Your best defense? Don’t play by the rules in a medical malpractice case.

Physician
September 4, 2021

Unfortunate outcomes are inevitable even when practicing quality medicine. Most are random events, but some are medical errors. The majority of physicians have been sued and those, who have not, will be. Common to all defendants is that the lawsuit is totally fallacious.

To be fallacious, the outcome of a medical intervention must be an unpreventable random mal-occurrence. This is the only alternative to a medical error. Nevertheless, there is a …

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How shame tried to hijack my medical training [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 3, 2021
YouTube video

“I’m smart enough to be a physician. As if being the smartest person in the room makes you the best physician in the room. Hint, it doesn’t. Being a good physician is a culmination of knowledge, skills, and strengths that you, as an individual physician, uniquely brings to the field.

It’s …

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All physicians are leaders [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 2, 2021
YouTube video

“In times of uncertainty, human behavior often makes people resort to less-than-stellar behaviors; unhealthy personal environments can become manifest as well. Often, these coincide with health care being used more frequently and the safe haven of health care delivery being sought. With all physicians being leaders, it is incumbent …

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Physicians have gone from being heroes to villains

Physician
September 2, 2021

I am exhausted.

Mentally, emotionally, physically.

I fear we are reaching our breaking point. We have run a marathon, hoping that we were nearing the finish line as we saw numbers decline in June, only to be told to lace up our sneakers and start over.

Work in outpatient pediatrics is always busy in the summer – seeing our patients for school and sports physicals, marveling at how much they’ve grown since we …

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The surprising power of family meals

Physician
September 2, 2021

I am a board-certified pediatrician, wife, mother of four, and host of a podcast.  I have been interested in nutrition and feeding practices for as long as I can remember.  In my practice as a pediatrician, I was constantly bombarded with parent concerns about children’s eating habits.  Commonly parents worried that their children were not eating enough, were eating too …

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You deserve a doctor who’s a good fit for you [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 1, 2021
YouTube video

“I implore you — even if it’s difficult — if you don’t like your doctor, take the time and find a new one!

How do you do that? Check your insurance for who they cover, and then ask your friends who they see and like. Google the physician. Google the practice. …

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From advocate to adversary: How COVID-19 has changed the doctor-patient relationship

Physician
September 1, 2021

Ask any physician how they are doing today, and you’ll probably hear some version of frustrated, tired, and sad. It’s not the lump-in-your-throat type sadness. It’s that my-mind-and-soul-are-tired sadness. The feeling you have when all you can see is the conflict and the angst that seems to fill the world right now. The feeling that the world is burning and we are powerless to stop it.

I am a physician who …

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Structural racism in health tech [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 31, 2021
YouTube video

“We focus on ensuring our solution works equally well for English speakers with any accent. We regularly hear from doctors how much of a difference this makes in their ability to deliver high-quality patient care. It’s our hope that more health tech vendors will take a good look at what …

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Professional gay: Charting a career in LGBTQ health

Physician
August 31, 2021

“You’re superficial,” the dean of the curriculum explained to me as we sat in an empty lecture hall. I had just finished a lecture when he pulled me aside to share his assessment of my progress as a student. By this point in my second year of medical school, I had become more focused on the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ] persons and communities, …

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From electric fish to smart device EHRs: the mind-blowing evolution of health care technology

Tech
August 31, 2021

Fun fact: The first recorded use of electric stimulation to ease pain was in … get ready … CE 46! That’s right, nearly 2,000 years ago, ancient Roman writer Scribonius Largus described the use of torpedo fish, aquatic animals capable of electrical discharge, to heal. This system is still as common in health care settings as a conventional TENS Unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). Similarly, many health care IT innovations …

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Physicians are hurting. This is what makes them human.

Physician
August 30, 2021

It is said that everything that moves has a breaking point. Engineers understand this concept, and they have developed intricate methods to understand when metals will reach their breaking point if they sustain repeated back and forth stress.

It becomes crucial to understand that when metals break, the consequences have substantial implications as many industries rely on machines to be efficient and safe. If a machine shuts down due to the …

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A perspective on comorbidities and severity of illness in children with COVID-19

Conditions
August 30, 2021

“Children don’t get as sick with COVID-19” and “only children with comorbidities get very sick from COVID-19” are two statements that have concerned me during the pandemic.  They have been used as statements to support loosening COVID-19 prevention measures for children, like wearing masks, and rationalizing arguments opposing vaccinating children against COVID-19.   It is true that children, for the most part, do not get as sick from COVID-19.  Nevertheless, while …

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SLAT: An important estate planning strategy for physicians to lower President Biden’s estate tax

Finance
August 30, 2021

For married physicians looking into estate planning strategies, one thing to keep in mind is how to make best use of spousal benefits in reducing taxes or providing for a surviving spouse or other beneficiaries. For wealthy physicians, a spousal lifetime access trust, or SLAT, may provide a viable vehicle for avoiding estate taxes for both spouses and protecting assets from creditors while at the same time providing distributions that …

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A data-first strategy to recovering surgical volumes [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 29, 2021
YouTube video

“The first step to hospital recovery is the collection and analysis of data. Organizations that effectively leverage data to optimize surgery can see rapid, quantifiable, and sustained improvements in metrics that directly link to operational efficiency and associated financial benefits. The current situation presents a unique opportunity for hospitals …

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If I already had COVID, do I need the vaccine?

Conditions
August 29, 2021

I used to think, “I had COVID. I don’t need a vaccine… not for now at least, and maybe not ever.”

November 2020: I was a few hours into my 12-hour shift in the emergency department. I had been treating COVID at every shift for about 10 months at that point, and I knew what I was feeling now was more than just fatigue. I took a swab and went into …

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The COVID killing fields

Conditions
August 29, 2021

I go to the hospital cafeteria to unwind from this night — another unpredictable one with irrational patients that randomly attempt to assault the staff.

This time, they missed. Behavioral health. Land of the psychotics and schizophrenics. But an incredible staff to work with.
This song blares out. “Easy Like Sunday Morning.” And I know that nothing is “easy” anymore.

I’ve heard it all about COVID vaccinations:

“It’s my body.”

“It’s not FDA-approved.”

“I have natural …

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You don’t belong here. You’re not good enough. You’re no superhero.

Physician
August 29, 2021

I’ve always had a strong sense of justice. I think that’s what attracted me most to superheroes as a child. Growing up, my favorite by far was Spider-Man.

Many people think it’s because of his superpowers, but for me, it was always about Peter Parker, the man behind the mask. Peter Parker is a nerdy guy who loves science and makes inappropriate jokes all the time. He has this immense personal …

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