My first job as a “real” doctor was in 1991.
During one of those early days in my career, one of my coworkers — a woman who worked in reception — approached me for help. Even then, I could recognize a look of desperation. It reminded me of the look I saw in my sister when all she could do to lessen the pain she had suffered for so long was …
How technology is transforming medicine and making distance healing a reality
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“With the shift to value-based care models, it will be more important than ever to give clinicians a diagnostically focused view for each patient and each of their medical problems. Clinicians need these details instantly, without having …
Let’s focus more on caring, rather than coding [PODCAST]
Hospitality in health care refers to providing high-quality, compassionate care and support to patients, focusing on meeting their individual needs and preferences.
This can involve a variety of strategies, such as providing clear and accurate information to patients, involving them in decision-making about their care and offering support and resources to help them manage their health and well-being.
The goal of incorporating hospitality into health care is to improve the overall patient …
What can hospitals learn from luxury hotels?
An excerpt from Fifty Years a Doctor: The Journey of Sickness and Health, Four Plagues and the Pandemic.
Our favorite internist and chairman of the internal medicine department was lecturing us on sensitivity to patients’ suffering when they have a serious illness. He stressed that our sensitivity would increase as we …
The worst illness this physician ever had
Patient autonomy, one of the pillars of medical ethics, now shines brightest of the four pillars in modern medicine. While medical ethics was meant to take beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and autonomy in equal consideration, the balance is now offset by the digital age and an increasingly skeptical population that has hurdled American culture into striving for autonomy above all else.
Patients have begun to correct physicians on the standard of care …
Maternalism: a better approach to psychiatric care
A perfect storm is brewing in the U.S. health care system, and we must prepare to counter the rushing waves. America is facing a potentially catastrophic physician shortfall. All indicators point toward unprecedented times ahead. If I were an attorney, I would state my case something like this.
Exhibit A
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the United States is facing a projected shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 …
How you can thrive despite the looming physician shortage
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“My father’s struggle to exist as a father after getting married was evident. But at the same time, the birth of his children changed his world forever. His march towards success through hard work, unmatched anger, and …
Absent-Father Syndrome: Overcoming the trauma of a fatherless childhood [PODCAST]
Religious and spiritual experiences have shaped my worldview since I was a teenager. At age 13, I celebrated my bar mitzvah. Later that year, I underwent an appendectomy. A priest asked my mother if he could pray for me prior to the operation. My mother did not hesitate to accept the priest’s blessing. I learned at an early age that prayers for one’s well-being should be welcomed regardless of …
Understanding patients’ religious and spiritual beliefs promotes healing
Dealing with challenging patients can be difficult and stressful for doctors and health care professionals.
It can be helpful to remember that they can be difficult for a variety of reasons, such as pain, fear, confusion, or unmet expectations that were expressed or not — reasonable or not. To effectively handle challenging patients, a few key points must be kept in mind.
Remain calm and professional. This will help keep the situation …
How to deal with challenging patients
Pele, the famous Brazilian soccer star, reportedly stopped medical treatment for colon cancer. Media outlets stated he was receiving various iterations of comfort, hospice, and palliative care which were perceived as criminal and disrespectful. His daughter denied these allegations on Instagram.
How often are those with serious illnesses treated like criminals for wrongdoing?
When medical treatment is withdrawn or withheld, it seems the person has lost the battle or chose not …
Learn to earn end-of-life respect
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“Hospitals and health systems should bolster the skills of care teams through education to improve patient outcomes by minimizing variations in obstetric care and being equipped to prevent, identify, and address any possible maternal emergency. Our obstetrics …
How a positive staff helped an uncertain hospital stay [PODCAST]
As a pediatrician serving under-resourced families in Washington, D.C., I was glad to see health leaders converge for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Solutions to food insecurity and diet-related diseases are urgently needed to address the crisis of chronic disease, which afflicts six in 10 Americans.
One of the important issues discussed at the conference is the critical need for more education and training in nutrition …
There are 50,000 medical malpractice lawsuits filed per year. Each doctor has a 5 percent chance of being sued each year, and every doctor will be sued at least once in 20 years. 70 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits are non-meritorious and are dropped. These represent 35,000 frivolous lawsuits. Until now, there is no way to prevent a frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit.
America is a litigious society. The medical liability …
How to prevent a frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit
First, I want to extend my thoughts, wishes, and prayers to Damar Hamlin, his family, and his teammates. Seeing his collapse on television stirred many emotions in me; I can’t imagine what those who were on the field or in the stadium experienced.
As a pediatric emergency physician, I can tell you that anything related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is difficult. America got a real glimpse of the horrors of CPR …
I remember feeling like I was on an island, and any time I separated from her and put her down, I frantically looked around for her, daydreaming she was lost at sea.
When I was pregnant, everything was contained and controlled. Her womb gymnastics, even at night, were welcome interruptions to my sleep.
It was my first time breastfeeding, and even though I was a pediatrician, getting her to get a good …
My journey parenting with chronic depression as a physician mom
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“If patients had an accurate diagnosis and their physicians knew the root of their illness and could treat it effectively, then the medical care costs would go down. The effect on patients of being diagnosed years earlier …
Treating rare, multi-system illnesses [PODCAST]
Six years ago, I met a man who was 93 years old. I sat down to listen to him, something we physicians don’t do as often as we should in the long-term care setting.
“I want you to treat me like I’m 73,” he said,
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I don’t want to be denied treatment just because I am 93 years old. I want you to give me the same …
Breaking the silence: a doctor’s plea for clarity in end-of-life care
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on long-term care in Canada. During the first two waves in 2020, over 80 percent of all Canadian COVID-19 deaths happened in long-term care homes. While vaccination and policy changes have helped to reduce the number of deaths, long-term care homes are still experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks and severe staffing shortages.
The people who provide front-line care to our most vulnerable seniors in long-term care have experienced …
Care aides in long-term care were traumatized during COVID-19
Driving around, searching for children’s Tylenol and a pharmacy that had the antibiotics my son needed, was not how I wanted to spend the holidays. I am not alone – shelves are bare, and antibiotics are in short supply as we head into the new year in the midst of a triple threat of COVID-19, flu, and RSV.
While this drug shortage is incredibly frustrating, at least there is …
Timely treatment decisions: the promise of surrogate markers
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“In many ways, internet of things (IoT) is a double-edged sword: connected devices are capturing huge volumes and varieties of data that can be mined for everything from potentially life-saving health care information to guidance toward peak …
Why the internet of things (IoT) must pivot to achieve health care potential [PODCAST]
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