I recently wrote a letter to the Davidson County, TN judge who will sentence RaDonda Vaught, a former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse convicted on two felony counts in the 2017 death of a patient. RaDonda faces up to 12 years in prison for her role in a complex chain of events that led to the death of Charlene Murphey. I shared my belief that incarcerating Ms. Vaught will not …
Why a nurse should not go to jail
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 …
The visionary pediatrician may soon be an endangered species
“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 …
A physician’s story of dissociative identity disorder [PODCAST]
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 …
Automatic refill and 90-day fill programs don’t improve medication adherence
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 …
Factors to weigh when choosing substance use disorder treatment
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 …
3 misperceptions and myths about food allergies
“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, …
Infertility treatment’s hidden costs [PODCAST]
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 …
The journey to diagnosing a mysterious illness
“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 …
Shame can no longer be accepted as a rite of passage in medicine
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 …
How AI-based technology can help improve hospital capacity management
“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 …
Make technology work for doctors [PODCAST]
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 …
It is time to end the stigma of mental health. Let us all talk about it.
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 …
Why clinician buy-in is key to digital health transformation
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 …
Anesthesiologists are kind of like Marvel superheroes
“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 …
Only patients can save U.S. health care [PODCAST]
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 …
You have the right to boundaries
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 …
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 …
The J-1 work exemption: a flawed solution to the physician shortage
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 …
Women’s mental health in an America without Roe
“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 …
Are my coping skills a result of my emergency medicine training? [PODCAST]
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