An excerpt from The Algorithm Will See You Now.
Jacie shoved her glasses up her nose. “For those not selected, when PRIMA gives its report, or whatever… and if it says the treatment won’t work, how do you tell the patient?”
“We don’t.” Hope paused. “That’s the nurse’s job, of course.”
Cecilia gave …
The algorithm’s dilemma: Navigating ethics in health care
Like interest rates and food prices, burnout among health care providers continues to rise.
From my perch—as a hospitalist in a large tertiary hospital—the sheer terror of the early days of the COVID pandemic has been replaced by a grinding fatigue fueled by staffing shortages across the entire health care system.
Patients and their families are burned out too, frustrated by delays and shortcomings in care that inevitably arise in an overworked …
Gratitude takes practice. How come health care workers aren’t better at it?
In the words of the late soccer great Pelé spoofed on Saturday Night Live, women’s health has been “very, very good” for drug makers. In 2002, 61 million prescriptions were written for women in the U.S. for hormones to treat the so-called “disease” of menopause (which was once treated with electroshock therapy—yes, ECT).
Until the government-sponsored Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) found in 2002 that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) …
Fool women twice? Drug makers revive menopause as a “disease.”
Generative language models such as Google Bard and BioGPT are two cutting-edge technologies that have the potential to revolutionize Health care by providing accurate and reliable information to patients and health care professionals alike. Google Bard is powered by LaMDA and trained on web data, while BioGPT is developed by Microsoft and trained on biomedical literature. Both models can perform various tasks, such as answering questions, extracting relevant data, and …
Transforming health care with AI: Google Bard and BioGPT lead the way
Around 75 percent of U.S. physicians are U.S. MD/DOs who have completed pre-medical training, while the remaining 25 percent are international medical graduates (IMGs) who may not have completed pre-medical training but are still able to take the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) and become licensed to practice medicine in the U.S.
From the patient’s perspective, pre-medical training may not be necessary unless pre-medical training-deficient IMGs are not evenly distributed …
Is mandating pre-medical training widening disparities in the U.S. physician workforce?
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In this episode, we welcome special guest Ronald A. Zent, a family physician, to discuss the ongoing opioid crisis. With a fourfold increase in opioid prescriptions and overdose deaths from 1999-2010, Ronald shares his insights on how …
Critical thinking in pain management [PODCAST]
The re-release of the movie Titanic marks its 25th anniversary since it first sailed into theaters. Can you believe it? Twenty-five years ago, we watched Rose get undressed for a self-portrait with only a necklace on, Jack yelling, “I’m the king of the world” from the boat’s bow, and the two of them doin’ the dirty in the backseat of an automobile. This fictional love story of Rose and Jack …
The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine
Adapted from Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose.
I am glad I got to watch my kids die. To be clear, I’m not glad they died. I am heartbroken and devastated, and there is a never-ending hole of aching and pain in my heart. My teenage …
Grieving parents want the truth
A sobering study by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts an unthinkable shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 doctors by 2034. If underserved populations had fewer barriers to medical care, that shortfall could reach over 180,000! Successfully navigating these uncharted waters will require strategic planning and innovation.
Even the current state is so dire that the American Medical Association (AMA) developed a critical action plan: AMA’s Recovery Plan for …
Patient empowerment: the key to solving the health care crisis
Weight loss can be a challenging process for many people, as it often requires significant lifestyle changes and dedication to healthy habits. However, with the help of modern technology and innovative strategies, it’s easier than ever to revolutionize your health and fitness journey. This article will explore how ChatGPT can provide modern weight loss hacks to help individuals achieve their health goals.
1. Personalized nutrition plan. One of the most significant …
Revolutionize your health and fitness with ChatGPT’s modern weight loss hacks
“Until I know you better, I will tell you how to breathe!”
It’s my first day at the pediatric orthopedic hand specialty clinic on my pediatric ortho rotation in my third year of residency.
I have just been barked at by the professor emeritus, a retired Army colonel, who runs the service.
He didn’t tell me how to breathe, but he affected it.
Prior to this, my upper-level resident told me that I have …
Discover the power of breathing: How a lesson in pediatrics helped me find inner calm
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In this episode, we welcome Jennifer Shaer, a pediatrician, to discuss the issue of physician suicide rates and how the holidays can impact mental health. Despite being one of the happiest countries in the world, Scandinavian countries …
A discussion on mental health during the holidays [PODCAST]
There’s a blog for everyone! Whether you cannot get enough awkward family pictures, epidemiologist input, cat humor, vegetarian cooking recipes, menopause tips, or love to geek out on pie charts – there’s a blogger out there creating content for you.
What this means – aside from endless entertainment possibilities – is that no matter how obscure your niche may be, opportunity abounds for you to start blogging, too.
Why blog?
Blogging allows you …
Blogging for beginners: tips for success in any niche
“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 …
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 …
Physicians spending more time with computers than patients
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 …
The addictive quest for achievement and its dangerous consequences
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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 …
KevinMD on the Medical Entrepreneur podcast
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, …
The invisible graveyard of every physician’s career: Why every doctor needs a “badness” plan
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 …
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 doctor to worried family member: a call for more humanized care in the ICU
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