The rise of targeted therapies: the era of the patient-focused approach  

Meds
November 12, 2021

There is an urgent need for innovation in cancer treatments. Although we’ve seen significant progress in indications for drugs treating particular diseases, cancer research data shows that 10-year survival statistics for cancers such as esophageal and lung cancer, for instance, have shown only a 10 percent increase, while pancreatic cancer has shown no significant improvement since the 1970s. The implementation of targeted therapies in cancer treatment is an …

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Pamela Wible, MD on physician suicide and medicine’s culture of betrayal [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 11, 2021
YouTube video

“When the medical profession—a career you have pursued for years, a career you love and trust to do no harm does something to shatter the foundations of your sense of trust and worldview, the resulting trauma can be severe resulting in loss of sense of self and life-altering betrayal …

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What you don’t know about pain will hurt you

Conditions
November 11, 2021

Chronic pain is an epidemic, currently affecting over 100 million American adults – more than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. This doesn’t include children, 1 in 3 of whom live with a chronic pain condition ranging from migraine to chronic stomachaches. Chronic pain disrupts life, impeding the ability to work, exercise, have sex, engage in hobbies, even go outside. It’s the number one cause of long-term disability in the …

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Stress: Is it time to expose the alcohol con?

Conditions
November 10, 2021

If you find yourself reaching for a bottle or sighing with relief at a well-deserved glass of wine at the end of a stressful day, then you are not alone.

Far more people than you can imagine do the same thing, and many of them feel ashamed that they do.

Those same people are often baffled to learn that alcohol causes the very feeling that they are drinking to alleviate. Most busy …

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Direct primary care is an answer to volume-based insurance reimbursement models

Policy
November 10, 2021

An excerpt from Medical Answers Now!: How Direct Primary Care Guarantees Fast Access to Your Doctor.

Health care costs are out of control and volume-based insurance reimbursement models are felt to be contributing to the problem. Medicare and most major private medical insurance carriers have begun testing and transitioning to reimbursement models that pay for health care services based on the …

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How this physician built a direct specialty care practice [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 9, 2021
YouTube video

“I am here to testify that it is possible, and I am not alone in this specialist direct care market. There are other specialists’ practices like mine, hidden gems for patient care. During my journey, I learned specialists are thriving to remove the “middlemen” and reconnect with patients. Patients …

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But my children are not vaccinated

Physician
November 9, 2021

Go to the store, support small businesses … But my children are not vaccinated.
Go out to eat; buy local … But my children are not vaccinated.
Go back to work; go travel… But my children are not vaccinated.
Come celebrate, please enjoy … But my children are not vaccinated.

Kids need people; they need play … But my children are not vaccinated.
Kids need sports and activities … But my children are not vaccinated.
Kids …

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To Aaron Rodgers, from a physician and Packers fan

Physician
November 9, 2021

I’m a doctor passionate about public health and public policy born and raised in Wisconsin and educated at the Medical College of Wisconsin (the same institute that bestowed Mr. Rodgers an honorary degree in 2018). I’m also a Packers shareholder, as is my father, a practicing physician in the state. I cheered you on for your 2011 Super Bowl win from my college dorm freshman year and even had an …

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A physician’s tribute to nurses [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 8, 2021
YouTube video

“At the hospital, the nurse is the one who is at the patient’s bedside around the clock. When the patient has to go to the bathroom or needs help to sit up in a chair, he or she calls the nurse. The nurse is the one who is changing the …

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We’re not OK, but we know you are

Conditions
November 8, 2021

The day just felt weird.

I had this feeling of impending doom over me that morning as I sat in bed studying, waiting to get dressed for afternoon clinic.

Once I got there, I was cramping, and I knew things were not OK.

It was so intense throughout that afternoon that I would bend over while seeing patients or collapse into a chair out of necessity.

I went to the bathroom between patients to …

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Don’t let the holidays sabotage your weight loss goals

Physician
November 8, 2021

The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and it is not uncommon for us to gain up to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day. But what if we do not want to put on some insulation? What can we do? I specialize in medical weight loss, and my first recommendation would simply be to be aware of the food around us and recognize that seeing food in itself can be …

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Getting messy in the game of health care [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 7, 2021
YouTube video

“Many patients, doctors, nurses, and health care administrators appear to have a seat on the blimp with little concept of how the game has evolved over the years and is being played now. They may have attended the game in the past, but they likely haven’t seen the action …

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How I learned to let go of perfectionism: a lesson from my mother’s suicide

Physician
November 7, 2021

My mother died 18 years ago today. It has probably taken me that long to be able to talk about it because, as survivors of suicide, our culture teaches us to live in shame.

However, as I grow older, I have learned to let go of that shame. If you mention your experience with suicide to others, you will usually always find that they were affected by a similar loss in …

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My biggest blind spot is me

Physician
November 7, 2021

I tend to size people up pretty quickly. Adult ADHD? I can diagnose it in about two minutes. Borderline personality disorder? About one minute. Bad actors on the Dr. Phil show? About 30 seconds (with the benefit of Dr. Phil’s preamble). I can’t help it. I attribute my habit of analyzing people to my training and practice in psychiatry. After a 40-year career in medicine, I can no longer delineate …

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A Black physician’s perfectionism [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 6, 2021
YouTube video

I did not realize I was a perfectionist. I was far from perfect. It was not until I listened to a master class on perfectionism from a physician coach that I had my “aha moment.” I am now working extremely hard on training my brain to be an imperfectionist. To …

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The unsung heroes: respiratory therapists

Conditions
November 6, 2021

Working day after day, year after year, in a busy high acuity ICU, we all have become a “second family.”

The public doesn’t hear much about respiratory therapists, especially during this COVID nightmare. But they have been the unsung heroes.

So who are the respiratory therapists, and what do they do?

Respiratory therapists are specialized health care professionals trained in critical care and cardio-pulmonary medicine. They work therapeutically with people suffering from acute …

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The toxic doctor-insurer relationship

Physician
November 6, 2021

My introduction to health insurance companies was very abrupt and simple.

I received my medical training in the U.S. Navy and served three years after that. Then, I was finally discharged. I had treated thousands of patients as a Navy doctor, but I had never charged one, nor did I even know how to charge for services.

My partner in the civilian practice I joined made the transition easy: “Sign this contract …

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Mitigating risks from care during COVID-19 [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 5, 2021
YouTube video

“We have observed that delays in screenings and intervention for patients with certain common chronic conditions can contribute to claims. Now, clinicians have the opportunity to identify patients whose conditions merit priority contact, such as those with cardiac conditions, those on blood pressure medication, or those with diabetes, and …

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