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The curious cases of the Tenerife plane crash and medical errors: What we see through the Swiss cheese model

Conditions

March 6, 2023

“Even a room with flammable gas will not explode unless someone strikes a match.”
– Dr. Bob Wachter

Case 1:

On March 27, 1977, two 747s collided on the runway at Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people. On a foggy morning, the KLM 747 was waiting for clearance to take off. Captain Van Zanten was a well-known pilot with excellent safety records. The KLM crew spotted a Pan Am 747 taxiing …

Physicians spending more time with computers than patients

Steven Reznick, MD

Physician

March 6, 2023

Recently I tried to log onto my hospital system’s electronic health record to check on the status of a patient. This patient is elderly, severely mentally incapacitated, and being cared for by physicians on the neurology service. Her son, a practicing physician at the same facility, had not received a return phone call from any of the inpatient physicians and wanted to know why his mom needed a lumbar puncture …

The addictive quest for achievement and its dangerous consequences

Dawn Baker, MD

Physician

March 6, 2023

An excerpt from Lean Out: A Professional Woman’s Guide to Finding Authentic Work-Life Balance.

In the third grade, my teacher identified me as a high achiever. Aside from recognition, he “rewarded” me with the opportunity to write an extra report on a topic of my choosing every month. Being young and …

KevinMD on the Medical Entrepreneur podcast

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 5, 2023

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In this episode, I’m on the other side of the microphone. I’m interviewed by Adam Sewell at the Medical Entrepreneur podcast. I share insights on the non-linear paths physicians can take with their degrees and their …

The invisible graveyard of every physician’s career: Why every doctor needs a “badness” plan

Maryna Mammoliti, MD

Physician

March 5, 2023

As physicians, we all know what “badness” is in medicine. “Badness” is a word many physicians use to convey a painful, complicated, tragic, or adverse clinical experience. Badness is usually some bad, particularly emotional “bad.” Due to medical training most physicians struggle to describe their emotions or even allow themselves to acknowledge emotions, especially around distressing patient cases. The word “badness” frequently conveys to others how awful the event was, …

“Eat less and move more” is not the solution: What I wish my thin colleagues understood about obesity

Jennifer Gauntt, MD

Conditions

March 5, 2023

I have been overweight or obese since I hit puberty. I have gained and lost the same 60 pounds half a dozen times in my adult life. I’ve never been one to try a fad diet – I research the data and follow a scientifically sound plan. I understand that the only way to lose a pound is to have a 3,500-calorie deficit. Losing weight is actually quite simple. But …

From doctor to worried family member: a call for more humanized care in the ICU

Dr. Zsuzsa Csik

Physician

March 5, 2023

Recently I had the unfortunate experience of changing my perspective from being a doctor to becoming a worried family member.

My father spent five weeks in a hospital with a severe infection. Visiting hours were restricted to one hour per day – the aftermath of COVID – and getting information about his therapy, prognosis, etc., was nearly impossible.

Thankfully, my father recovered and was discharged. He was more than happy to go …

From cancer survivor to thriving mind: a journey to true healing and purpose

Samone Zarabi, MD

Physician

March 5, 2023

“I own the world!” was my exact thought when my doctors entered my bone-marrow transplant unit and said I was cancer-free! That joyous moment lasted a few seconds because they immediately declared, “Be careful, you have a 30 percent chance of recurrence from the same cancer and X percent chance of XYZ …”

I don’t remember the entire conversation as I stopped listening. My body became numb, and I was pushed …

Wrongful prolongation of life: a growing concern in the health care system [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 4, 2023

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In this episode, we sit down with patient advocate Althea Halchuck to discuss the importance of advance directives in end-of-life care. We delve into the story of Dr. Gerald Greenberg, a New York dentist who was diagnosed …

The private health care debate in Canada: What’s the real issue?

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Policy

March 4, 2023

The growing role of private health care in Canada is a hot topic at the moment. Provincial governments are outsourcing elective surgeries to the private sector and are considering or debating the option.

Many Canadians are in favor because they recognize that the public health care system is failing. Many are against it because they fear it will increase inequalities in access to care for the most vulnerable populations, particularly …

Why physician-led health care leads to quality patient care

Peter Angood, MD

Physician

March 4, 2023

Excerpted from Physician Leadership: More Valuable Than Ever — A White Paper from the American Association for Physician Leadership.

Physician leadership is an essential element required to provide optimal patient-centered care. To succeed, health care must be quality-centered, safe, streamlined, measured, evidence-based, value-driven, innovative, fair, equitable, and physician-led.

The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) is focused on the personal transformation of all physicians, and through them, the organizations they serve. …

Retirement planning: Understanding sequence of returns risk

Jordan Bilodeau, CFP

Finance

March 4, 2023

Retirement planning should start at the onset of your professional career. Like many things in finance, the earlier, the better. Many residents and fellows can save into a retirement plan and receive matching contributions even during their training. Over the next 30-plus years as a medical provider, your investment returns will play a role in your preparedness for retirement, but returns are not the only important variable. You’ll also have …

Navigating gender identity confusion in a high-stress environment

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

March 4, 2023

As nurses in behavioral health, we were not well-versed in the field. After 33 years in ICU nursing, I left the unit expecting behavioral health to be an easier transition. However, the comparison between the two was like comparing apples to oranges. There was no real comparison between the two.

One day, we admitted a 33-year-old female patient who was constantly angry and had outbursts, hitting patients and staff members without …

Become your own health advocate: Navigating the doctor shortage [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 3, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

In this episode, Ann M. Hester, a board-certified internal medicine physician, dives into the perfect storm brewing in the U.S. health care system and what we can do to prepare for it. The country is facing a …

Don’t hold your breath: Non-competes are unlikely to disappear for physicians

Aaron Morgenstein, MD

Physician

March 3, 2023

Physician non-compete clauses have been a controversial topic for many years. These clauses within contractual agreements prevent physicians from joining or operating a competing practice within a certain distance or timeframe. With the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) looking into non-compete clauses, many people have wondered whether the FTC will finally end physician non-compete clauses.

On January 5, 2023, the FTC proposed a new rule that would ban employers from imposing …

The power of a simple form: a doctor’s experiment in building trust with patients

Anonymous

Physician

March 3, 2023

While we appreciate the importance of trust, not all patients have the same windows of opportunity to establish it with their physicians. The nature of each specialty and the severity of the patient’s condition influence how quickly and deeply trust can be created and maintained. The STEMI patient will quickly learn to trust the interventional cardiologist, and the trauma victim, and the surgeon.

Not surprisingly, it’s very challenging for physicians …

Patients vs. customers: the ethics of health care as a business

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Physician

March 3, 2023

Medicine is both a business and a profession, with the business aspect being the provision of health care services for a fee and the professional aspect being the delivery of medical care for the patient’s benefit.

The business of medicine refers to the broader economic and political systems that shape the health care industry, such as government policies, insurance regulations, and the influence of pharmaceutical companies and other industry stakeholders.

The terms …

The hidden consequences of portal message fees

Eddie Fatakhov, MD, MBA

Physician

March 3, 2023

As the health care industry continues to evolve, many practices and hospitals have turned to electronic portals to communicate between patients and their providers. However, some practices have begun charging patients a fee for responding to messages sent through these portals. While this may seem like a viable solution for increasing revenue, it could ultimately have negative implications for the care of patients.

One major issue with charging patients for portal …

Navigating the complexities of academic medicine contracts [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 2, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

Join us on this episode, where we welcome Dennis Hursh, a physician contract lawyer, to discuss the ins and outs of academic physician employment agreements. Dennis will share his expertise on the common pitfalls and what to …

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