World AIDS Day 2023: Remember and commit

Conditions
December 1, 2023

December 1, 2023, marks the 35th anniversary of World AIDS Day (WAD), first commemorated in 1988. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Remember and commit,” a truly impactful theme because through remembrance, we acknowledge those who have lost their lives and those who have inspired us to get to where we are. We acknowledge the journey we have been on, and through commitment, we commit to a healthier future …

Read more…

World AIDS Day 2023: Remember and commit

The role of emotions in therapist growth

Conditions
December 1, 2023

It was some time into practice before I understood how being a therapist contributes to one’s own growth. I found this assurance from my best mentors rather mysterious. Sure, I’m a better listener, but what did they really mean? From my vantage point now, it seems obvious, and it is more than being attuned. On the surface, it is about being able to hear stories of suffering and watch someone …

Read more…

The role of emotions in therapist growth

Ketamine myths and facts: What PCPs need to know [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 30, 2023
YouTube video

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

Join Carlene MacMillan, chief medical officer at Osmind, to explore the evolving role of primary care physicians in addressing mental health challenges, particularly in the context of emerging therapies like ketamine. We delve into misconceptions surrounding ketamine …

Read more…

Ketamine myths and facts: What PCPs need to know [PODCAST]

Embracing the Huntington’s disease community

Conditions
November 30, 2023

I had chosen a seat towards the back of the conference room because I noticed the legendary Jimmy Pollard sitting there. I didn’t want to miss the chance to sit next to this Huntington’s disease (HD) advocate and all-around amazing person.

I was at the Help4HD conference in Detroit, Michigan. It was my first time attending an event like this on my own. In the years past, I wouldn’t have had …

Read more…

Embracing the Huntington’s disease community

Unlocking the potential of allied health roles for a thriving health care system

Policy
November 30, 2023

In the complex world of health care, doctors and nurses often take center stage. But behind them is a much larger team supporting the delivery of exceptional care. Allied health professionals – like radiology and surgery technicians – play an essential role in health care, and it’s time we shine a brighter light on the importance of these roles and the tremendous opportunities they present for those seeking a career …

Read more…

Unlocking the potential of allied health roles for a thriving health care system

A physician’s cry in light of world events

Physician
November 30, 2023

I am not a pediatrician, and I am glad that I am not. There was a time in my life when becoming a pediatrician was a genuine career aspiration, but the universe clearly steered me away from it. After becoming a mother and receiving the title of a “NICU mom,” I could see how switching tracks was a blessing for my sanity. Those who continue to provide this noble service …

Read more…

A physician’s cry in light of world events

Protecting your health from environmental threats [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 29, 2023
YouTube video

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

Join Tami Burdick, a patient advocate and the author of Diagnosis Detective: Curing Granulomatous Mastitis. Discover the overlooked factors that can contribute to unexplained health issues and learn practical steps to protect yourself and your loved ones …

Read more…

Protecting your health from environmental threats [PODCAST]

Efficient staffing partners for health systems

Policy
November 29, 2023

Although the health care workforce has begun to normalize following the historic lows of the pandemic, according to Staffing Industry Analyst’s most recent Healthcare Staffing Report, health care employers across the board still struggle with a tight labor market, high turnover, and continued attrition.

In fact, the health care sector continues to rank last for overall employee satisfaction, with low scores in areas such as engagement, intent-to-stay, and employee experience …

Read more…

Efficient staffing partners for health systems

10 things to know about your doctor that will get you better care

Physician
November 29, 2023

During a recent conversation with Dr. Dawn Sears, I mentioned that I was working on a presentation I wish to give locally, speaking on “How caring for your doctor gets you better care.”

Our discussion revealed some important insights all patients should be aware of, which we share here:

1. Let the pilot fly the plane. Passengers generally don’t walk onto an airplane and start complaining to the pilot about their seat …

Read more…

10 things to know about your doctor that will get you better care

Can generative artificial intelligence help clinicians better manage patient messages?

Tech
November 29, 2023

In today’s digitized, on-demand world, patients frequently use portals to send their physicians questions and requests. Today, physicians receive 57 percent more patient messages than before the pandemic. They spend the highest proportion of their inbox time on these messages, often responding after hours.

While messaging is an essential care access point, high volume strains the thinly–stretched health care workforce and may contribute to burnout. …

Read more…

Can generative artificial intelligence help clinicians better manage patient messages?

New primary care decision support tools make offloading below-license tasks from the EHR more important than ever

Tech
November 29, 2023

Clinical decision support tools in the EHR are gaining momentum. These exciting and meaningful innovations are challenging us to make room for them to flourish.

New technology is often disruptive before it finds its way to being helpful. In the late 1800s, the telephone created unexpected challenges in medical practice at its inception; it brought a need for new team members to answer calls and required doctors and patients to develop …

Read more…

New primary care decision support tools make offloading below-license tasks from the EHR more important than ever

Physician burnout reimagined

Physician
November 28, 2023

While preparing yet another talk about burnout, I had a brainstorm. I created a counterpoint PowerPoint (or tongue-in-cheek complementary model) to The Stanford Model of Professional Fulfillment. Perhaps it was a particularly irreverent or flippant stage of my own stuttering burnout. Maybe it was passive-aggressive pent-up frustration. Whatever it was, I came up with a “new and improved” model for physician burnout. I’ve gotten rather burned out on burnout. …

Read more…

Physician burnout reimagined

Government surveillance: How electronic prescription records are changing medicine

Physician
November 28, 2023

Every time an American fills a prescription, a searchable electronic database record is made. This record is kept, like the paper records of a few decades ago, to allow for verification of medications dispensed in the U.S. But in the past, to access these records, enforcement agencies had to get a search warrant signed by a judge. This meant that the authorities had to have and show to the court …

Read more…

Government surveillance: How electronic prescription records are changing medicine

Intensive caring: Reminding patients they matter

Physician
November 28, 2023

Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement and palliative care, famously said, “You matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life.” This quote has become the central philosophical tenet of palliative care. It implores us to remind patients, who may be feeling helpless, hopeless, or worthless, that they matter. There is abundant evidence that patients approaching death are susceptible to …

Read more…

Intensive caring: Reminding patients they matter

Navigating COVID: Why it still matters

Podcast
November 28, 2023
YouTube video

This article is sponsored by Gilead Sciences, Inc.

In this special sponsored episode from Gilead, I’m joined by Anu Osinusi, an infectious disease physician and Vice President of Clinical Research for Hepatitis, Respiratory, and Emerging Viruses at Gilead, to discuss navigating COVID-19 today. We look back on the early days of …

Read more…

Navigating COVID: Why it still matters

Cannabis compounds and fracture healing [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 27, 2023
YouTube video

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

Join L. Joseph Parker, a research physician, as we explore a recent study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. Discover how two compounds found in cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG), may revolutionize fracture …

Read more…

Cannabis compounds and fracture healing [PODCAST]

Empowering health care workers amid consolidation

Physician
November 27, 2023

If there is one root cause of all the disgruntlement among health care workers, it is that we lost autonomy due to hospital consolidation. Relationships are largely about leverage. With rare exceptions, a single doctor cannot dramatically impact the bottom line of a hospital chain, whereas the loss of your professional income—particularly for those of us geographically rooted in an area with few alternatives—is devastating.

The beauty of locums is that …

Read more…

Empowering health care workers amid consolidation

Bad grammar makes me mad. I can’t help it.

Physician
November 27, 2023

Some of the most brilliantly funny men have the saddest personal lives. John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Sam Kinison were all preceded by Jerome Lester Horwitz, otherwise known as Curly of the Three Stooges: n’yuk-n’yuk-n’yuk. Why, soitenly the tragic life of a comedic legend deserves a great biography, and while Curly’s niece (Moe’s daughter) did her best to amass a wealth of Curly memorabilia – a mixture of …

Read more…

Bad grammar makes me mad. I can’t help it.

648
pages