COVID-19 and psychiatric units: Keeping clinicians and patients safe throughout the pandemic
Patients running rampant- unmasked, hand unwashed, undistanced. You stand in the nurse’s workstation, watching the chaos ensue while holding the positive COVID test results in your hands. The world slows as you think, “How am I ever going to control this one?”
This scene is unfortunately ever present in our current health system. Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has put constant pressure on the medical system, uniquely affecting health care …
The heartbreak and joy of missions-based pain medicine: a pain physician’s perspective
A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
Approximately 30 percent of the world’s population reports living with some form of pain, ranging from headaches to joint pain to cancer-related pain. Unfortunately, pain medicine expertise and the medications and non-drug therapies available to relieve pain are not as widely distributed as …
We must work harder to provide COVID relief to other countries
Currently, U.S. officials are considering expanding eligibility for the monkeypox vaccine. Yet, elsewhere, people are still struggling to get access to the COVID-19 vaccine. In many low-income countries, less than half of the population is fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus – sometimes far fewer.
In Haiti, for instance, only 1.4 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, and only 2.2 percent …
Practical solutions to prevent and prepare for hypoglycemia [PODCAST]
This article is sponsored by the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning, an independently owned and operated full-service medical education company that has been developing certified health care education for nearly twenty years.
Visit the tools and …
Let doctors in recovery be able to recover their careers
The stigma of addiction is alive and destructive in Nebraska. I can speak to the truth of this statement because I am an opioid addict in recovery. And if you happen to be a physician like I am, you better be prepared to have your profession and life destroyed. The Nebraska Medical Board and our legal system aggressively work to punish, not heal. This article intends to use my story …
The desire to be challenged is one of the most important aspects of an effective doctor
Bang!
A pulsing pain surged through my head. As I floated in the water of the makeshift pond, it became apparent. I was concussed.
That day, June 16, 2018, is what I consider the most significant day of my life. For a long time, that injury led me to live in constant fear. It was unlike anything that had ever happened to me before. I jumbled my words. My movements were uncoordinated. …
The elephant in the room: end-of-life discussion with patients
I have been at my current hospital for 12-plus years now. Like many of you, I have gotten to know some of my patients very well. I have known some of them since I first started out here. We talk about my dogs and cows, our newest grandkids, and politics if we feel adventurous. This is an extraordinary relationship built on the intangible magic generated over time, known as rapport …
If you can’t connect the issues, think connective tissues [PODCAST]
Amazon vs. Apple: Only one will rewrite the rules of health care
Big Tech has had a surprisingly small impact on U.S. health care, so far.
Artificial intelligence, for example, outperforms physicians in many complex tasks (like reading mammograms and analyzing chest X-rays), yet AI remains woefully underused. Meanwhile, many have tried to spur operational efficiency using big-data analytics, but care delivery remains as inconsistent and ineffective as ever. Perhaps the most telling example of Big Tech’s struggles in medicine: 9 in 10 …
The hidden world of chronic disease
Sometimes hiding things can work to our advantage: an early pregnancy, a disfiguring scar, public speaking anxiety … Easter eggs! But, more often, they are just temporarily hidden from public view, and, in the grand scheme of things, it can actually be a relief when they are “found.”
Enter the world of chronic disease, and things rapidly become much more complex. Chronic disease can often become manifest without any external visual …
My patient with an aortic dissection almost died
“I just moved here from Portland two weeks ago,” said Ms. Shelly in a weak voice.
When I walked into the room, I immediately noticed her blood pressure was 224/108. The patient was mostly sleeping, but when I started speaking with her, it was apparent to me something was wrong.
“Do you have a history of any heart problems?” I asked Ms. Shelly.
“I had aorta surgery two times…” she murmured before falling …
A 15-minute relationship fix [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
“Depression involves withdrawal, withdrawal from oneself and others. Feeling safe enough in a relationship to reveal our innermost feelings safely is connective and should be considered a valued part of the anti-depressant lifestyle. Continued relationship satisfaction is …
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Literacy and patients’ understanding of health education
In my first bioethics class, the components of health education (HE) were just being developed, and despite the passage of time, full understanding remains elusive as HE proved far more complex than originally conceived. We learned, simplistically, by present standards, that the provider (MD, DO, PA, NP) only needed to deliver information at a patient’s level of understanding, and the patient would provide a reasoned response. The constant over the …
A stark contract between American and Canadian health care
An excerpt from A Short Primer on Why Cancer Still Sucks.
The United States has the world’s most expensive health care system. It spends about twice as much each year on every American as the Canadian system spends on Canadians. Per capita, the U.S. spends far more than Canada on drugs …
Who are the neurodiverse people in your life?
As physicians, we equate terms like “disorder” and “syndrome” with pathology. If a diagnosis is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV, it’s considered a “problem.” In the case of neurodevelopmental diagnoses, I am becoming increasingly aware that this may not be the case. As a neurodiverse individual with many neurodiverse family members and friends, I believe there is nothing “wrong” with our brains. Different …
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KevinMD on PermanenteDocs Chat [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
In this special episode, KevinMD is on the other side of the microphone as he’s interviewed by Dr. Alex McDonald, originally aired as a PermanenteDocs Chat presented by The Permanente Federation at Kaiser Permanente.
He shares his …
I will not sell my soul to modern medicine: Curing physician moral injury
Something is wrong. You can feel it, but you cannot put your finger on it. You go through the motions daily, but your joy is gone-its soul-sucking. Your patients sense it too. They used to love coming to see you, but now they see the changes. The light has gone out of your eyes. You used to love your job, but now it feels like a burden. This is not …
Health care’s 3 epic childhood obesity failures
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of spouting the same old worsening childhood obesity statistics, applying the same dilute and sometimes broken strategy, not getting anywhere, judging myself as a doctor, then shifting the blame to my patient and their parents, then feeling powerless and defeated.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
It’s a cycle we’re stuck in, and it’s not serving anyone, especially our patients.
I’m not going to go over the impact …
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I’m a doctor who just had his first colonoscopy in my 60s — without anesthesia
Well, I am that family physician and geriatrician who is now almost 70 years old. And I cannot believe it because, in some ways, I am still like 27 years old!
First of all, I’m very healthy, and I’m lucky that nobody in my family had colon cancer or any cancer. Most of my relatives lived into the late 80s, and my grandmother and my grand grandfather lived to the ripe …
Past Week
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The hidden impact of denials on health care systems
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Why no medical malpractice firm responded to my scientific protocol
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A world without antidepressants: What could possibly go wrong?
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Why it’s time for doctors to become performance coaches
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Fear of other people’s opinions nearly killed me. Here’s what freed me.
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When asking one more question can change everything
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Past 6 Months
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What happened to real care in health care?
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Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting
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The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
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How to build a culture where physicians feel valued [PODCAST]
-
How the CDC’s opioid rules created a crisis for chronic pain patients
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Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?
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Recent Posts
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Fear of other people’s opinions nearly killed me. Here’s what freed me.
-
What independent and locum tenens doctors need to know about fair market value
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Health care’s data problem: the real obstacle to AI success
-
What ChatGPT’s tone reveals about our cultural values
-
How collaboration saved my life from a rare disease doctors couldn’t diagnose
-
Mindful negotiation: practical strategies for physician self-advocacy [PODCAST]
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Past Week
-
The hidden impact of denials on health care systems
-
Why no medical malpractice firm responded to my scientific protocol
-
A world without antidepressants: What could possibly go wrong?
-
Why it’s time for doctors to become performance coaches
-
Fear of other people’s opinions nearly killed me. Here’s what freed me.
-
When asking one more question can change everything
-
Past 6 Months
-
What happened to real care in health care?
-
Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting
-
The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
-
How to build a culture where physicians feel valued [PODCAST]
-
How the CDC’s opioid rules created a crisis for chronic pain patients
-
Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?
-
Recent Posts
-
Fear of other people’s opinions nearly killed me. Here’s what freed me.
-
What independent and locum tenens doctors need to know about fair market value
-
Health care’s data problem: the real obstacle to AI success
-
What ChatGPT’s tone reveals about our cultural values
-
How collaboration saved my life from a rare disease doctors couldn’t diagnose
-
Mindful negotiation: practical strategies for physician self-advocacy [PODCAST]
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