What is ambient clinical intelligence – and how is it transforming health care?

Sponsored
September 19, 2022

This article is sponsored by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience. AI-driven ambient clinical intelligence (ACI) promises to help by revolutionizing patient and provider experiences with clinical documentation that writes itself.

For decades, researchers have been working toward a vision of ambient intelligence, finding ways to harness cloud, advanced AI, and the Internet of Things to create more intelligent spaces that help …

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4 steps to de-escalate hostile people [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 19, 2022
YouTube video

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“The boundaries of unacceptable behavior have eroded in the past few years. Politicians, law enforcement, movie stars, health care providers, the health care system, and society, in general, are all acting badly occasionally. I’m amazed but no …

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Football pervades our society so we must be prepared to deal with it

Conditions
September 19, 2022

It’s not that I hate football; truly I don’t. I try hard to get into it. I scan the sports page to become familiar with names, rivalries, predictions, and opinions. I tune in to Sports Extra on Sunday nights for the weekend analysis and wrap-up. I watch the introduction to televised games for the opening excitement and colorful background of the teams. I’ve enjoyed a few episodes of Hard Knocks.

Why …

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The most important tool a medical student can have is the ability to reflect on experiences

Education
September 19, 2022

Throughout my life, I have been trained by Jesuit institutions. I have loved all of what they have prescribed – to “find God in all things,” to “care for the entire person,” to “be a woman with and for others.” But the most important pillar that I have gained from these educational institutions is to have a reflective mind – the ability to ask why and dig deeper into a …

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Should all health professionals be teetotalers?

Physician
September 19, 2022

I recently published “Avoid ‘Shots in the Dark’ to Maintain Pristine Professional Boundaries” in Psychiatric Times to demonstrate how drinking alcohol in public may lead well-meaning licensed health professionals onto the slippery slope of boundary violations and costly career jeopardy. Across the United States, millions of doctors, nurses, and other licensed health professionals are permitted to perform the sacred work of healing others because we have been authorized to …

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Lessons from Radonda Vaught: Nurses need to raise their voices [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 18, 2022
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“One thing is hard to ignore – nurses need better treatment. Nurses need a seat at the table and advocacy. Nurses need to raise their voices, listen to each other, and unify to achieve the progress that …

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Top 4 burning questions doctors ask health care attorneys

Finance
September 18, 2022

Being a transactional lawyer for physicians is never dull because the more the regulations, guidance, and laws change, the more questions everyone has. But it’s more than just getting an answer to a question and being in compliance. Doctors are feeling overly worn down and out of control, and the risks that face their practice are real. It contributes to burnout and apathy, as it’s hard enough to keep track …

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How this primary care doctor found his dream practice

Physician
September 18, 2022

Eleven years ago, I escaped the drudgery of the corporate medicine hamster wheel to set up a solo family practice where I could be my own boss and practice medicine my way.

After 38 wonderful years as a family doctor, I am ready to retire. I hope to gift my practice to a doctor eager to be independent, well compensated, and enjoy a balance between work and life.

Who might be the …

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The consequences of unmasking and ending quarantines

Conditions
September 18, 2022

The CDC has updated its COVID masking and quarantine guidelines as children return to school and more adults return to work at the end of summer.

Unfortunately, the new, less restrictive guidelines are premature.

As most people know, the current COVID variant is extremely contagious.  Many argue that since a majority of the public has already been exposed to COVID either by vaccination or infection, we can relax into less vigilance.

However, it …

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A neurosurgeon puts down the knife [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 17, 2022
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“MRI studies of these patients determined that it was not only the circuitry that was affected by the burnout but also the size of the brain structures. Compared with the controls, patients suffering from burnout showed volume …

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Patients come to you for treatment, not your politics

Physician
September 17, 2022

As he was being wheeled in for surgery, President Reagan joked, “I hope you are Republicans.” The surgeon, a liberal Democrat, replied, “Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans.”

All very appropriate and from another era. As a usually intelligent and intellectual segment of society, it is not surprising that physicians should have opinions, including politics. As citizens, they are entitled to them too.

In fact, one would hope that physicians participate …

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As doctors, caring is our poetry

Physician
September 17, 2022

Poiesis is a Greek term that evolved into the word poetry in English. According to Wikipedia, in philosophy, poiesis is “the activity in which a person brings something into being which did not exist before. Etymologically derived from the ancient Greek term which means to make.” The word is used as a suffix, as in the biological term hematopoiesis, the formation of blood cells.

In the book All Things Shining, Hubert …

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You need to ask these questions to teens starting hormone therapy

Conditions
September 17, 2022

In medical practice today, we have all types of providers in charge of birth control counseling and treatment: medical doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, and even medical assistants who report to their licensed providers. Having a standardized questionnaire that all providers can easily use and incorporate into their practice would help safeguard against regretful avoidable mistakes. Taking a good history is cheap. Health care costs for strokes …

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How to stay off my operating table [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 16, 2022
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“Health isn’t about luck — it’s about intentionality. But even if you’re doing and saying all the right things, you might not be any closer to your goals.

I know because I was there.

As a heart surgeon, I …

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Why psychological explanations for long COVID are dangerous

Conditions
September 16, 2022

Patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and their allies will rally in DC, London, and Edinburgh this September to “demand bold, urgent governmental action” for the millions of people living with ME, long COVID, and other infection-associated, chronic diseases.

As researchers continue to find many similarities between ME and long COVID, the history of ME offers crucial lessons for approaching long COVID and some pathways toward more effective research …

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Focus on the rheumatoid arthritis patient, not on their disease

Conditions
September 16, 2022

Medical school, residency, and fellowship taught me pathophysiology, diagnosis, and the most advanced treatments for autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. As an attending physician, seeing my own patients, I noticed that targeted therapy is not able to control the disease in all patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The results varied. I could not stop asking myself, why is it so different?

In my previous article, I wrote about one of my patient’s …

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Women doctors face challenges globally

Physician
September 16, 2022

As I looked around the hot, humid room at the male doctors in their white coats, I couldn’t believe I was actually participating in a medical training mission in Rwanda. After months of planning and securing equipment, I was actually in Africa. I watched as the medical residents listened intently to the lectures United States physician volunteers provided.

Forty-two Rwandan OB/GYN residents came to the University Hospital in Kigali for a …

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Why are women leaving medicine? Gaslighting. [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 15, 2022
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“We cannot change societal norms, gender biases, childhood needs, the education system, or stop a pandemic. But, we can stop gaslighting 50% of the population. We can start acknowledging that the simple fact of gender does greatly …

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Don’t give up on private practice just yet

Physician
September 15, 2022

The medical landscape for practicing physicians is changing. Seemingly the option of “hanging one’s shingle,” being your own boss, setting your schedule, and providing personalized care in a warm and cozy environment, “Marcus Welby style,” isn’t a viable option anymore.

Rather, graduating physicians are choosing between the options of becoming a hospital-employed physician, hospitalist, employed physician in a large multispecialty group, joining the faculty at an academic institution, or, sadly, electing …

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Death is what gives life meaning

Physician
September 15, 2022

“He knew it was his time a month ago. We were sitting at the kitchen table, and he told me he couldn’t feel half his face. He kept tapping the left side and saying he couldn’t feel anything. I knew he had a stroke because my daughter had one. He was stubborn, didn’t want to go to the doctor.”

One week ago, I saw Mr. Samson for the first time in …

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