Virtual organizations in health care

Tech
January 1, 2022

In almost all organizations, an employee has a supervisor responsible for guiding the employee in doing their job. This requires good communication between the two.

Currently, in medicine, especially during stays in the hospital, there is a similar relationship between physicians: The attending physician recruits the necessary specialist physicians to provide care for the patient and supervises their care. The difference is that this relationship is just for the patient, and …

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7 causes of low back pain

Conditions
January 1, 2022

The New Year is a typical time for resolutions, and one of the most common ones is to get healthier. For many of us, a common stumbling block is dealing with low back pain. As a rehabilitation medicine physician, my focus is nonoperative spine care within one of the top orthopedic practices in the country. Let’s talk about the causes of low-back pain and what we can do about it.

1. …

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The healing power of thank you

Physician
January 1, 2022

Recently, I had a patient die unexpectedly in the operating room. I consider myself mentally tough, but this was the first time I’d ever experienced a situation like this, and the impact on me was far greater than I would have anticipated.

On its own, the patient dying was a terrible event, but after our futile and desperate attempts to save him failed, I still had to face the horror of …

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I will keep my advocacy sword polished and ready [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 31, 2021
YouTube video

“I recognize that finding time for staff training and making sure the training is effectively practiced are challenges in a busy clinical setting. But taking care of patients means that both goals must be met to ensure safety, quality, and best possible clinical outcomes. As one who speaks and writes …

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Beware of errors in your medical record

Physician
December 31, 2021

Anyone can make a mistake — even your health care provider. And sometimes, those mistakes end up in your medical records. That can cause a variety of issues, including misdiagnosis, medication interactions, missed follow-up testing and care, duplicate testing and billing errors. Fortunately, HIPAA gives you the right to request a copy of your medical records from any health care provider who has treated you so that you can review …

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The COVID vaccine is a life raft. I’m not your life raft to get out of it.

Conditions
December 31, 2021

It began with a seemingly innocuous text from a friend of the family.

“Hi, Richard. I hope you’re well. I need to speak with you. Can I call you?”

The last time we spoke was at my brother’s long-postponed “celebration of life,” which we were able to hold a year after his passing finally. Our friend attended the wake, so feeling a sense of appreciation for his support during that time, I …

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CPT coding changes: 5 proven methods of how to do more with less

Policy
December 31, 2021

It’s well known that coding changes drive provider behavior, and billing behavior drives provider decisions.

For the last 30 years, little has changed in health insurance billing, which is why the standard of care within the payer system has remained, well, standard.

Then the pandemic hit, and suddenly everything was turned on its head. Patient demands increased sharply, office visits became impossible or prohibited across most of the country, and with telemedicine, …

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Health care guest workers could make “home, sweet home” a reality for America’s seniors

Policy
December 31, 2021

“If you want to be happy in a million ways, for the holidays, you can’t beat home, sweet home.” The late Perry Como’s observations reflect a bittersweet truth about an unattainable goal — not just during the holiday season, but each day of the year — for the 1.4 million Americans age 65 and over who reside in long-term care facilities. Older Americans who might prefer to age in place …

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You are what you click: Transform your social media experience [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 30, 2021
YouTube video

“Confidence and humility are strongly related, but one arises when we focus on self, and the other arises when we focus on others. However, each attribute can become unhealthy when it becomes too extreme, or when we lose the perspective of the other attribute. In the case of confidence, we …

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Men in power seem to have a serious zipper malfunction problem

Physician
December 30, 2021

My respected neurosurgery colleague just ended his career inauspiciously — having had an affair with a resident.

While I don’t know the details, I do know that many a male leader, like my friend, has fallen from his perch due to “zipper malfunction.” Had they stronger zippers, maybe they would have kept their sensitive parts in their proper homes and carried on to fulfill their important jobs.

Disappointed, but not terribly surprised, …

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The death of empathy

Physician
December 30, 2021

Reflect and earn 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CME for this article.

You used to come to us struggling to breathe and begging for our help, and while we stood over you preparing for intubation, we would feel all the feels while looking into eyes that we knew might never open again. We would break down and cry while telling your family that you didn’t make it or …

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My grandfather’s death: What I’ve learned about life

Education
December 30, 2021

My grandfather passed in the early hours of December 11 and was buried the next day. It all happened very quickly. The last time I saw him was eight years ago. And that was the final time because I couldn’t make it to his funeral. Hopefully, when I look back at this, I’ll always remember to cherish my time with family, no matter how busy medical school or residency gets.

My …

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How writing fiction can free physicians [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 29, 2021
YouTube video

“Physicians can find — or start — writing workshops at medical conferences, or just about anywhere else, at any time. These workshops can become part of wellness or burnout-prevention events. To interact with other writers, all you need is a champion―someone to organize a time and space for you …

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The U.S. doesn’t have enough faculty to train the next generation of nurses

Policy
December 29, 2021

Despite a national nursing shortage in the United States, over 80,000 qualified applications were not accepted at U.S. nursing schools in 2020, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

This was due primarily to a shortage of nursing professors and a limited number of clinical placements where nursing students get practical job training. Additional constraints include a …

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Inequity contributes to burnout among new academic physicians

Physician
December 29, 2021

I was still a resident in May 2013. My new long-distance girlfriend gave me directions to take the train from the airport to the opposite side of her massive metroplex. As is likely common for a hayseed like me, I got lost finding the correct rail station and instead walked through the city’s large academic medical center by accident. With luggage in tow, I walked past a 900-bed county hospital …

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How telemedicine ruined a physician’s career

Physician
December 29, 2021

Doing side gigs is in vogue now. I want to tell you my story. It has to do with how one of the leading telemedicine companies ruined my career. I hope that my story will help many of you navigate this tough economy, especially those who are coming out of residency.

I started working as an independent contractor about ten years ago when it first came to the forefront. I worked …

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Climate change through the lens of an emergency physician [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 28, 2021
YouTube video

“The worst part of the climate crisis is that our kids, my kids, may never get to witness the most beautiful parts of our world because they may, and will, cease to exist without our action and power. As I watch my own kids looking out over the ocean on …

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How drug distributors contributed to the opioid crisis

Meds
December 28, 2021

A recent headline in my neighborhood newspaper read, “A Dentist Became a Top Opioid Buyer in W. Va. Now a Drug Firm Faces Penalty for Ignoring Red Flags.” The drug firm sent 25,400 hydrocodone pills and 3,600 Xanax to one Huntington, WV area dentist. The DEA raided the dentist’s office and shut it down. The dentist admitted to ordering the pills for personal use.

This summer, also right …

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Emotional epidemiology of disease is as critical as clinical epidemiology

Physician
December 28, 2021

At this point in the COVID vaccination campaign, nearly all American adults who want the vaccine have gotten it, and are gratefully snapping up their boosters. Those who decline vaccination are largely impervious to public service announcements, community pressure, and case counts turbocharged by the Omicron variant.

Public health experts emphasize that primary care doctors and nurses are the key to this last mile of the vaccination effort. …

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Don’t be anti-vax in name only

Physician
December 28, 2021

The following article is satire.

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
– Thomas Paine

Happy holidays as we continue our long walk with COVID. A unique walk where each new step is only half as long as …

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