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3 shocking health care statistics for 2023

Policy

January 27, 2023

As the New Year begins, a trio of health care statistics cast an intense and unflattering light on a nation in crisis.

These figures, all of them unimaginable just a generation ago, set the stage for a financial reckoning in 2023 and beyond.

Shocking stat #1: the number of Americans on Medicaid

Without looking it up: What percentage of Americans receive some or all health-insurance coverage from the government?

You might assume a low …

Women should be allowed to exercise autonomy with regard to their bodies and their medical care

Caroline Berberian

Conditions

January 27, 2023

When I walked into the ultrasound room, I immediately noticed the patient’s red-rimmed eyes and cloud of mussed-up brown hair. My eyes tracked the defeated curve of her back and its stark contrast to the sterile environment of the obstetrics and gynecology exam room, with its muted grey and blue tones. A forty-year-old woman, she had used in-vitro fertilization to become pregnant because she wanted her toddler son to have …

Life, death, and the balance in between: a cardiac anesthesiologist’s story [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 26, 2023

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David Alfery is a cardiac anesthesiologist who shares his experiences in the operating room and intensive care unit. In this discussion, he reflects on the lessons he learned about life, death, and the balance in between through …

ICU nurse of 33 years speaks out on the harsh reality of corporate hospitals

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

January 26, 2023

I wasn’t supposed to hear this, but I did. It sealed the deal for me. It was one of the reasons I had to finally leave my true love: ICU nursing. After 33 years as an ICU nurse, I knew it was time to go.

I used to feel like I had a purpose. I used to think I was a dynamic part of saving lives in the ICU. I lived …

Insurance company vs. doctor: How the defense and settlement provisions in malpractice contracts favor carriers

Howard Smith, MD

Physician

January 26, 2023

In a medical malpractice lawsuit, your defense is completely in the hands of the malpractice carrier, and, make no mistake of it, its interests come first. However, the medical malpractice insurance contract is more instrumental in the defense of a doctor than insurance companies realize. There are clauses in the contract that, at first glance, seem to benefit carriers. However, there is a flip side to each clause.

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Insurance company vs. doctor: How the defense and settlement provisions in malpractice contracts favor carriers

The art of the physical exam: the importance of returning to the basics

Brandi Fontenot, MD

Physician

January 26, 2023

“Make thorough inspection.”
– Sir William Osler, MD.

The art of the physical exam is precisely that: an art that must be practiced often, for years on end, and the one that a physician may become a great achiever or skilled but never the master.

When I trained in internal medicine over a decade ago, our program director often harped on this art. I was too naive to understand his message at the …

How receiving medical practice coaching can multiply your income

Curtis G. Graham, MD

Physician

January 26, 2023

Not only does medical practice coaching teach you how to open your mind to who you really are, but it also allows you to bypass the dreaded $20,000 to $50,000 MBA business education that your medical school refused to teach you about.

When you recognize that many highly educated professional athletes hire personal coaches throughout their careers, you must wonder what value they find in being coached. You would think that …

Why every physician needs disability insurance

Pattern

Improving cancer care through integrated care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 25, 2023

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In this episode, we will be discussing the role of health system specialty pharmacies in improving patient outcomes.

Our guest, Chelsey Lindner, is a clinical pharmacist who will share her insights on the unique combination of expertise and …

Primary care colonialism: the impact of profit-driven health care on communities

Michael Fine, MD

Policy

January 25, 2023

An excerpt from On Medicine as Colonialism.

For about seventeen years, from 1991 until 2008, I lived in little Scituate, Rhode Island, where I practiced family medicine, and for about eleven of those seventeen years, I practiced out of the basement of my house. It was an older style of primary …

The hidden link between soft skills and patient safety

Beth Boynton, RN, MS, CP

Conditions

January 25, 2023

The skill

Patient safety, patient experience, workforce health, and cost-effectiveness are critical outcomes with an important common root. They’re all impacted by our ability to communicate effectively and respectfully. Additional terms to describe these skills include people, interaction, interprofessional, relationship, and social skills. They can even be used to describe behaviors inherent in many properties of complex adaptive systems, such as the butterfly effect, flexibility, and adaptability. The more we understand …

Feeling valued by my boss: How a simple tumbler made my day

Poonam Merai, MD

Physician

January 25, 2023

I arrived at my desk after a holiday hiatus with renewed energy to tackle the day. It sat there, unassuming, on my desk with a note. My heart was giddy, knowing my tea pastime would level up. Opening the letter, I realized it was from my boss. My boss had given me a tumbler, and I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. The excitement seemed out of proportion to …

The future of health care is virtual: a nurse’s perspective

Pamela Miles, RN

Policy

January 25, 2023

This time, it’s my family.

My work takes me all over the U.S., consulting on the implementation of virtual care to get the most appropriate level of care to the patients who need it. I work with teams to develop better workflows and to get more experienced eyes on patients. It’s the kind of care anyone would want for their own family.

I was flying to Utah to assist a hospital system …

Discover the reality of living with hidradenitis suppurativa [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 24, 2023

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In this episode, we speak with Christopher Sayed, a dermatologist who has dedicated his career to studying and treating hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). HS is a condition that causes painful boils in areas like the underarms, groin, and …

Streamlining your life is the key to career fulfillment

Kerry Petsinger, DPT

Conditions

January 24, 2023

When my kids were born (3 within 19 months), one thing became very clear: there was only one way that I could possibly accomplish all of my goals. I wanted a fulfilling, successful career, with big aspirations. I also wanted to be really happy and present in my personal life. I didn’t want to sacrifice my career and didn’t want to sacrifice my personal life. I wanted success and fulfillment …

It’s time to ditch cultural competence

Raj Sundar, MD

Physician

January 24, 2023

A pregnant Somali woman was determined to have a vaginal delivery. Unfortunately, labor wasn’t progressing as expected, and the health care team recommended a C-section. The patient declined the recommendation and said it’s in God’s hands. After some persistence, the health care team convinced the patient to get a C-section. After the C-section, the patient felt disappointed that her wishes weren’t considered. The OB team, however, didn’t understand why the …

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It’s time to ditch cultural competence

Balancing employee needs and fair pay during federal holidays

Deepak Gupta, MD, Sarwan Kumar, MD, Shushovan Chakrabortty, MD, PhD

Physician

January 24, 2023

Our previous post discussed how a full-time equivalent equals 2,080 work hours annually. To further clarify, we would like to explain how work hours during federal holidays can be calculated. One approach is to offer employees an incentive by counting each work hour after-hours as 1.5 and each work hour during federal holidays as two during the calculation of payable annual work hours. This can encourage employers to expect …

Why sharing your complete medical history with your clinicians is important

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

January 24, 2023

It’s your first visit to a cardiologist because you’ve had occasional episodes of an irregular heartbeat. As you fill out your pre-appointment paperwork, you carefully list the symptoms you’re experiencing and the treatments your primary care physician has recommended before referring you to a specialist. You don’t mention that you recently started taking Lexapro (escitalopram) to treat depression because you’re focused on your heart issue.

But that accidentally omitted information could …

When the doctor’s advice isn’t enough: a caregiver’s perspective [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 23, 2023

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

In this episode, Nancie Wiseman Attwater discusses her husband Bill’s struggle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Despite the doctor’s advice to change his diet, Nancie realized that it was probably too late for that to make a difference. …

The empathy gap: How a lack of understanding is fueling poor outcomes and health disparities

Nicole Rochester, MD

Physician

January 23, 2023

I recently watched The Color of Care, a documentary highlighting the disparate and inequitable care received by Black and brown individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the movie, Executive Producer Oprah Winfrey opined that one of the primary health care issues is the “empathy gap.” Upon hearing the phrase, I shot up in my chair, as it felt eerily (and painfully) similar to what I described in …

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