Physician

January 6, 2024

A monologue in the style of America Ferrera’s character Gloria in the Barbie Movie (original script by Greta Gerwig).

It is literally impossible to be a woman in medicine. You can be at the top of your class in medical school and residency, and yet you will never think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be infallible, but somehow, we’re made to feel it’s never …

It’s time to evolve how we measure the success of EHRs to make us healthier

Sara Pastoor, MD

Tech

January 6, 2024

We’ve known for the last decade that electronic health records (EHRs) have a significant impact on physicians’ ability to deliver high-value care. It not only has a largely negative influence on their quality of life, which bleeds over into the entire health care landscape, but also impacts their ability to successfully adapt practices to evolving payment models intended to improve patient health outcomes — especially important for primary care.

Yet despite …

Reverse leadership to self-leadership [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 5, 2024

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Join Parastoo Jangouk, a dual board-certified expert in gastroenterology and internal medicine. Discover her remarkable journey from growing up in an oppressive society to becoming a successful physician and entrepreneur. Explore the powerful concept of “reverse leadership” …

Does the legal system harm psychiatric patients?

Constantine Ioannou, MD

Physician

January 5, 2024

It is a typical day on the inpatient unit. A patient is refusing medication, and I want to take her to court to compel her to take medication while her lawyer is arguing for her right to refuse.

Me: “She’s clearly psychotic. She has lost her family, and she has no place to live… all because of these delusions.”

Lawyer: “But is she behaving in a dangerous way?”

Me: “Being unable to survive …

The disturbing reality of homelessness

Greg Smith, MD

Physician

January 5, 2024

My flights had been delayed, and I did not arrive at the hotel in downtown San Francisco until almost 1 a.m. As I exited the Uber, struggling to shoulder my briefcase and wrangle my suitcase, I was a bit startled to hear a very loud voice coming from my left. “Hey, mister, do you have a dollar or two?” I had been in the city for less than one minute, …

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The disturbing reality of homelessness

Growing up and growing apart: the evolution of lifelong friendships

Deena Gifford, MD

Physician

January 4, 2024

It took four tries, but we synchronized the newest episode of Outlander perfectly. Just outside of Philadelphia, I’m watching the same scene in lockstep with my best friend, Corinne, one thousand miles away in St. Louis. We make all the same faces in response to the dialogue. We roll our eyes together when someone dares to suggest that Claire won’t be able to heal someone who’s sick.

“I’ll honor you until …

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