KevinMD.com

The visionary pediatrician may soon be an endangered species

Physician

May 21, 2022

If I were writing a book about what it’s like to be a visionary pediatrician speaking up for children’s health, I would title it, The Hate We Get.

A few months ago, I received a death threat comment on a TikTok video I posted advocating for COVID vaccines.

My college-aged daughter called me, “Mom, I saw your TikTok video. That’s so scary. I’m so sorry.”

“I expected it. I’ve had worse.”

I did a …

A physician’s story of dissociative identity disorder [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 20, 2022

“I had no recollection of this, but as I processed what Yael said, my response was the opposite of what one might expect—I felt tremendous relief! I was happy. My pain had a name and hopefully that meant that I could get well. I was a doctor, and I knew well …

Automatic refill and 90-day fill programs don’t improve medication adherence

Tony Willoughby, PharmD

Meds

May 20, 2022

Health care has fooled us into believing a number of myths that—taken at face value—sound logical and true. Here’s one of the most pervasive and dangerous myths: Pharmacy’s value comes from convenience and access. And here’s another one: 90-day fills, and automatic refills on prescriptions improve medication adherence and patient health.

It’s not surprising that people might champion the efficacy of these tactics. It feels easier to get 90 days of …

Factors to weigh when choosing substance use disorder treatment

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

May 20, 2022

During the pandemic, the already significant number of people living with substance use disorder increased. According to data gathered by the CDC, in June 2020, 13 percent of Americans surveyed said they had started using substances (not including alcohol and tobacco) or increased their use in response to the stress of the pandemic.

The number of people who died as a result of an overdose …

3 misperceptions and myths about food allergies

Kara Wada, MD

Conditions

May 20, 2022

Recently, singer and musician Halsey shared her recent allergy testing results on TikTok along with the news of her recent diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and Sjogren’s Disease. Pictured were the telltale red welts we inflict day in and day out in allergy clinic with our scratch tests and a long list of foods to which she was possibly allergic.

Halsey has a history of being …

Infertility treatment’s hidden costs [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 19, 2022

“Looking to the future, since I only froze one embryo and my ovary reserve is diminishing, we are hoping to go through another infertility treatment cycle. Although, once again, the medications are once again being denied.

Infertility is just like any other mental or physical health condition and should be fully covered, …

The journey to diagnosing a mysterious illness

Linda Bluestein, MD and Lauren Vasko

Conditions

May 19, 2022

As a clinician, you likely do not have the luxury of playing “Dr. House.” Patients enter your exam room, long story in hand, with a litany of mysterious symptoms involving every bodily system, and you were already massively overbooked. Your patient leaves the encounter no closer to answers despite your best attempts which involved you spending far more time on their assessment than your crazy office schedule allows.

Your staff becomes …

Shame can no longer be accepted as a rite of passage in medicine

Ni-Cheng Liang, MD and Dr. Patricia Lück

Physician

May 19, 2022

“Then why did this patient come to the hospital? You haven’t done anything to help this patient,” the attending physician said angrily during our morning rounds, upset that the patient had not met their urination output goals during treatment for heart failure exacerbation.

A hot flush crept up my face. Tightness clenching my chest and stomach. What was this feeling I felt? Shame. The entire team attended morning rounds — the …

How AI-based technology can help improve hospital capacity management

Pallabi Sanyal-Dey, MD

Tech

May 19, 2022

The events of the past two years have irrevocably shifted hospital capacity management practices. From new COVID-19 variants and unpredictable surges to downstream impacts like delayed procedures and the great reshuffling and resignation of hospital staff, hospitals have never been more critical to adopt solutions that optimally manage their capacity.

Still, too often in the inpatient space, nursing managers and directors are forced to rely on manual data, intuition, and past …

Make technology work for doctors [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 18, 2022

“I know many physicians are already maxed out. Technology can make that worse. As soon as you introduce what will be perceived as new obstacles to moving from A to Z, all they’re going to think is, “I can’t do what I need to do. I’m exhausted and I’m behind. And …

It is time to end the stigma of mental health. Let us all talk about it.

Mary Leung, MD

Physician

May 18, 2022

The first time I heard the song “Truth Be Told” by Matthew West, tears welled up, and I cried. I was driving home after a long day at the clinic. The song resonated with me in more ways than I could soak in.

Lie number one: You’re supposed to have it all together
And when they ask how you’re doing, just smile and tell them, “Never better” …

I had this mental construct …

Why clinician buy-in is key to digital health transformation

Joshua Liu, MD

Tech

May 18, 2022

It was a summer day seven years ago. We had closed our first U.S. hospital customer for my digital health company, which enables health systems to deliver digital care journeys for patients (e.g., surgery, oncology, chronic care, etc.).

I was ecstatic! Unfortunately, our excitement was short-lived.

We “implemented” our solution, but patient enrollment was going poorly. When we went on-site to investigate, we learned that surgeons were pushing back against patients getting …

Anesthesiologists are kind of like Marvel superheroes

Zach Antonov, MD

Physician

May 18, 2022

An excerpt from I Watch You Sleep: A Doctor’s Tales of Anesthesia and Chain Restaurants.

Medicine on television is often inaccurate. As a physician, it bugs me to see my field misrepresented. It is even rarer to see anesthesiology represented at all on TV. I’m sure lawyers scream …

Only patients can save U.S. health care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 17, 2022

“Having a physician partner who knows us well, who we can trust, and whose judgment we value exponentially increases the odds of accurately making the distinction between self-limited illness versus a significant disease process. This will also assist us in navigating the health care system such that we receive only that …

You have the right to boundaries

Victoria Silas, MD

Physician

May 17, 2022

World events have me thinking about boundaries. Countries have boundaries. Often they are based on the land’s physical features, but not always. Boundaries are created over time and may need to change for various reasons. So too with our personal human boundaries.

When we speak of personal boundaries, we can mean the physical boundaries of our skin. Or we may mean the psychological or social boundaries that we live with and …

Read more…

You have the right to boundaries

Why I help physicians write

Jack El-Hai

Conditions

May 17, 2022

Several years ago, I stood before an audience at a neurosurgical conference to discuss my book The Lobotomist, a biography of Walter Freeman, MD, an advocate and promoter of the controversial treatment of lobotomy.

I gave my talk, and it went well. I am not a physician — I’m a journalist and biographer who often writes about medicine, and I feel comfortable speaking at medical conferences, grand rounds sessions and medical …

Read more…

Why I help physicians write

The J-1 work exemption: a flawed solution to the physician shortage

Gregory Tan

Policy

May 17, 2022

A few years ago, my rural town expected the addition of a “J-1,” or foreign, physician. This addition was meant to alleviate the work of my father, who had been the only neurologist at our underserved hospital for the past few years. And yet, with this J-1’s arrival, my father and his office soon found themselves struggling with more work than ever before.

As many rural physicians can attest, this behavior …

Women’s mental health in an America without Roe

Susan Hatters Friedman, MD, Nina Ross, MD, Jacqueline Landess, MD, JD, and Aimee Kaempf, MD

Policy

May 17, 2022

The leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has produced mixed emotions, including amongst health care providers. If the Supreme Court does indeed strike down the rights afforded women in Roe v. Wade almost 50 years ago, it is expected that many if not most states will ban abortions outright or significantly limit women’s access to abortions. If this occurs, as physicians, we should have …

Are my coping skills a result of my emergency medicine training? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 16, 2022

“We’re encouraged to mentally rehearse life-saving procedures for conditions that occur so rarely we might go our entire career without performing them. And the reality is that I could spend every minute of my free time this way and still have an unexpected situation arise during my next shift. So, is …

3 solutions to combat rising drug overdoses during COVID-19

Anita Gupta, DO, PharmD

Physician

May 16, 2022

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.

Recent data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has shown a sharp increase in drug-related overdoses attributed to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, deepening the tragedies of the already challenged opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic.

Unraveling the snowball effect of these public health …

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts