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From cancer survivor to thriving mind: a journey to true healing and purpose

Physician

March 5, 2023

“I own the world!” was my exact thought when my doctors entered my bone-marrow transplant unit and said I was cancer-free! That joyous moment lasted a few seconds because they immediately declared, “Be careful, you have a 30 percent chance of recurrence from the same cancer and X percent chance of XYZ …”

I don’t remember the entire conversation as I stopped listening. My body became numb, and I was pushed …

Wrongful prolongation of life: a growing concern in the health care system [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 4, 2023

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In this episode, we sit down with patient advocate Althea Halchuck to discuss the importance of advance directives in end-of-life care. We delve into the story of Dr. Gerald Greenberg, a New York dentist who was diagnosed …

The private health care debate in Canada: What’s the real issue?

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Policy

March 4, 2023

The growing role of private health care in Canada is a hot topic at the moment. Provincial governments are outsourcing elective surgeries to the private sector and are considering or debating the option.

Many Canadians are in favor because they recognize that the public health care system is failing. Many are against it because they fear it will increase inequalities in access to care for the most vulnerable populations, particularly …

Why physician-led health care leads to quality patient care

Peter Angood, MD

Physician

March 4, 2023

Excerpted from Physician Leadership: More Valuable Than Ever — A White Paper from the American Association for Physician Leadership.

Physician leadership is an essential element required to provide optimal patient-centered care. To succeed, health care must be quality-centered, safe, streamlined, measured, evidence-based, value-driven, innovative, fair, equitable, and physician-led.

The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) is focused on the personal transformation of all physicians, and through them, the organizations they serve. …

Retirement planning: Understanding sequence of returns risk

Jordan Bilodeau, CFP

Finance

March 4, 2023

Retirement planning should start at the onset of your professional career. Like many things in finance, the earlier, the better. Many residents and fellows can save into a retirement plan and receive matching contributions even during their training. Over the next 30-plus years as a medical provider, your investment returns will play a role in your preparedness for retirement, but returns are not the only important variable. You’ll also have …

Navigating gender identity confusion in a high-stress environment

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

March 4, 2023

As nurses in behavioral health, we were not well-versed in the field. After 33 years in ICU nursing, I left the unit expecting behavioral health to be an easier transition. However, the comparison between the two was like comparing apples to oranges. There was no real comparison between the two.

One day, we admitted a 33-year-old female patient who was constantly angry and had outbursts, hitting patients and staff members without …

Become your own health advocate: Navigating the doctor shortage [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 3, 2023

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In this episode, Ann M. Hester, a board-certified internal medicine physician, dives into the perfect storm brewing in the U.S. health care system and what we can do to prepare for it. The country is facing a …

Don’t hold your breath: Non-competes are unlikely to disappear for physicians

Aaron Morgenstein, MD

Physician

March 3, 2023

Physician non-compete clauses have been a controversial topic for many years. These clauses within contractual agreements prevent physicians from joining or operating a competing practice within a certain distance or timeframe. With the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) looking into non-compete clauses, many people have wondered whether the FTC will finally end physician non-compete clauses.

On January 5, 2023, the FTC proposed a new rule that would ban employers from imposing …

The power of a simple form: a doctor’s experiment in building trust with patients

Anonymous

Physician

March 3, 2023

While we appreciate the importance of trust, not all patients have the same windows of opportunity to establish it with their physicians. The nature of each specialty and the severity of the patient’s condition influence how quickly and deeply trust can be created and maintained. The STEMI patient will quickly learn to trust the interventional cardiologist, and the trauma victim, and the surgeon.

Not surprisingly, it’s very challenging for physicians …

Patients vs. customers: the ethics of health care as a business

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Physician

March 3, 2023

Medicine is both a business and a profession, with the business aspect being the provision of health care services for a fee and the professional aspect being the delivery of medical care for the patient’s benefit.

The business of medicine refers to the broader economic and political systems that shape the health care industry, such as government policies, insurance regulations, and the influence of pharmaceutical companies and other industry stakeholders.

The terms …

The hidden consequences of portal message fees

Eddie Fatakhov, MD, MBA

Physician

March 3, 2023

As the health care industry continues to evolve, many practices and hospitals have turned to electronic portals to communicate between patients and their providers. However, some practices have begun charging patients a fee for responding to messages sent through these portals. While this may seem like a viable solution for increasing revenue, it could ultimately have negative implications for the care of patients.

One major issue with charging patients for portal …

Navigating the complexities of academic medicine contracts [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 2, 2023

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Join us on this episode, where we welcome Dennis Hursh, a physician contract lawyer, to discuss the ins and outs of academic physician employment agreements. Dennis will share his expertise on the common pitfalls and what to …

From patient-centered care to paperwork-centered practice: the decline of primary care

Leslie Saltzman, MD

Physician

March 2, 2023

A lot has been written about physician burnout, often it is attributed to the administrative burden, with some estimates that U.S. physicians spend an average of 1.84 hours a day completing documentation outside work hours. I’ve felt for some time that the administrative burden in primary care is increasing, but not due to the commonly cited endless EHR clicks or the burden of insurance companies’ forms and prior authorizations. It’s …

Equalizing the future of medical residencies: standardizing work hours and wages

Deepak Gupta, MD and Sarwan Kumar, MD

Education

March 2, 2023

In the United States, work hours are traditionally recorded on a weekly basis, and salaries are paid every two weeks. However, full-time employees (FTEs) work for a full year and receive a W-2 annually. FTEs are usually hired based on an annual wage divided into 26 bi-weekly paychecks. Tracking weekly work hours can lead to inconsistencies in time recording, so it might be better for both employers and FTEs to …

Uncovering the overwhelming impact of the advanced maternal age patient on nursing

Donna Barnett, RN

Conditions

March 2, 2023

Imagine you have a busy full-time job. You get married at age 31. You and your new partner travel to Italy, Ireland, and Hawaii before settling with the kids. You both make pretty good money, so you buy a house. Of course, it needs furniture. And you have to have the new I-phone that just came out. You’re finally ready to get pregnant, but after two years, it hasn’t happened. …

Celebrate Banana Cream Pie Day with your friendly hospitalist

Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD & Shreekant Vasudhev, MD

Physician

March 2, 2023

I am smart, I swear.

I graduated near the top of my class in medical school, I swear.

I kicked butt on the Step exams, I swear.

But ask me to manage someone’s diabetes or hypertension; No, thank you!

Thank God for hospitalists, a set of remarkable physicians that allow me to do my job effectively. Without them, I would be lost. Would you really want me, an orthopedic surgeon, to manage complex medical …

A human’s a human, no matter how small

Michael McCutchen, MD, MBA

Conditions

March 2, 2023

Theodore Geisel, known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, wrote hundreds of children’s stories that continue to shape young children’s development to this day. Dr. Seuss was a lifelong Democrat and favored many of FDR’s New Deal policies. However, an NPR article notes his widow mentioned that she did not like it when his characters were used to push particular political points of view. The book …

Read more…

A human’s a human, no matter how small

TikTok takeover: How social media consumed my life [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 1, 2023

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

Join us on this episode, where we welcome Brian Boxer Wachler, an ophthalmologist and author of Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception. During the COVID shutdowns, Brian had a lot of extra time on …

The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

Helen Kim, MD

Policy

March 1, 2023

I may have less direct patient interaction as a radiologist than in other medical specialties. Still, I have a unique vantage point from which to observe the overall picture of the hospital. I see the prevalence of diseases affecting our patients and their demographics. While working at a children’s hospital in the Pacific Northwest, I have repeatedly witnessed the devastating effects of wildfires over the past few summers, interpreting and …

Retiring from medicine: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Janet Tamaren, MD

Physician

March 1, 2023

I retired as a physician at age 70, when COVID-19 came to town and the clinic I was working closed. During these past three years, I have had the luxury of a long view of my career. Every now and then, I feel the urge to pick up my stethoscope again and return to the practice of medicine. I’m tempted by the several good aspects of being a doctor.

The good

The conversations …

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