Something very distinctive happens once students complete medical school and residency: some of them start acting like excrement. Not all, but enough that most of us have witnessed the transformation. Maybe you’ve noticed it in your mentees, or in the children of friends and colleagues who went into medicine. Maybe, uncomfortably, you’ve wondered if it happened to your own children. And, if you’re like me, reflecting at the tail end …
The U.S. has the lowest health care quality ranking compared to other high-income countries. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the U.S. spent approximately $4.9 trillion on health care in 2023. This means that almost one out of every five dollars spent in the U.S. goes towards health services. Despite this high spending, the U.S. consistently has a lower life expectancy compared …
Just over 40 days into the longest government shutdown in American history, the rope snapped. The enhanced premium tax credits that kept 22 million Americans insured will expire on December 31, 2025. Premiums are soaring, protections are vanishing, and the safety net is unraveling. Americans are already reeling from gutted SNAP benefits. Now they’re losing health care coverage too. The Congress has made it clear that the most vulnerable are …
This morning, I woke up to a message from a friend that he had seen on social media a colleague he went to university with had, a few days ago, died by suicide. Last week, I had an email in my inbox from a young doctor in a training program informing me four of their trainee colleagues in the last 24 months have died by suicide. The week before, my …
A few months ago, I received a call from a frustrated surgeon.
It wasn’t about a malpractice claim; he was covered there. The problem was that his teenage son had totaled the family car. Nobody was seriously hurt, thankfully, but the other driver’s attorney was already sniffing around his assets. He told me, “Clint, this can’t touch my house or savings, right? I have medical malpractice insurance.”
That’s when I had to …
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Psychiatrist, internist, and addiction medicine specialist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, “How insulin resistance may cause Alzheimer’s disease.” Muhamad introduces the paradigm-shifting concept of Alzheimer’s as “Type 3 diabetes,” arguing that …
This article is sponsored by MagMutual.
Every physician has experienced it. You follow the evidence, make informed decisions, and communicate clearly, yet an unexpected outcome still occurs. These events often arise not only from clinical complexity but also from communication lapses, documentation gaps, or system failures. Together, they underscore a simple reality: Excellent medicine requires more than clinical expertise. It also …
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. …
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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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