The Texas Department of State Health Services reported the first case of H5N1 avian influenza in a human who contracted the virus not from a bird but from an infected dairy cow. The next pandemic could be around the corner, and the food we choose to purchase (or not to purchase) is playing a role in its development.
As we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic, viruses can undergo mutations rapidly, …
Eating our way to the next pandemic
A bunch of symptoms, which may persist many months or even years after an acute COVID infection has cleared, have been described in the medical literature with increasing frequency since the onset of the pandemic. This constellation of findings has been dubbed “long COVID.” Long COVID’s effects on the brain, in particular, have certainly been in the news, and it’s also been popping up in the medical literature. So, what’s …
Long COVID and your brain: the effect of virus and vaccines
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Join Maiysha Clairborne, an integrative family physician and co-author of Conscious Anti-Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability and Meaningful Change. Maiysha shares her personal journey through compassion fatigue and functional depression within the medical …
Psychological safety: a physician’s journey [PODCAST]
The landscape of the modern doctor’s office has changed remarkably over the last decade, especially with the emergence of artificial intelligence. The days of turning to Google for medical questions are becoming fewer and far between as large language models such as ChatGPT or Bing chatbot are helping to create personalized and comprehensive responses to routine medical questions. As a family physician, I ask myself how this tool might be …
Artificial intelligence: Revolutionizing patient education in primary care
There are frequent accusations against physicians and other health care professionals regarding their behavior and/or education: they cannot communicate, are misogynist, racist, and ageist, and are poorly educated, despite American physicians training longer than those in other developed countries. But are these complainants aiming at the most obvious, though not most significant, target? There are more pressing problems than patient-provider relationships, as serious as they are, weightier concerns that are …
Uncovering health care’s true challenges: beyond doctor-patient dynamics
“You sure know a lot about your condition.”
Many patients with long-term illnesses have heard this. When it comes from a medical professional, it’s never a compliment. It’s a statement that is usually, at best, laced with disapproval.
The thing is, patients like me, who have long-term complex conditions, are encouraged to know a lot. As someone with CVID and other issues, I’ve attended seminars and patient Q&As with immunologists. There’s a …
The dichotomy of patient health literacy
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Join Kim Downey, a physical therapist, and Anthony Avellino, a pediatric neurosurgeon and author of Finding Purpose: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey of Hope and Healing, as they explore the critical topic of physician well-being. …
Healing together: patient and physician well-being [PODCAST]
“Each licensee shall furnish the board his current address.” “When a practitioner is closing, selling, or relocating his practice, he shall meet the requirements.” “The practitioner shall retain in his records.” When it came time to renew my Virginia state medical license, I noticed something troubling – a complete lack of gender equality in physician licensure application language.
However, …
Gender bias is pervasive within state medical board official documents and websites
It is not news that private practices are struggling to thrive. Challenges such as decreasing reimbursements, higher cost of service delivery, attracting and retaining great staff, and increasing administrative burden are closing practices daily. While many of these systemic challenges are outside our direct control, there are actions we can take immediately to increase our probability of success.
Adopt the attitude of an entrepreneur. Physicians frequently tell me they run practices, …
5 strategies for private practice success in 2024
At the heart of medicine lies humanity. This narrative documents a personal story where I felt deeply connected to this principle as a first-year medical student.
I felt nervous and unsure as I was about to practice medical interviewing with a standardized patient. The scenario was unfamiliar to many of us, involving the care plan for a patient (“Chris”) with stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. Together with his partner (“Jordan”), they …
Honoring humanity: lessons from a medical encounter
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Join Amna Shabbir, an internal medicine physician, as we delve into the complex emotions surrounding Match Day outcomes. We explore strategies for navigating feelings of rejection, shame, and disappointment while emphasizing the importance …
Navigating Match Day emotions [PODCAST]
An excerpt from Sugar Free.
“What do you want to do?” Ginny said.
“Chinese jump rope.”
“Tilly, you always want to play Chinese jump rope,” Renée said.
“So?” Tilly said.
Renée didn’t have an answer to that.
They let Tilly go first. Renée and Ginny faced each other, put the large elastic loop that was the jump rope around their ankles, and backed up until it was taut.
“What happened to you?” Tilly said to Ginny. …
AlphaFold Three is a monumental leap forward in biomedical research and drug discovery, signaling a new era where artificial intelligence (AI) merges seamlessly with molecular biology to unlock mysteries that have long eluded scientists. Developed by Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs, AlphaFold 3 is not just an upgrade to its predecessors; it’s a transformative tool that extends the boundaries of what we can understand and achieve in medicine.
AlphaFold 3 builds …
Revolutionizing medicine with AlphaFold 3: the new frontier in biomedical research
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Burnout and satisfaction are major issues for the physician workforce in the United States. Many feel trapped working in a specialty in which they are unhappy. For most practicing physicians, however, there are few realistic options to make a major career or specialty change due to the opportunity costs of reduced pay and the time required for additional residency training.
One little-known medical specialty stands above the pack, with particularly high …
Why you should take a closer look at occupational and environmental medicine
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Join Tamir Aldad, a physician executive. We’ll explore the rapid growth of telehealth, the impact of venture capital investments, and the concerning trend of overprescription of medications like Adderall and benzodiazepines. Discover the …
Telemental health’s warning signs [PODCAST]
Health care in the United States is in a state of turmoil. Many Americans are struggling to pay for health care. Even if they have health insurance, many have to pay high out-of-pocket copayments and, in the end, feel that what they do pay for is not worth the cost.
As a result of the COVID pandemic, many health care workers faced mounting mental health crises from burnout, physical and mental …
Health care in turmoil: costs, shortages, and pandemic strains
When I heard about the new AvertD genetic test, pronounced like “averted,” I was compelled to contact the CEO of SOLVD Health, the maker of AvertD, and ask him to answer some of my questions. To my surprise, he was willing to do so, and here is what I learned from the training documents that will be mandatory for all prescribing MDs.
First, AvertD is not for use in patients receiving …
AvertD: Can a simple test help reduce opioid addiction?
Intriguing question: What is one word that can free us?
You might think it is love.
Love is so powerful in lifting shame, sadness, and loneliness, but that’s not the kind of freedom I’m referring to. Instead, I’m referring to the freedom to put aside others’ presumed or verbalized expectations of us and do something in our own best interest.
That magical word is “could.” At first glance, this might not seem like …
Unlock your freedom: Replace “should” with “could”
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Join Ron M. Aryel, a pediatrician whose journey challenges conventional views on insurance companies and electronic medical records (EMRs). Ron shares his remarkable story of transforming his practice in Reno, Nevada, into a …
Challenging health care norms with collaboration and EMRs [PODCAST]
There are few things in a doctor’s life more exciting and overwhelming at the same time than finding your first job out of training and *gulp* negotiating your first employment contract. For many people, not just doctors, talking about how much money you’ll make can feel incredibly uncomfortable. You might feel overwhelmed or anxious about the process, making you want to sign the first contract that’s put in front of …
How rookie doctors crush their first contract
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