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Start walking to improve health and well-being

Conditions

December 8, 2022

I just walked 120 km over five days on the South Downs Way along the southeast coast of the United Kingdom. It was a beautiful walk through the pastoral English countryside, culminating in the dramatic chalk cliffs near the coastal town of Eastbourne. While not a technically difficult walk, there were certainly enough hills to climb, high winds, and rainy days to make us ready for our evening pub dinners.

Lack of innovation is leading to disparities in diabetes care

James Malone, MD

Conditions

December 8, 2022

Having spent over 30 years of my career in diabetes, first as a practicing diabetologist and later as a diabetes researcher, I’ve met many people with diabetes. And while diabetes care has evolved significantly over my career, I’m amazed to see that daily insulin management is just as complex and manual for many people, particularly those with type 2 diabetes (T2D) — daily insulin management is just as complex and …

Leading an organizational culture change? Consider an apology first. [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 7, 2022

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“While patients, the workforce, and key outcomes are way better off in a culture of safety, the process from toxic to healthy culture requires a challenging shift from relationships rooted in distrust to trusting ones. To ensure …

The slow progression of aging: Let compassion reign

Nancie Wiseman Attwater

Conditions

December 7, 2022

There is one guarantee in life: you will age, no matter how hard you try not to. Some age with more grace than others, and some age so quickly it’s astonishing. Aging can come quickly or slowly, it is not necessarily determined by your age but the whole dynamics of the life you have lived and perhaps your relatives’ lives before you.

Aging isn’t just the change from dark hair to …

Does your OR case scheduling process need a revamp?

Michael Bronson, MD

Physician

December 7, 2022

I’ve been in the health care industry for over a decade. Starting a few years ago, I embarked on a new project: building a case scheduling platform specifically for anesthesia staff.

I’ll be the first to say that I never envisioned myself becoming a so-called “health care entrepreneur.” From my perspective, I’m just an anesthesiologist who stumbled upon an unaddressed pain point—the tedious process of building OR case schedules—and after looking …

If the hospital CEO emailed employees like Twitter’s CEO

Jennifer Lycette, MD

Physician

December 7, 2022

To: [Group: all employees]

From: Office of the CEO

Subject: A fork in the road

Going forward, we will need to be extremely hardcore to streamline a restructured Health care 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly diseased world. This will mean working even longer hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will justify a new N95 mask each week.

Health care will also be much more profit-driven. Physicians and nurses will still be very …

With RSV, it’s time for primary care to step up to the plate

Martin C. Young, MD

Conditions

December 7, 2022

Every pediatrician is familiar with this endemic seasonal virus, expecting to see several cases in their office during the winter months and maybe even admit the occasional one for inpatient care. Even amongst the latter, most do well and recover without incident, though the stay can be prolonged.

However, the respiratory syncytial virus — when it causes pneumonia and bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways — can result in serious illness …

How women manage and mismanage their health [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 6, 2022

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“Shame has no place in illness or in health. The first step to eradicating shame is to openly speak up about symptoms and concerns and for health care providers to commit to acknowledging and interrogating the needs …

In light of Chris Hemsworth’s APOE news: Don’t panic

Ani Rostomyan, PharmD

Conditions

December 6, 2022

Recent news on actor Chris Hemsworth and his genetic test has been widely covered in the media. The actor said he is taking a break from acting after learning he has a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

I learned this from my teenage son, who read in the news that the Thor star discovered this after undergoing tests as part of his Disney+ documentary series Limitless.

Hemsworth learned that he has …

The hidden health complications of inflation

Advait Suvarnakar, Aashka Suvarnakar, and Fadi Masoud

Policy

December 6, 2022

“Inflation hit 8.2 percent for the month of September.” The sound of the newscaster’s voice was grim.

Tuning into the nightly news, many Americans have become seasoned pseudo-economists. It has become common practice to crunch numbers to prepare next month’s budget as food, oil, and housing prices reach all-time highs. The ever-foreboding question of “Are we in a recession?” has become as frequent and a juxtaposition to the innocent pestering …

A rush to judgment on acetaminophen?

M. Bennet Broner, PhD

Meds

December 6, 2022

Less than a year ago, a position paper/meta-analysis was published whose authors concluded that the pain reliever acetaminophen, and products containing this compound, were contraindicated in pregnancy as they could result in premature or stillborn births or developmental defects. Earlier studies appeared more positive and resulted in recommendations for its use by professional and governmental organizations. The present authors acknowledged this disjunction and made both the routine recommendations for further …

Read more…

A rush to judgment on acetaminophen?

When should you consider a Caribbean medical school? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 5, 2022

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

“If we want to achieve a physician workforce that mirrors our population, medical schools must collectively understand that we have created an admissions system that selects against Latinx and BIPOC students. We need a new system. But …

You’re not being frivolous. You’re being fabulously human.

Kricia Palmer, MD, Allied ASID

Physician

December 5, 2022

[Frivolous: not having any serious purpose or value]

For years, I’ve noticed something that’s bothered me. I see it almost daily within social media women’s physician groups. The post starts with, “I know this is a frivolous question, but …” What follows are questions about topics ranging from cosmetic recommendations to travel advice.

Questions like:

“Where can I find concert tickets?”

“What color should I paint my bedroom?”

What do you all think of this …

We need trauma-informed care in long-term care homes

Carole A. Estabrooks, PhD, RN

Policy

December 5, 2022

Canada needs trauma-informed aged care, training, and strategies in long-term care homes across the country.

“Trauma” is a heavy word, but it’s the right word.

“Trauma” describes what has been happening in long-term care facilities across Canada during the pandemic, where the majority of COVID-19 deaths have occurred and where highly restrictive visitor policies and short staffing have meant extreme isolation and deprivation for the residents who live there.

But there are often …

Aesthetics and the physician’s eye

Claire Unis, MD

Physician

December 5, 2022

The fall sunlight calls my eye to notice little things: the veins on a yellowing maple leaf. The askew feather on a chicken’s wing. The faintest breeze tricking the pond into patterned sin waves around a lone white duck.

What do we owe this world but our ability to parse and observe, to interpret, to be filled enough by moments of abject beauty to return to the ugliness and try to …

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Aesthetics and the physician’s eye

What you need to know about sensory processing disorders [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 4, 2022

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“Understanding and recognizing sensory processing issues may help improve functioning and quality of life for many individuals, starting with children in school. While many are preparing for back to school, it is important for parents, teachers, health …

A theological answer to our health care crisis

Cedric Dark, MD, MPH

Policy

December 4, 2022

With the Christmas holiday rapidly approaching, it has me thinking about what the family of faith should think about health care in America. As a physician, I’ve spent over a decade of my life trying to use my faith in science and evidence to inform people about an optimal way to practice medicine and, as someone trained in health policy and management, how to structure the United States’ health care …

Medicare “Advantage” for my indigent patients

Aniyizhai Annamalai, MD

Policy

December 4, 2022

Despite the aggressive marketing, Medicare Advantage plans offer little benefit for poor and vulnerable patients.

Consider my patient C, who was in pain from her knee arthritis. She was often in pain, but now her new pain medication helped her less than her previous one. She also wanted her old asthma inhaler back as the new one was harder to use. We had changed all her medications since her new Medicare …

7 things I’ve learned after 12 years of private relationship-based direct care in Canada

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Physician

December 4, 2022

I’m a hand surgeon. After six years of academic practice, I opted out of the public and universal health care system my country is famous for to create the first private hand surgery practice in Montreal, Canada. That was 12 years ago.

Opting out of the system means that I do not get any payment or reimbursement from the government in a country where private insurance does not pay for private …

Don’t blame Big Pharma for insulin’s problems

Rushi Nagalla

Policy

December 4, 2022

For diabetics, insulin matters as much as H2O. Unfortunately, insulin’s a hell of a lot more expensive than bottled water. High insulin prices force approximately nine million Americans to balance their wallet and well-being.

The American Action Forum reported that a type-one diabetic’s average yearly expense for insulin was $~6000 (i.e., $500/month). It’s easy to lambast Big Pharma companies for the current state of insulin’s affairs, but history and market behavior …

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