More than 40 percent of U.S. women live with obesity, yet about 3 percent of individuals eligible for treatment actually receive evidence-based medical care. The reasons for this gap are numerous: limited insurance coverage, lack of diagnosis, sociodemographic barriers, and deep-seated stigma. As a result, a condition that is both preventable and treatable continues to fuel a growing public health crisis for women.
Once viewed as only a lifestyle issue, we …
When Americans decide something is right, political inertia does not prevent us from acting, and now is the time for health care. Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 60 percent of Americans had employer-sponsored coverage, 20 percent relied on public programs, and the remaining 20 percent had to obtain insurance on their own, a difficult task because the individual market was unsustainable. But the ACA stabilized these issues by expanding …
There are pauses in life
that stretch like thin threads
between two cliffs
fragile, invisible,
yet holding everything that matters.
In those long silences
when the air thickens
and the mind becomes
a loud companion,
I wonder
are these pauses gifts of grace,
spaces to gather courage,
a chance to map the next step forward?
Or are they doorways through which
fear seeps in
and takes its seat inside my chest?
The world rushes on, demanding answers
before the question
has even settled in my heart,
results before thinking,
certainties …
I once promised myself confidently, and with the full arrogance of a seasoned attending, that I would never sleep another night in a hospital. I’d done my time. I’d earned my daylight. But life has a way of calling your bluff. A few years later, everything had shifted. I was divorced. My kids were older and more independent. My clinical career had settled into something comfortable, but predictable. I found …
As innovations and changes develop in the police field, new areas and populations, including PwP, must be included. More than 1 million cases of Parkinson’s disease are predicted in the U.S. by 2030. PD is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world. According to the World Health Organization, “globally, disability due to PD is rapidly increasing,” which can precipitate more encounters between law enforcement and PwP worldwide. The current article …
I work with many aspiring clinicians from rural communities, and their stories tend to follow the same pattern: deep commitment, strong community roots, and a determination to return home and practice primary care. These are the students who keep rural towns alive.
Lately, many are telling me something I have never heard at this scale: “I don’t think I’ll be able to afford to become a clinician.”
This isn’t about unrealistic expectations. …
Most know me for my insights about medical malpractice litigation. However, ever since the 2000s, my practice has focused on medical weight loss management, and I have developed other insights. I developed these insights as a private practitioner, as an employee of a medical weight loss clinic, which may have gone out of business because it no longer has a public persona, and as a general contractor for a weight …
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Health care executive Ronke Lawal discusses her article, “Digital mental health’s $20 billion blind spot.” Ronke explains how the booming digital mental health industry is systematically failing 40 percent of the U.S. …
I learned about leadership from my father as a child. My father enlisted in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and went through basic training. He was a “slick sleeve,” no rank insignia on his shirt sleeve as an Airman Basic. It took him the bare minimum of time, five years, to be promoted to technical sergeant because of his skills in electronics. The USAF selected him for Officers Training School. …
In our diverse world, where everyone sees things through their own lens, shaped by life experiences, beliefs, and facts, chasing after one absolute “truth” often sparks arguments instead of solutions. But what if we aimed for something better: a “shared truth”? This is about coming together, respecting each other’s opinions, and teaming up to find common ground that works for everyone. It’s like turning a debate into a friendly conversation, …
What is the significance of World AIDS Day?
While pondering this question, many memories came flooding back. As a medical student in 1985, I was given the option to go into the room of a patient with pneumonia who was infected …
Most discussions about cannabis stay on the surface: legality, crime, or medical claims. But the core question is this: What suffering does a society allow? After watching a recent documentary with police, lawyers, physicians, and families, I found cannabis is the stage. The real drama is the system behind it. When ethics is pushed far, inconsistencies become impossible to ignore.
1. Legal ethics: When the law punishes pain instead of harm
Some …
You just saved a patient an emergency room visit with a three-minute portal message. You reviewed their connected blood pressure cuff data, saw a concerning trend, and tweaked their medication. It was efficient, high-quality, proactive care.
Your reward? Zero dollars.
Worse than that, your contribution was invisible. It didn’t count toward your productivity. It didn’t show up on a dashboard. In the eyes of our current health care system, that high-value interaction …
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As a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner (MSCP), I strongly support the recent FDA decision to remove the boxed warnings from FDA-approved estrogen therapies. For decades, these warnings created unnecessary fear and confusion for women and clinicians alike. They were based on early interpretations of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) that we now understand were overstated, misapplied, and widely misinterpreted.
The new FDA stance aligns with The Menopause Society guidelines and what …
The medical profession has gone through major changes from the days-past to present days. The transition from quackery to science, and from role assuming or inheriting to regulated graduate and postgraduate education.
The changes took place over centuries, but the most notable evolution in medical knowledge and training took place in the last couple of centuries and continues to evolve. Evolves may be used to describe positive as well as negative …
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Fertility specialist Oluyemisi (Yemi) Famuyiwa discusses her article, “How timing affects chemical exposure risks.” Yemi introduces her fascinating concept of “chrono-exposomics,” explaining how the time of day you are exposed to environmental …
Busy physicians are moving so quickly we almost never stop long enough to acknowledge the subtle ways medicine reshapes us. But every physician I’ve ever coached, including myself, can name a moment when they didn’t quite feel like themselves. Maybe it was:
For decades, I practiced medicine as a dermatologist and dermatopathologist, serving patients and teaching medical students at UC Irvine. I believed I could recognize addiction when I saw it. I was always alert for signs, such as the patient whose story didn’t quite match the evidence, or whose habits hinted at something deeper.
When alcohol came up in conversation, I learned early to quietly double whatever amount the patient reported; experience …
“Explain a time you faced vaccine hesitancy and how you handled it.” As a fourth-year medical student applying for pediatric residency, this question came up often in interviews. It is an experience that almost every medical professional has encountered, even early in training. The first story that came to mind was from my newborn nursery rotation during my third year of medical school.
I met a first-time mother who had just …
A cesarean section, or C-section, is one of the most common surgeries in the United States. In 2023, 32.3 percent of live births were cesarean deliveries, while 67.7 percent were vaginal deliveries, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Pain during cesarean delivery under neuraxial anesthesia (regional anesthesia including spinal and epidural anesthesia) is a recognized clinical challenge and one that has received growing national attention. Recent media …
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