No wonder patients detest our health care system, and doctors are leaving medicine in droves

Physician
April 4, 2021

My patient is a brilliant, 30-something-year-old highly educated woman with type 1 diabetes. I’ve known her for many years, since she was a teenager.  She is sweet and fun, even though she can be fierce and fiery at times. She has type 1 diabetes.

She has been living with this life-altering, life-threatening disease for many years. Even as a child, she always took charge of her life and consistently maintained her …

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An unexpected COVID-19 vaccine side effect [PODCAST]

Podcast
April 3, 2021
YouTube video

“Just a few seconds after the needle penetrated my arm, I felt a mild soreness, kind of like a flu shot. But as I sat for the required 15 minutes of observation time, a wave of something engulfed my body. It was such a strange, unfamiliar sensation that I didn’t realize what …

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We need to broaden the definition of what “counts” in careers [PODCAST]

Podcast
April 2, 2021
YouTube video

“Many colleagues in medicine already talk about medicine never going back to its state pre-COVID-19 – be it telehealth for patients, new flexibility to work/life scheduling, or a new acceptance of telecommuting outside of direct patient care. There has been too much suffering as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and …

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Malpractice claims from the COVID-19 pandemic: more questions than answers

Policy
April 2, 2021

The Doctors Company

The pandemic has raised pressing questions around preventive measures, vaccines, and safe treatment, but it has also obscured one key lingering uncertainty for medical professionals: Where are all the medical malpractice claims?

A variety of factors create a cloud of uncertainty around when, if ever, we will see the claims we expected from the care provided just before the pandemic, …

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The impact of COVID-19 on health conditions

Conditions
April 2, 2021

For the past year, we have been inundated with statistics about the impact of COVID-19 on our lives. Reports of daily case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths are so pervasive that they have become routine fodder for  “water cooler”  and dinner table conversations. Several early studies, looking at the pandemic’s secondary health implications, give us an inkling of just how broad and deep its impact has been.

Mental health

Perhaps the most visible …

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Keep insulting doctors, and good luck finding a physician [PODCAST]

Podcast
April 1, 2021
YouTube video

“The tragedy that’s happening in medicine today is that the loss of respect and the constant threats to fair payment are making physicians regret that they ever chose medicine. They were fascinated with science and wanted to help people, and their reward is insult.

It’s no wonder that some newly trained physicians …

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Cannabis card-mills have conflicts of interest

Physician
April 1, 2021

Two weeks ago, my piece, “Cannabinoids are medicine, but patients aren’t getting the care they need,” was published. Since that time, I’ve heard from quite a few physicians who admitted that they did not know card-mills existed or, if they did, how they were different from Cannabis Specialist Physicians. From their collective perspective, pot was pot. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to …

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Physicians of color need student loan forgiveness

Physician
April 1, 2021

I urge the president to use executive action to cancel student debt. As president, he can take immediate action on student debt which would be a lifeline for students, parents, and their families.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a health crisis like we have never seen before. Adding the heavy burden of student debt is a recipe for disaster for millions of families. Student debt cancellation would provide much-needed relief during the …

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Self-care is the Rx we were never taught to write [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 31, 2021
YouTube video

“This is our call to action. I have the experience, knowledge, expertise, and deep passion for teaching every medical student these skills. I cannot do it alone. I need you. We need to do this together. I am seeking those of you who are caring, innovative clear thinkers involved in medical …

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A physician’s response to anti-Asian racism

Physician
March 31, 2021

“Wait, are you Chinese? I don’t want to get COVID.”

First of all, I am Vietnamese, and second, not all Asians look alike. And third, what? Those were the thoughts going through my head while working at the San Carlos Respiratory Clinic in April 2020. Initially shivering from the cold weather underneath my scrubs and PPE, I could now feel my body hot with anger as I listened to a patient’s …

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Cost segregation: an underutilized strategy for physicians who own real estate

Finance
March 31, 2021

A gastroenterologist client of mine in Florida is very business savvy. From the beginning of our 12-year relationship, we planned to include real estate as part of his overall diversified portfolio alongside the equity investments in his retirement account.

Slowly but surely, with the savings leftover after deferring the maximum amount he could into retirement plans, he built up portfolios of real estate for income purposes that included buying an office …

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Why your friend should never be your doctor

Physician
March 31, 2021

A few years ago, a close friend of mine met a guy who knocked her off her feet. It had been a while since she’d met anyone whom she really liked and she was deliriously happy, so much so that we didn’t see her for two months.

By the time we did, she’d become both a rabid soccer fan and French bulldog lover, neither of which she’d been eight weeks prior. …

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When it comes to medicine, what kind of practice makes perfect?

Physician
March 31, 2021

The old saying that says “practice makes perfect” is a basic rule taught to every resident starting their training. The follow-up questions that pose themselves: Is it true? How much time does it need to become perfect? What type of practice?

Time was answered partially by the journalist Malcolm Gladwell and his famous 10,000 hours rule; if one dedicates 10,000 hours for a skill, one will become an expert. If you …

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Why socialized health care is not right for America [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 30, 2021
YouTube video

“We need full transparency and empowerment of patients and doctors to make wise decisions. We must renew and restore the sanctity of the patient-doctor relationship. We need to stop pretending that health care can be ‘free,’ stop calling premium price prepaid care ‘insurance,’ and use market forces like choice and competition …

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An ode to econ: the best major for a would-be MD

Education
March 30, 2021

As an economics major entering med school, I was intimidated by a sea of classmates who had a deeper understanding of s-enantiomers than me. Once I hunkered down through first-semester biochemistry, the practical tools developed in an economics program have brought dividends throughout the rest of my career. Since it’s about time for another crop of frosh and sophomores to start thinking about their futures, here are a few points …

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How to protect your resilience [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 29, 2021
YouTube video

“Health care delivery will always be inherently unpredictable and challenging. Those drawn to medicine are among our most resilient, but the current landscape reveals acutely a rise in burnout that exceeded acceptable levels even before the COVID-19 outbreak. Such innate resilience in clinicians and clinical care teams is an individual and strategic …

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You don’t have to drown in the paperwork [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 28, 2021
YouTube video

“This is not what I signed up for.

Have you ever said this when you are rushing home 1.5 hours after the last patient left and you still haven’t finished all your charting? You grab a handful of forms to take home with you with the hopeful expectation that you will get them …

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