Why patients refuse the COVID-19 vaccination

Physician
December 13, 2021

The U.S. is progressively falling behind other countries when rated on the percent of the population that is vaccinated against COVID-19.

I ask all my patients if they are vaccinated against COVID-19 and estimate that 80 percent are vaccinated. The unvaccinated can be unscientifically categorized into three groups, highlighting three real but anonymous patients.

Politically indifferent, medically uneducated, under peer pressure

The first patient is in their 5th decade of …

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VIP medicine: Where patients get bad medical care

Physician
December 13, 2021

Let’s take a pediatrics patient as an example. She has a rare genetic disorder, heart problems, is G-tube dependent, and home-bound. The child is also on countless medications and requires 24-hour nursing. The family is rich and pays 100 percent of the child’s medical care.

Parents want what’s best for their children, right? I mean, their child’s care is 100 percent …

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A satirical letter to radiologists from a jilted orthopedic surgeon [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 12, 2021
YouTube video

“We orthopedic surgeons are disappointed with the growing lack of enthusiasm in your reports. When I began in practice almost 15 years ago, it wasn’t unusual to see a report of a post-reduction or post-surgical X-ray that read, ‘alignment is now anatomic’ or, at a minimum, ‘near anatomic.’

What happened? What …

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3 ways to reawaken nurse purpose in the era of burnout

Conditions
December 12, 2021

In September, the American Nurses Association asked the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the national nursing shortage as a national crisis. At the same time, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses found 66 percent of ICU nurses were considering leaving the profession. Talk to any hospital, and you’ll hear of high turnover and struggles to fill shifts. So far, the …

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Backdoor Roth conversions may be going away: What this means for physicians

Finance
December 12, 2021

Even though their incomes often exceed the phaseout threshold for funding Roth IRAs, physicians have been utilizing loopholes in the tax code to fund Roth IRAs for the past decade or more. Converting IRA funds to Roth IRA funds allows a taxpayer to change a tax-deferred IRA to a tax-free Roth IRA. In doing so, the taxpayer must pay taxes on the balance of the account that is …

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Is Descovy really the better option?

Meds
December 12, 2021

When the FDA approved Gilead’s Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil) for HIV PrEP in 2012, it was a revolutionary step forward. The drug was safe and up to 99 percent effective in preventing HIV infection in at-risk individuals.

Then in 2019, Gilead received FDA approval for a second drug for PrEP called Descovy (emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide), with equivalent efficacy to Truvada. Recent research has shown that by the end of 2020, …

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“Take it or leave it” is not negotiation but coercion [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 11, 2021
YouTube video

“Physicians can exert their influence in a health care environment to put the patient-physician relationship at the center of the enterprise. Working with middle-market employers (between 200-2,000 employees), some companies pair bold doctors with innovative employers to bring exceptional value to employee health benefits. There are no pre-authorizations for …

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Fund this: Policies can fill medical funding gaps for all

Policy
December 11, 2021

Ellen DeGeneres is ending her popular TV talk show next year after 19 seasons. The need for the type of celebrity and crowdsourcing donations she is known for to assuage an individual’s health care needs to end as well.

This accepted norm is gaslighting at its finest.

As a fan of The Ellen Show, I don’t feel warm and fuzzy after seeing a patient facing cancer with a large medical bill moved to tears …

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Tired of the dying: Finding parallels in COVID-19 and HIV

Conditions
December 11, 2021

Recently, while visiting with a colleague in our doctor’s lounge, I blurted out, “I’m tired of the dying.” He looked at me quizzically, “But you’re the hospice doctor.” True, death comes with my work, but the recent volume of and the loss of younger patients have been especially difficult. It reminds me of an earlier time we faced a new virus.

As we endure this pandemic well into its second year, …

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Create a new medical reality

Physician
December 11, 2021

I am an avid medical blogger. Without a doubt, the most common theme I’ve encountered during the past several years is embodied in the following op-ed: “We must help physicians at the brink of burnout, depression, and high stress,” followed by: “Health care has crossed into a realm of moral injury and systemic collapse.”

I tackled the second essay first. I wrote a no-holds-barred response …

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Change is critical to fulfilling our calling

Physician
December 10, 2021

July 2, 1973, is a day etched forever in my mind. A day I remember as if it happened yesterday even though 47 years have passed. A day I thought would never come and then, when it did, would never end. It was the day I entered West Point as a 17-year-old kid with big dreams to “become an Airborne, Ranger, Infantryman and lead men in combat.” That was my …

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Wear your mask to protect your family

Conditions
December 10, 2021

Below is a story a patient shared with me about how he went from being against mask-wearing to wearing one every day.

***

Last year, my mom died from stage 4 lung cancer. Before she passed, she received her transplant at this hospital, but it was too late for her.

Now, I am fighting cancer. Lymphoma. Stage 2 verging on Stage 3.

Before my diagnosis last summer, I never wore a mask. I walked …

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An obstetrician recommends midwifery care [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 9, 2021
YouTube video

“By denigrating midwifery care, pathologizing the natural process of birth, and instilling fear of complications and pain, doctors persuaded women to give birth at the hospital under their care. By touting the benefits of anesthesia, forceps delivery, episiotomy and promoting in-hospital birth, doctors and hospitals were able to capitalize …

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Innovation in a rural gastroenterology practice using a farm

Physician
December 9, 2021

The cost of health care in the United States continues to rise, totaling over $3.8 trillion per year.  Gastrointestinal diseases contribute significantly to health care costs and were recently estimated to be $135.9 billion annually. Innovation in gastroenterology has traditionally focused on expensive pharmaceuticals, devices, and new procedures.  Many of the conditions and …

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How the residency application process has changed forever [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 8, 2021
YouTube video

“The collective resiliency of the medical education community shone through the challenges of the past year. In medicine, physicians must adapt to all situations, and GME is no exception. Even in a pandemic, everyone adjusted as needed. Program coordinators and faculty were flexible and creative, while applicants remained passionate and …

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The American public deserves more COVID-19 vaccine options

Conditions
December 8, 2021

Covaxin, an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and the only vaccine to have been proven effective against all variants including the Delta variant in a Phase III clinical study, deserves to be tested in clinical trials in the U.S. for potential CDC/FDA approval for use in the U.S.

As we are about to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the vaccine rollout against COVID-19, we would do well to remember that despite the progress …

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