The recent closing of Amazon Care shows the magnitude of the challenge in changing health care

Tech
September 13, 2022

Amazon recently announced plans to shut down Amazon Care, an in-home and virtual health care service.

The reasons cited were attributed to a significant overlap of services with the One Medical chain of clinics, which Amazon purchased in July of this year for 3.9 billion, as well as Amazon Care not being a complete enough offering for large enterprise customers for which it was targeting.

This is the third health …

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Negotiating employment contracts from a place of strength [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 12, 2022
YouTube video

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“The most important lesson when negotiating contracts is picking your battles and coming at them with optimism and positivity. Yes, you can and should be excited about this new opportunity, but you need to receive what’s fair …

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The Inflation Reduction Act: Can it build back medicine better and reduce climate change?

Policy
September 12, 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 is an ambitious piece of legislation that was signed into law on August 16 of this year.  This was a revised, negotiated version of the Build Back Better Plan that failed to pass in December 2021.  Like many pieces of legislation, this is a complicated bill, 730 pages in length, with a very broad scope.  Although controversial, the costs of this bill will …

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The impact of a single COVID infection

Conditions
September 12, 2022

This piece started out focusing on the impact of colds on our lives, particularly if COVID is now “just a cold.”

But now it’s personal.

My husband and I escaped COVID until now by being very careful until we got vaccinated. Once vaccinated, we focused on living our lives safely – no eating at indoor restaurants (there are plenty of outdoor venues to choose from), masking indoors and testing when gathering with …

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What to do if you’re involved in a medical malpractice lawsuit [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 11, 2022
YouTube video

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“The worry and anticipation of getting sued are heightened more than ever in the wake of the pandemic. It is in all physicians’ minds. I recently did a quick poll in some of my physician groups on …

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Improving access to care in rural America: Keeping rural hospitals in the game

Policy
September 11, 2022

Almost 20 percent of America’s population lives in rural areas of the country, where accessing health care facilities and services can be challenging. The patient-to-primary care physician ratio in rural areas is only 39.8 physicians per 100,000 residents, compared to 53.3 physicians in urban areas.

Rural hospitals work diligently to meet the health needs of the populations they serve, but they have long struggled with staffing shortages, inconsistent patient volumes, …

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“How is it being back?” Truthfully, it’s much harder than before.

Physician
September 11, 2022

I am an anesthesiologist, a physician with a specialization in anesthesia. I chose this profession, with its difficulties and its rewards. I knew there would be sacrifices and I have gladly made them. I didn’t expect this, yet here I am, doing what has to be done, if for no other reason than it is what I do.

I want to share with you something I wrote in the summer of …

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10 tips for smoothing the transition from resident to academic emergency medicine attending

Physician
September 11, 2022

Congratulations! You made it through residency. On to the next stage of your emergency medicine career – attending-hood (and for some fellowship)!

Here are ten tips we learned during our first year as attendings at an academic emergency medicine department.

1. Efficiency comes with time. Start off making sure you are methodical. Unlike residency, you will no longer have an attending re-ordering hemolyzed labs or ensuring a negative HCG prior to obtaining …

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Antibodies are the future of cancer treatment [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 10, 2022
YouTube video

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“Since President Nixon declared war on cancer in 1971, and despite some great victories and many losses, there continues to be a never-ending battle in this long-fought war that seems never-ending. The convergence of great intellect and …

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Bulletproof backpacks: There’s more we can do

Policy
September 10, 2022

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, and my kids hopped off, I experienced a momentary sense of relief. They were safe for one more day, at least from school shootings. I hugged my kindergartener and patted the head (that’s …

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How you can donate effectively after tragedy [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 9, 2022
YouTube video

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“Gun violence, war, pandemic, natural disasters — listening to the news or doom scrolling on social media during times of tragedy can leave us feeling devastated, discouraged, and angry. Tragedy can also make us feel like helping. …

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We need to get real about chronic pain solutions

Conditions
September 9, 2022

For all the time and attention that’s placed on whether opioids should be prescribed or even removed from the market, we must put equal – if not greater – emphasis on enhancing access to non-opioid pain treatments. Not prescribing opioids doesn’t solve or eliminate the root issue and reason many people are on painkillers to begin with—chronic pain.

Fifty million Americans live in chronic, debilitating pain. For many, their pain …

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How to stay off my operating table

Conditions
September 9, 2022

Health isn’t about luck — it’s about intentionality. But even if you’re doing and saying all the right things, you might not be any closer to your goals.

I know because I was there.

As a heart surgeon, I was very good at following the rules.

But I was still morbidly obese.

I followed the food pyramid to a T.

I exercised for the recommended amount of time each day.

I thought I was doing everything …

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Racism in nursing: a story

Conditions
September 9, 2022

I could give you several examples of racism I have witnessed in my lifetime of nursing. But there is one incident that always comes up: Olisa.

Her name was passed down to her from her great-great-grandmother. Her name meant “God’s promise.”

Olisa came from a long line of nurses. Her great-great-grandmother was a nurse, nanny, and an enslaved person owned by some wealthy folks on their Southern plantation.

But the torch was passed …

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Contractual issues for female physicians [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 8, 2022
YouTube video

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“All physicians need to be concerned about issues such as potential delays in the start date, restrictive covenants, potential ownership in a private practice, malpractice tail coverage, employee benefits, etc. Unfortunately, until discrimination against female physicians ends, …

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