Adding more team members is the wrong answer to decreasing physician burnout

Physician
October 5, 2022

I recently read an article about reducing physician burnout written by a health care consultant who proposed the creation of an enhanced medical scribe, or “team care assistant” (TCA). According to the article, the TCA obtains the patient’s medical history through “template-driven questions about the chief complaint.” After obtaining the history, the TCA then calls the physician into the exam room to present their findings. The article …

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What to do when doctors develop “portal hypertension”

Tech
October 5, 2022

This article is satire.

Physicians today are confronting yet another epidemic, one that affects doctors directly and is not caused by a virus. It is the result of the “patient portal” through which patients send typed messages directly to their physicians. Though the portal has benefits, anecdotal experience suggests that high message volume is having a deleterious effect on doctors’ blood pressure.

I have dubbed this phenomenon “portal hypertension,” despite the objections …

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Public health requires collective courage [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 4, 2022
YouTube video

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“To create a healthier, more just, and more equitable world, we must confront the truth, and that requires an act of collective courage. Perhaps there needs to be a whole new consciousness that abandons ideas of reforms …

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Managing migraine in women: How doctors can help women get back to living their lives

Sponsored
October 4, 2022

This article is sponsored by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals.

While everyone has dealt with a headache at some time in their life, a migraine is more than “just a headache.” This I can say from my own experience is true. As a headache specialist with a foundation in family medicine for 22 years, I know firsthand how the debilitating symptoms of migraine can wreak havoc on a person’s life, especially if not …

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The reality of being a physician and a son at the same time

Physician
October 4, 2022

On February 25th, 2022, my father was placed on oxygen a week after I had surgery for a torn Achilles. He was facing his first idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) flare. I knew this day would come; it was only a matter of time. I’ve seen and cared for patients who have faced IPF, but it hit home that our lives would drastically change.

As I concluded the video visit with his …

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Hearing loss is a significant public health problem

Conditions
October 4, 2022

Hearing loss can be a real pain in the rear. Aside from its annoyance on friends and loved ones, it can pose a significant health problem. For instance, there is growing evidence linking hearing loss and dementia.

Yes, impaired hearing can lead to dementia, which is an impairment of cognition. Cognition is the mental process that allows one to acquire knowledge and understanding through thought. It is the …

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Where are we going with monkeypox?

Conditions
October 4, 2022

Monkeypox has been in the news since May 2022. Barely recovering from the anxieties of COVID-19, the natural question in our mind is how is this all going to play out? We might not have accurate predictions yet, but almost six months into the outbreak, we have more information that we can rely on.

The graphs below show the number of confirmed monkeypox cases on a daily basis and on a …

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Premature babies grow up. It’s time to pay attention. [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 3, 2022
YouTube video

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“Premature babies (a.k.a. preemies) and their families are increasingly becoming a powerful voice in society. Life in and after the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is like being dropped off a cliff. I support the preemie community …

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Are antibiotics too much of a good thing?

Meds
October 3, 2022

Since the development of antibiotics in the 1940s, patients presenting with an infection could be expected to respond quickly to a prescribed course of antibiotics by their physician. While the antibiotic prescription model has helped countless lives, this paradigm has degraded over time due to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The net impact is a global health crisis, worsened by continuing the over-prescription and misuse of antibiotics.

The more drugs …

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The impact of a lack of diagnosis reaches far and wide

Conditions
October 3, 2022

Getting a medical diagnosis can actually be a huge relief.

I know it may seem counter-intuitive.

Saying “I have cancer,” “I have Parkinson’s,” or “I have depression” definitely doesn’t belong in the same realm as being relieved.

Or maybe it does.

When was the last time you saw a GoFundMe for “gradually progressive neurologic symptoms for 20 years that numerous physicians in many different specialties still don’t understand”?

When did you form a Team Lucy …

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Back to reality when it comes to pain treatment

Conditions
October 3, 2022

Back in the 1980s, I had a longtime patient, age about 30, that came to my office for severe back pain. She previously had some mild back pain and had no orthopedic evaluation. Otherwise, she was in good health without any other health issues.

She could barely walk upright, so I sent her to the orthopedic physician I normally referred my patients to the same day. He sent her back to …

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Your anesthesiologist cares for you [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 2, 2022
YouTube video

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“It’s one of the hard things about anesthesiology. A window opens, you work like all get out, doing all sorts of things while the breeze blows in, then it’s shut again. Sometimes, you see your patient once …

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All I ever wanted to be was a nurse

Conditions
October 2, 2022

I am a nurse. I am tired and defeated. Thursday, I went to work at 7 a.m. after the strike, only to want to leave as soon as I walked into the hospital. We were short-staffed … again. I made an “aware” which is a hospital forum where anyone can report unsafe staffing, hospital conditions, maintenance, or security issues. My aware went to my unit manager where we had a …

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Coaching or mentorship: What is the solution for physicians?

Physician
October 2, 2022

Over the years, I have mentored a lot of trainees. After discovering coaching and seeing my career transform after I started working with a coach, I have become a coach myself. I definitely use coaching techniques with my mentees, but the relationship I have with them is different from the one I have with my coaching clients. Coaching and mentorship are different but complementary approaches to moving your career forward. …

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Insurance companies deny medical care. And that’s wrong. [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 1, 2022
YouTube video

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“Securing prior authorizations is a daily ordeal for most doctors’ offices. Doctors report that, on average, they must get insurance company approvals 41 times every week. Of the authorization requests that are denied, fully 73% ultimately get …

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It is a gift to be on a team where people think differently

Physician
October 1, 2022

You may just think differently. Not wrong.

It is a gift to be on a team where people think differently.

However, some leaders want people to all to think like them. And they become upset and frustrated when you think differently.

So we step back and observe why they may be frustrated. We may observe in ourselves why their opinion and approval matter so much.

The discomfort may push you to abort your own …

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Is Elon Musk right about the future of medicine?

Tech
October 1, 2022

“Mark my words. AI (artificial intelligence) is more dangerous than the nukes.”
– Elon Musk

The other day, as soon as I walked in to work, already running my usual ten minutes late, I was hustling from my office to the clinic when I saw one of our physician assistants in the hallway. Otherwise known for her calm composure, it seemed odd that she was visibly distressed. She had forgotten her laptop …

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Economic uncertainty is the new norm, but financial insecurity doesn’t have to be

Finance
October 1, 2022

I’ve lived through multiple economic downturns since 1999.

Bear markets and recessions can be scary.

The uncertainty and fear can be exhausting.

Currently we are in the midst of battling fears of record inflation, gas prices, an ongoing recession, interest rate instability, supply chain disruptions, insecurity in food, energy, and housing, along with surging debt and currency crises.

This is all happening against the backdrop of war, climate crisis, and a world recovering from …

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My postpartum blood pressure spike [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 30, 2022
YouTube video

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“I think about my preeclampsia-specific and general knowledge gaps. I could not recall learning about postpartum preeclampsia in my prenatal classes. I wasn’t given any written instructions on what symptoms to expect with my blood pressure returning …

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